Recently, I came across a pilot’s forum and a thread on it asking about the nicest celebrities pilots have flown. Some of these make a ton of sense (looking at you, Julie Andrews), but some were a delightful surprise.
1.
“Anthony Hopkins. Flew him back from LA. A delight and absolute gentleman.”
2.
“Gordon Ramsay, recently. Utterly lovely and charming, ‘Please call me Gordon.’ Just wanted a bottle of water and slept for the entire flight.”
3.
“Celine Dion, when I was flying private. Completely lovely – even offered to take us to dinner, but we had to return to base.”
4.
“Anne Bancroft and Mel Brooks. He was hilarious, but she was really quiet, almost shy!”
5.
“The only one that really impressed me and should impress every pilot here was Sen. John Glenn. He came up after a very rough flight. We were the last plane into KCLT as the others started going around after us. He shook both of our hands, and he was flying coach.”
7.
“Robert De Niro. Very pleasant, funny, and friendly. He was wearing a wig as a disguise.”
8.
“Tom Cruise. Splendid fellow. Asked politely if he might come to the flight deck before departure, whereupon he asked some questions and we chatted about his new P51. Obviously, he stayed on with Cameron Diaz for some photos. Salzburg to Seville for the filming of Knight and Day.”
9.
“Denzel Washington. Very friendly and chatty. We had a good chin wag in the galley.”
10.
“Amy Winehouse. Met her a couple of times. The last time she got off, and was lovely (obviously had been at the cooking sherry), and wanted to know how my day was, and what I was doing after work.”
11.
“Prince William, a few years ago. Absolutely delightful, very down-to-earth.”
12.
“Sade. Lovely, charming woman. Had time to chat with the crew and gave tickets to all of us on the flight, including backstage passes, plus meet and greet photos. She even invited the flight deck (us) to her concert and made sure her assistants looked after our tickets.”
13.
“Michael Caine. Such a LOVELY man! Flew him to Venice for the film festival, and he came into the galley and had a chat with us and was just so lovely.”
14.
“Julie Andrews. Wonderful, warm, and friendly.”
15.
“Zac Efron. Engaging, personable, and signed an autograph. Those eyes do glimmer so much more in real life. True gentleman!”
16.
“Gerard Butler. Had the pleasure of meeting him on a Virgin Atlantic flight to LAX last month. What a nice man. He was very friendly and chatty. A real pleasure to talk with.”
17.
“Grace Jones. I met her in the Senator Lounge at FRA. She asked me if I knew how to use the massage chairs, as I was just about to get on one. I didn’t realize who she was until I heard the lady with her address her as ‘Grace’, then the penny dropped. I offered her the first use of the massager, and she declined. She is charm personified, very dignified and quiet. She must have been in her mid-fifties then; she looked about 40.”
18.
“Eric Clapton. A legend and a hell of a nice guy. He gave the entire crew comps for them and their family to his concert.”
19.
“Kelly Rowland. Was lovely. She slept for a lot of the flight as she had flown in from LAX, and we were taking her on to her final destination, but she happily posed for pictures with the crew. Very down-to-earth and stunningly beautiful.”
20.
“Tina Turner. LHR–LAX in first class. She sat on the floor for several hours playing with a baby also traveling in first class. Charming and entirely without airs and graces.”
21.
“Olivia Newton-John. I have taken her between LAX–SYD a couple of times. So pleasant, friendly, and polite.”
22.
“Michael Douglas. A true ‘A’ lister. Absolutely charming, shook everybody’s hand, and thanked us after the flight.”
23.
“Sean Connery. Top bloke. Sat in the cockpit for nearly the whole flight and chatted about anything from politics to football. Really nice.”
24.
“Kate Hudson. Quiet, initiated conversation, showed a genuine interest in our lives, and felt more like a good friend than a passenger. She was even joking/teasing me about a very attractive bloke behind the curtain in economy.”
25.
“Jack Johnson was onboard one of my short sectors between Sydney and the Gold Coast. He was a very pleasant guy, smooth voice, beautiful tanned skin, and also had his wife/girlfriend with him as well as his cute little son.”
26.
“I met Ricky Martin in our training centre. He was there to do some filming in a flight simulator for a TV show. He was lovely, posed for photos, and was very chatty. Shame I got really nervous and could not think of a single thing to say to him.”
27.
Finally, “Robin Williams. The most down-to-earth, sweetest guy. No entourage for him, boards quietly and low-profiles it. Very funny and will laugh at your own jokes.”
