Written for practitioners and for the field
Books
Three companion guides written for people who actually sit in the seats, and a set of edited academic volumes written for the field.
Companion guides
These began as the notes I wished someone had handed me. They are free, deposited openly, and written in the register of a colleague rather than a manual.
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2026
The Left Seat: a command upgrade companion
v2.0
A companion for first officers preparing for command. Written around the competencies a command assessment is actually testing — decision-making under ambiguity, managing a crew you did not choose, and the shift from executing a plan to owning one. Developed in connection with the Honourable Company of Air Pilots' Trainee Standards & Training Group.
10.5281/zenodo.21254755
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2026
The Right Seat: a first officer companion
The counterpart volume, for pilots entering or working in the right seat. Monitoring, challenging, and the practical craft of supporting a command decision you may not agree with.
10.5281/zenodo.21110810
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2026
The Savvy Airline Passenger
ISBN 9798235376540. A free plain-language guide to air travel, written to reduce fear of flying, unruly behaviour and avoidable complaints by explaining what is actually happening and why. Covers passenger rights, health, reduced mobility, travelling with children and pets, and etiquette.
10.5281/zenodo.21197019
Edited academic volumes
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2026
Cultural intelligence in aviation: bridging social attitudes, culture, and safety in a global environment
Ziakkas, D., Pechlivanis, K. & Plioutsias, A. (Eds.). CRC Press. ISBN 9781041133629.
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2024
Aviation workforce planning: the artificial intelligence and competency-based era
Ziakkas, D., Plioutsias, A. & Pechlivanis, K. (Eds.). Human Factors Horizons. Co-editor and contributing author across nine chapters. ISBN 979-8325038396.
A further volume on human factors in aviation, co-authored with Dimitrios Ziakkas, is in preparation for CRC Press.