Originally Posted by
Steve M
As far as the nicest things I've seen pilots do, one thing that stands out on Southwest is that deadheading crew, including First Officers and Captains, will more often than not help out with the passenger service duties, passing out peanuts/snacks and/or picking up trash (leaving the actual drink service to the on-duty FAs). It really gives you a good feeling about the airline when you see someone with four stripes on his shoulders and who's off the clock take the time to help out his fellow workers and the passengers by helping out with the snack service.
At one time I worked for Southwest and this was one of my favorite things to do when I was nonreving. There is just something fun about giving out those peanuts!
I hope to one day return.
We don't do snacks on our flights anymore, so other than helping pick up trash, there is little I can do.
Originally Posted by
Steve M
You beat me to it! As others have mentioned, there is a dramatic difference between the use of the Fasten Seat Belt sign on US vs foreign carriers. For most foreign carriers, they turn it off even before cruising altitude is reached and leave it off until just before landing, unless there's a really good reason to turn it on. I realize that the legal environment in the US is such that perhaps more caution is needed for liability reasons, but even so, the situation can be improved upon.
By giving the passengers a 20-minute warning before the Fasten Seat Belt light will be turned on before landing, it gives passengers who need to use the lav a chance to so. As it stands now with most domestic US flight, the light comes on and descent starts without notice, at which point people that need to use the lav ignore it and actually use it as their cue to do so. If pilots made the use of the light more reasonable with the pre-descent announcement, it would be more likely that passengers would be able to comply.
When I remember, giving passengers a quick heads up about our decent is something I try to do.
One thing that tends to frustrate me, but there is nothing I can do about it, is that the PA duties change between the pilots depending on who is "flying". The "Pilot Not Flying" is who makes the PA's. As much as I'd like that all these things were done on every flight, I can't force the other pilot to do these things, so it only happens on half the flights.
My apologies.
Originally Posted by
peterca
Over the years, I flew a lot of 'bush' airlines in Africa and Asia. I appreciate it when the cockpit door is open (or when there is no cockpit door), there is an awareness the passengers can see and hear all what is going on.
On one flight, i did not particularly appreciate the shouting and the "Oh ...."-sighs. (More in the short story
Italians, the Art of Flying and the Laws of Probability)
I do miss flying a plane that small. My first "airliner" was a Beech 1900 and, call me what you want, but I loved to turn around and make eye contact with my passengers while making a PA.
I don't think things would go well for either party if the FA's and Pilots decided to yell at each other.
I think that finding smooth air is part of the job, but there are those that don't and just like some people at the DMV are friendlier than others, its the same way with pilots. (Why they fly people, don't ask me!) So your results will vary asking for smoother air, simply because its not a common request.
There are a few things that may limit that, however. In my aircraft, in particular, we can only climb so high and often this puts us in the clouds. At night this is exacerbated because we can't see what we are trying to avoid, so we make our best guess and usually stick with it. In these cases, I try to apologize for the turbulence and give the passengers an idea of how long it will last.
As for:
"Well, I'm sure you found that interesting -- I know we in the cockpit sure did, but it's actually a normal part of flying and nothing to worry about.".
I love the line and I'll add it to my mental bank. ^
Thanks for the replies. I really appreciate it!
Checko