Since last week the trainees at the KLM get an activity every Wednesday to learn more about what other departments do within the aircraft handling process. I went to the push back department of the KLM which tows aircraft to parking and pushes them back from the gate to the taxiway.

I arrived there at 6 am in the morning to conduct with two colleagues of that department. Our first assignment was to tow a Boeing 747 from the gate to the Juliet platform at the other side of the highway. I chose to go into the cockpit with one of my colleagues, while the other operated the push back truck. In the cockpit we followed a number of procedures concerning the power supply of the aircraft. After that, the push back truck gently lifted the enormous jet and asked permission from the air traffic control to begin moving. The push back truck needs confirmation from the ATC because it is entering the taxiway.

It was a fantastic experience to be sitting in the co-pilot’s seat while the aircraft got towed over the taxiways to the Juliet platform. When we arrived at the final location, we switched of the aircraft and got off.

Later that day we towed an Airbus A330 to the Bravo platform which we also towed back to the gate a a while later. My colleagues also had to tow an aircraft to the hangar, but because I’m not allowed to enter that area (Schiphol-East), I went with someone else for a couple of hours. I’ve been sitting in the push back truck while it pushed the aircraft on the taxiway where it started its engines and prepared for take off.

One thing that really attracted my attention was the big difference between Boeing and Airbus aircraft and their cockpits. Airbus is more electronic and based on computers than Boeing. For instance the control column to control the primary flight controls used by Boeing, is replaced by a sidestick in Airbus aircraft.