While many teenagers make their pocket money working in shops or delivering newspapers, for Alex Macheras, things were a bit more glamorous.
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How this 20-year-old built a high-flying career travelling the world testing first-class seats on brand-new planes
Alex Macheras has racked up over 10,000 followers on Twitter travelling the world testing first-class seats on new planes.
Alex Macheras certainly looks at home in first class.
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Now 20, Macheras travels the world — often in first class — testing new planes before they're delivered to clients.
This involves testing the seats in every cabin, enjoying the food, and usually sipping a glass or two of celebratory Champagne, then sharing photos of his experiences with his followers on Instagram and Twitter.
He told Business Insider he has been interested in aviation for as long as he can remember — and at 14 was approached to provide aviation analysis to the likes of BBC, Sky News, and LBC, which eventually led him into the world of aircraft deliveries.
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While he confirmed that he gets paid for his media appearances, he declined to discuss compensation for his relationships with the airlines.
From rubbing shoulders with Richard Branson to stopovers in Rwanda, here's how Macheras makes a living.
This is 20-year-old Alex Macheras, the aviation expert who travels the world in first class on empty planes, testing every seat, before they're delivered to clients.
He shares updates and photos of his fabulous Champagne-filled life with his 13,000 total followers on Instagram and Twitter.
He told Business Insider he has been interested in aviation for as long as he can remember.
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"I was born with the travel bug," he said. "There are videos of me as a toddler pointing up at the sky. It was never in my family — my parents worked in cuisine and motorsport, so I wasn't born into anything."
He studied aviation wherever he could and even took flying lessons.
"My family used to joke that at 8 years old I could do the safety demo in five different languages," he added.
He was "constantly reading about trends" in aviation and was inspired by Richard Branson, a hero he has since had the chance to meet. Macheras read his book at a young age.
"I wasn't allowed to take it to school because it had swear words in it, but I was completely hooked to the connection he described with aviation and about how he set up Virgin Atlantic," Macheras said.
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At 14, he was approached by a UK radio station that had noticed his aviation-industry analysis on Twitter.
Macheras said he was tweeting about "whatever was in the news at the time, and explaining everything on Twitter." "They approved me to go on air," he said. "My age was an unspoken thing – I was doing LBC for years before anyone knew I was young."
Now, his tweets and on-air appearances include everything from discussing the prices of on-board WiFi to analysing competition in the airline industry.
When he was 16 — before even finishing his A levels — he appeared on Sky News, then signed contracts with other networks to continue aviation analysis on screen. He decided to finish school part time so he could take on more work.
"At the earliest point I could leave education, I went full time," he said.
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While he confirmed that he gets paid for his media appearances, he declined to discuss compensation for his relationships with the airlines.
Now he works closely with manufacturers to complete deliveries of new aircraft, meaning he sees airplanes when they leave the factory ...
... participates in test flights ...
... and is there when the planes are delivered to customers.
He tests all the seats in every cabin — including first class.
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The planes are usually empty, so he rules the roost.
When he isn't travelling, an average morning might involve talking about the latest aviation news on air, writing articles about a test flight, or participating in a Twitter Q&A.
"I always talk about the manufacturers on screen, during deliveries and test flights," he said.
When he travels, he gets the full experience, including business or first-class lounges ...
... luxurious preflight meals ...
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... drinks ...
... and even a preflight nap.
He has also experienced the best in onboard dining.
He gets to know the staff of several airlines.
"It's about getting to know them as an airline and why they do things in a cabin in a certain way," he said.
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Some crews are more animated than others.
He even gets acquainted with the pilots ...
... and, of course, the people serving the drinks.
He spends most of his time travelling from place to place. "Sometimes it takes me four days just to get back," he said.
But he's at home in the air. The location on his Twitter profile reads in part: "Usually at 38,000ft."
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But he usually finds some pretty sweet digs whenever he's on the ground.
"It's flexible — not like the cabin crew," he said of his work, adding that there's usually enough time to get a vacation out of his travels.
His favourite destination so far has been Rwanda.
"I was really keen to see as much as possible," Macheras said.
He certainly gets to enjoy some great views, whether they're in the air or on the ground.
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Who knows what's next for Macheras?
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