april-2012

[ wizz air ]
NEWS
HOW TIME FLIES
104 WIZZ MAGAZINE // APRIL/MAY 2012
Wizz Air pilot György Tóth has
just passed a flying milestone
WHEN YOU SPEAK TO WIZZ AIR
pilots you get a real sense that their work is
so much more than a job. For them, flying
is the passion in their life, something that
defines their skills and their personality.
Wizz Air pilot György Tóth has recently
passed the milestone of 20,000 hours in the
air. He began his career back in the 1960s
flying the Góbé glider, a Hungarian-made
aircraft (it was designed by Erno Rubik Snr,
father of the inventor of the Rubik Cube).
After gaining his full pilot’s wings, he took
the helm of a Jumbo Jet. Having flown
aircraft in America and Asia, he also holds
a licence to pilot sea planes and still flies
gliders as a hobby in his spare time. It’s the
Wizz Air Airbus A320 that is his passion now.
When did you first know that you
wanted to be a pilot?
It happened in my very early childhood. I
can’t remember exactly when I decided to
become one, but it was definitely before
starting primary school. I remember it was
my mother who first took me to an airfield,
and seeing the soaring gliders above the
mountains, I felt certain that this would
definitely be my future.
Which flight were you on when you
passed your 20,000th hour?
It was a kind of strange celebration because
it was my annual line check from Budapest
to Eindhoven, a standard evaluation of the
aircraft and your skills. It’s never routine
so I think my mind was focused on that
rather than the flying-hours milestone.
After passing it I had a little celebration at
home and then three weeks later I received
a gift from the top management of the
company in appreciation. It was such a
surprise and really special.
Are there differences between different
types of piloting? For example, do
European pilots train differently
than in those in America?
I have special experience in this
respect. Ten years ago I was working
for airlines with pilots from