From Ramp Agent to Captain
Brian Chase, Captain at American Airlines
From the time Brian Chase was born and up until the age of 10, every Sunday after lunch his father would drive him to the airport to watch airplanes take off and land. Thanks to those weekly visits to V. C. Bird International Airport, Brian’s love for aviation was born.
“My sister also became an important influence after being hired at a local Caribbean carrier. She knew that aviation was such a passion of mine and would often take me to the airport to meet with pilots and during a family vacation, asked the pilot if I could sit in the jump seat before the flight. That was a defining moment in my life, and it was the moment I knew I wanted to do this professionally,” added Brian.
After graduating from high school, he moved to the U.S. where he attended the Regional Airline Academy in DeLand, Florida, acquiring his pilot qualifications and later completing the Pilot Certification course.
A humbling setback
In 2003, Brian returned home to gain more experience, but unfortunately, none of the regional carriers were hiring. “The period from 2003 to 2006 was quite a humbling experience. There were no flying jobs available and with my 250 hours of flight time it seemed near impossible. So, I ended up back in St. Croix and basically started from the ground up,” said Brian.
Brian took a job at a local restaurant to pay his bills, but a small break came in 2004 when he got his first aviation job working as a ramp agent for a local airline. This role was the beginning of his aviation career and gave him the opportunity to learn about the industry from a different vantage point.
In 2006, Brian was hired as a pilot for a local carrier in Antigua, giving him the opportunity to return to the flight deck.
Back to Antigua as a Captain
Brian was hired at American Eagle in April 2014 and became a mainline pilot at American in 2019, flying a Boeing 737. He became a Captain in 2023 and on March 4, 2024, flew for the first time back home to Antigua in this new role.
“After almost five years at American, I couldn’t feel prouder and more excited to be able to go on my first flight as a Captain on an American Airlines flight to Antigua, my homeland. This was a huge moment for me and my family. Since I was a young man, I always knew that I wanted to be a pilot and I hope this may inspire the future generations to pursue their dreams and know that everything is possible.”
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Its not even me and I’m so proud of this guy.
Congratulations to you Captain Brian Chase, this is well deserving after so many years.
One thing I can say is that everything happens for a reason. You had so many setbacks in your career goal but in that time you gained so much more experience in other aspects of aviation and now look, you even have an edge over many other pilots. From the bottom now you’re here brother !
Once again, a heartfelt congratulations to you Captain Chase.
Captain Chase,
You are so inspiring!.
May l congratulate you for your achievements in aviation, your hard work and dedication has helped you to overcome many hurdles and disappointments. At times you must have felt disillusioned because of the setbacks, yet you persevered.
I do hope that one day I will have the honour of being on one of your flights into Antigua which is also my homeland.
I also hope that any person with the ambition to become an airline Captain will be inspired and encouraged by your story.