I’m a Virgin Atlantic pilot and this is what I eat on a long haul flight

A pilot needs fuel as much as a plane…and it’s apparently plentiful, according to the experiences of a senior Virgin Atlantic first officer.

Rosie Scott, who regularly leads long-haul flights around the world, gave an insight into the type of food pilots receive at 30,000 feet altitude.

Sharing a post on her Instagram page, @rosiepridepilot, which has almost 37,000 followers, the British pilot gave a behind-the-scenes look at some of the dining options on offer when you’re a mile up in the air.

She explained: “Normally we are provided with meals for the crew and we are also allowed to eat the passengers’ meals after the service is over.”

There is also a ‘snack pot’ in the cockpit, including sandwiches, fruit, chips and drinks, as well as Haribo and chocolate bars.

In the footage, the first meal Rosie devours is an “upper class passenger meal that didn’t get eaten”, with the pilot zooming in on a fancy chocolate dessert that was “a bit crushed”, meaning that a paying customer couldn’t have it.

A typical upper class starter on Virgin Atlantic might include salmon gravadlax, while a main course might include dishes such as a Toragashi marinated halloumi poke bowl.

Dessert? A sample menu lists a Pimms o’clock summer pudding, with a cheese plate on the horizon afterwards.

She says many meals are of course also “accompanied by a wonderful view”.

At the “top of the descent”, Scott shows off a “crazy” burger brought in, which was actually a plant-based double cheeseburger.

The senior first officer also showed off the salt and pepper shakers, shaped like small airplanes, that upper-class passengers use.

She jokes: “We know you’re stealing them, that’s why we’re writing this on them…” before turning the shakers upside down to reveal the words “Pinch from Virgin Atlantic.”