On April 26th, AeroTime will kick off a week of activities celebrating International Pilots’ Day. We will be speaking with pilots from various corners of the world, sharing their stories during Covid times, looking back at their most impressive achievements, and more. So, please join us for the exclusive Pilots’ Day coverage.
Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Joerg Hartmann had worked in aviation for 33 years. The skilled pilot experienced a varied career while operating commercial and non-commercial aircraft, including Boeing 737s, Airbus A320 Family jets, Airbus A330s, A340s, A380s and a host of smaller airplanes. Jetsetter Joerg worked for several companies and has traveled to more than 50 countries while on duty as a pilot.
“I started flying in the United States where I did my training on my own and without any airline sponsorship,” says Joerg. “It was in the early 1990s, so there weren’t many jobs for inexperienced pilots. […] And I went to Africa, where I worked as a bush pilot for a few years. I flew to Kenya, Mozambique, South Africa, Somalia and the whole South Eastern region of Africa. It was beautiful, but I was flying small airplanes at the time.”
Later, Joerg spent some time working for the Red Cross, where he took the yoke of a turboprop engine as he was transporting medication and other goods to Somalia. “It was great,” he reveals. “It was an upgrade.”
Time passed quickly and Joerg finally earned enough money to realize his dream of becoming an airline pilot. He secured the ATPL (airline transport pilot license) in Germany where he worked for a local air carrier, which was later purchased by Air Berlin (AB1). It was while he was based in Germany that Joerg received an offer to join a Mauritius-based company. Keen to embark on a new experience, he accepted the role.
“Long-haul was something that I hadn’t done before, so I went for it. It’s where I earned my captaincy in 2005,” Joerg says with a smile. “I ended up working for Emirates, which is where I spent eight perfect years flying A330, A340, and then A380 from 2016.”
Joerg spent those eight years as a Captain in the airline flying to faraway shores and traveling from one side of the globe to another. But when the pandemic struck at the beginning of 2020, the airline was forced to downsize and Joerg was one of the hundreds of people who lost their position at the company. After 18,000 hours in the sky, Joerg was made redundant.
“We all knew that something was going on,” Joerg explains. “But at that time, I thought that I was bulletproof and that the company would bever let me go because I had an award for good performance, I was reliable, and I possessed a good training record.”
“I thought that nothing could happen. When I went to Emirates, I was so sure about my job and so, I really thought that losing it would be the last thing I should be worried about.”
He adds: “When [Emirates] started terminations, I was not in it [the first round]. Then came another wave of terminations and I was still not involved. But when the third wave came, and my name was [included], I realized that I’m not bulletproof. My world fell apart.”
But instead of complaining about the bad news, Joerg began to look at the positives. Luckily, he has some financial reserves, so he was able to remain calm about income and make plans for his next professional endeavor. Soon, Joerg noticed that some of his former colleagues were retraining as consultants, coaches and motivational speakers and began to feel inspired by their career transformations.
“I said to myself, that’s what I’m going to do,” he says. “I was thinking, ‘I’m going to try and build something here, but I didn’t know what.’ So, I walked around a little bit [before] I came across something inspirational.”
Inspired by the Canadian self-help author and philosopher Bob Proctor, Joerg, who has always been interested in positive self-image, decided to create a Dubai-based consultancy, which provides coaching services for human performance and success. Joerg reveals that he is happy to be able to run a business that helps people live happier, healthier and more abundant lives.
Now, Joerg works with individuals, groups and companies to help them discover their deepest desires, reach their full potential and achieve their personal and professional goals. “I’ve found my feet again,” he reveals. “I have new confidence and I can now help clients make major changes in their lives, [expand] their business to the next level and achieve general quantum leaps in results.”
So, what is Joerg’s plan for the future?
“I’m working on a concept to help pilots prepare for their command upgrades using the principles I have learned and utilizing my aviation experience. I’m searchable on Facebook, Linkedin and Youtube for my consultancy.”
“I’m mostly focusing on my consultancy business. At the moment, there is no point in waiting for aviation to quickly recover [from the pandemic]. My personal opinion, and observation, is that it’s not happening as quickly as we would like it to.
He adds: “While I feel like I’ve [piloted] all the commercial aircraft now, if I was going to fly again, I would like it to be business jets.”
