Ready to go, but no pilots?

Old Feb 21, 2019, 12:03 pm
  #16  
 
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I usually check under the seats and in the overhead compartments but no dice.
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Old Feb 21, 2019, 12:50 pm
  #17  
 
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Originally Posted by enpremiere
I usually check under the seats and in the overhead compartments but no dice.
you are looking in the wrong places. Check the priority pass restaurants (free food) - that's where pilots are most likely to be found.
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Old Feb 21, 2019, 12:51 pm
  #18  
 
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All you need to board is a full compliment of FA's. I have boarded a few times where they said the pilot(s) was on his way, but I never waited more than 10 or 15 minutes after departure.

We had a bit of an unusual situation this week BMI-DFW. Plane arrived about 20 minutes late from DFW at 3:00, so crew needed to do a quick turn to not delay our 3:15 departure too much. By 3:15 they were ready to board, but we had no crew at all. Turns out the hotel van had broken down. Crew arrived about 3:30 and we departed about 3:50. The crew delay plus a very long routing to avoid storms made us about 1 hour late, causing several misconnects (luckily not for me)
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Old Feb 21, 2019, 1:03 pm
  #19  
 
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I had a case where we just sat at the gate waiting for both pilots to show up. They arrive. I watch out the window as one walks around the plane checking everything out. We board and still wait another 20 minutes after boarding has completed for all the proper paperwork to be signed off.
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Old Feb 21, 2019, 1:12 pm
  #20  
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The equipment swap to a 738 could have also been part of the issue. They may have had to bring pilots in or call in reserves for a different equipment type.
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Old Feb 21, 2019, 1:59 pm
  #21  
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A few years ago the pilot close to T-0 called AA to say he wasn't going to show up (apparently NO stated region)--they had to find a substitute arriving by plane from elsewhere, when he arrived he was greeted with a round of applause.
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Old Feb 21, 2019, 2:52 pm
  #22  
 
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It happened to me last Thursday. We boarded 737 in DFW and after boarding was completed FAs announced that we are waiting on pilots who got stuck in MSP. It was only 40 min or so. Which is on time for AA standards
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Old Feb 21, 2019, 5:05 pm
  #23  
 
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Originally Posted by AndyAA
I had a case where we just sat at the gate waiting for both pilots to show up. They arrive. I watch out the window as one walks around the plane checking everything out. We board and still wait another 20 minutes after boarding has completed for all the proper paperwork to be signed off.
How about considering the fact that the pilots need to complete a full pre flight check before departure. This takes time - there are no short cuts and I'd rather be delayed but land safely than not arrive. We take safety for granted, unfortunately that also means not rushing things.
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Old Feb 21, 2019, 5:54 pm
  #24  
 
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Originally Posted by dwugson
How about considering the fact that the pilots need to complete a full pre flight check before departure. This takes time - there are no short cuts and I'd rather be delayed but land safely than not arrive. We take safety for granted, unfortunately that also means not rushing things.

its to the point that boarding with no flight crew doesnt really save any time at all, as those preflight checks often are longer than the boarding process when everyone is ready to go at the gate.

Id rather not board, especially when its still unknown when the crew will get there in the first place.

its not like the flight can push back immediately when the crew gets there.
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Old Feb 21, 2019, 6:04 pm
  #25  
 
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Originally Posted by AndyAA



its to the point that boarding with no flight crew doesnt really save any time at all, as those preflight checks often are longer than the boarding process when everyone is ready to go at the gate.

Id rather not board, especially when its still unknown when the crew will get there in the first place.

its not like the flight can push back immediately when the crew gets there.
GA wants D0 to pass with the plane loaded.
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Old Feb 22, 2019, 3:17 am
  #26  
 
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Originally Posted by GrumpyYoungMan
FA announces we are loaded and ready to go, but there are no pilots. She doesn't know where they are, has spoken to AA and they said they are "working on it."

120+ segments a year and this is a first.
Maybe at an airport bar ?
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Old Feb 22, 2019, 9:42 am
  #27  
 
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Once in Charlotte (back in US days) our cabin crew was delayed so they brought in a completely different crew to board the flight, then our "real" flight attendants took over once they arrived.

I've heard gate agents say "we can't leave because the crew hasn't shown up" or "we don't have pilots" (throwing the cockpit crew under the Airbus, you might say) and have seen social media gripes based on this ("Hey AA, tell your pilots to show up to work on time!" - that sort of thing) - I'm willing to bet that the vast majority of the time the real situation is that the pilots are impacted by a previously delayed flight.
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Old Feb 22, 2019, 12:48 pm
  #28  
 
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I have never been on a flight that the pilots missed. They have always managed to find crew member somewhere. But a lot pilots have been on flights that I have missed.

I have to wait for THEM, but they won't wait for ME.
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Old Feb 22, 2019, 3:01 pm
  #29  
 
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Originally Posted by Allan38103
I have to wait for THEM, but they won't wait for ME.
Hilarious!
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