Many misconceptions about a commercial pilot’s job relate to the fact that there are two of us seated at the controls. Who’s doing what — and when and why? The answers are a function of both rank and role.At my airline, like most, one pilot — who wears four stripes on their jacket sleeves and epaulettes, and sports a somewhat blingier hat — holds the rank of captain. The other — bearing only two or three stripes — ranks as first officer. Bear in mind, however, that “co-pilot” is another term for first officer (a confusing one, as all of us are pilots) and that some other airlines term their newest pilots “second officers”.

Most pilots want to become captains (though no rule says we must), promotion to which depends on seniority and the completion of a command course. As colleagues retire and new ones join, a pilot’s seniority rises, allowing us to bid against colleagues for different aircraft types but also for “a command”. Eventually, our bid on our chosen aircraft type will be successful — as mine was last autumn on the Boeing 787 — and we are assigned a command course.

The course that will transform first officers into captains has little to do with our flying skills or with our technical knowledge, both of which we’ll have demonstrated from our first day as first officers. Instead, the training captains who undertake command training focus on helping new captains assume responsibility for “all aspects of safety, security and customer service” — ie, for everything, from the first moment we step on board. And it’s why the courses place such an emphasis on leadership skills, structured decision-making, and the professional development of first officers.