London, Oct 8, 2016 – Two British Airways pilots have pedalled to a Guinness World Record title after successfully cycling non-stop across seven countries in just 24 hours.
The record-breaking pilots now hold the team title for ‘Most countries visited by bicycle in 24 hours’. They departed from Croatia at 12:18 pm local time on October 1, 2016 and ended their journey in Poland at 11:18 am the next day.
The flying First Officers, James Van Der Hoorn from Cambridge (now lives in Clapham) and Thomas Reynolds from Tring, in Hertfordshire (lives in Brighton), both 28 years-old, managed to clock up more than 300 miles during the challenge which saw them pass through Croatia, Slovenia, Hungary, Austria, Slovakia, Czech Republic and Poland.
The pair fly from Gatwick and Heathrow to five of these countries in their roles as Airbus 320 short-haul pilots for British Airways, which allowed them to train on some of the actual sections of the route leading up to the challenge.
The pilots are aiming to raise at least £5,000 for Flying Start, the global charity partnership between British Airways and Comic Relief which helps children living incredibly tough lives around the world.
British Airways First Officer Thomas Reynolds, said: “We’re really proud to get the record, but more importantly to raise the money for the Flying Start charity. It’s a great cause and if we’ve made even the slightest difference it will make all the effort totally worthwhile.”
British Airways First Officer James Van Der Hoorn, said: “It’s been a long journey but everything went to plan in the end and we had terrific support along the way.
“As pilots, things like planning, routing and preparing back-up plans are all part of our training and part of our everyday lives as flight crew so that experience really came in handy for this challenge.
“It’s a great feeling to have done it, and a very humbling thought that we may have helped some kids living difficult lives along the way.”
