Originally Posted by
corporate-wage-slave
I do raise my eyebrows at some of Ryanair's pilots - I'm sure they are all competent and professional, it's just that doesn't always come across in their terse welcome. At the other extreme the absence of commentary from some AA pilots makes me wonder just how committed they are, it can be pretty transactional.
But flying
is transactional, and I would never base my perception of a pilot's commitment and competence on his chattiness. Personally, and with the greatest of respect to everyone on board whose job it is to get me safely to my destination, I don't need or even want to know the names of the flight and cabin crews, don't care which runway we'll be using or how high we're flying. I don't need to be told what airport we've just landed at, or what the local time is. Most of this is unnecessary ritual and theatre.
I
do like to know when there might be turbulence, and when we are going to be arriving later than scheduled. And I appreciated the pilot drawing our attention to the northern lights on a recent flight. Otherwise, I'm happy for them to silently get me there.