The absolutely coolest thing I've EVER had happen to me on a flight was on an 8am IAH->SFO morning commute. We got slowed down nearing SFO, and the pilot somehow got us clearance to do some S turns over Yosemite. My memory of which happened in which order is fuzzy, but it went something like this:

"Those of you on the right can see El Capitan, that's 3,000 vertical feet of sheer climbing fun. While those of you on the right can see Half-Dome off in the distance. In a few moments, we'll be flying over Mammoth ski resort...."

Just before we broke out of the hold, the captain came onboard for the "third announcement" and said, "If you can't tell, this is one of my favorite places in the whole world. We'll be landing in San Francisco...".

If I ever come across either pilot again (maybe lurking here?), I owe them a beer or two. I'm not sure whether one of the guys upfront had pictures of some supervisor at ATC naked with various barnyard animals, but if a pilot can ever swing that routing again during daylight, definitely wake me up! :)

I don't see why this would be any more hassle than asking "what time do you have?" Don't they put the tail number on the instrument panel?

Personally, I'm a pretty nervous flyer and I always appreciate announcements from you guys during turbulence. Just stuff like the reason for the bumps (if known) and how long to expect them to last (again, if known). If for no other reason, it just makes me feel better to hear my pilots sounding cool and collected.

Absolutely agree. I fly into LGA all the time and if we're doing the Shea stadium approach I'm glued to the window. Always awe inspiring. Coming in from the sound, over Rikers is pretty :rolleyes: though.

DCA has some nice approaches as well, and SFO on the "Bay Bridge" approach is spectacular too.

I love LGA approaches from the North that come down the Hudson and then circle back up to land. Great views from either side of the plane on those. DCA from the north is infinitely better than DCA from the south for views, though obviously harder for the pilots. I don't mind that though. :p

I don't know if I've ever done that. Generally if approaching form the north we go up LI (just west of JFK) and then U turn at around NewRoc (I think an easier landmark is the Robert Moses causeway?).

But that's a Southern approach that lines up North of the field now that I think about it. Not sure if I've approached LGA from the north in the past 5 years, given my severe aversion to everything north of here. ALB, SYR, ROC, BUF, Canada = :mad::rolleyes::mad:

I know they're reconfiguring the whole airspace in this neck of the woods so who knows what it will be next year.

(For the record I have no idea what I'm talking about.)

Me neither.

When I was talking about approaches from the north what I really meant was flights from BOS and the like. I'm pretty sure the actual landing from the photo I linked above was on the Shea approach, but the general descent path took us down the Hudson river and then a left on Houston street. Made for a phenomenal view of lower Manhattan.

That's why we're such prolific posters!

Hmmm -- now that you mention it, I've flown into LGA from BOS (:rolleyes:) a few times in the past couple of years. Maybe it was cloudy or something...

No embarrassment, no hassles, if you want a logbook signed or need the tail number just let us know. You can do this by visiting the cockpit before/after the flight or relay through the FAs during the flight.

Back on page 1 of this thread I asked if you had any negative stories about pilots including bad landings. You guys have all been too nice so far, let's hear about the ugly side also! Anyone had their fillings knocked out? Is there a particular destination that you know ahead of time is going to be a pavement pounder? I know on the short fields (MDW, SNA, for example) I don't try real hard to grease it on just get on the pavement to start braking ASAP. Any pilot ever run over your toes with his roll aboard? Have you witnessed any rude behavior? I know we have a few "characters" working for us, there must be some stories.

I've had some hairy landings coming into HPN. The combination of baby planes, generally high winds, short runway, and the nonsense of NYC ATC are the perfect combination for :rolleyes:.

I really can't think of any negative experiences with pilots. I've walked away from every flight, and that's all I truly care about.

I can't think of anything too negative; much more positive. I had some very nice pilots help me out when I traveled solo with Baglady Jr and her car seat and asst bags. I am sure they were thinking about if their wives were in the same situation. Really above and beyond as well as unexpected.

A while back I had a crew on a two hour sit time. They stayed on board their aircraft and took a short nap. I usually am nice and will come on board 15-20 minutes before it's time to board, to wake everyone up. This night the Captain decided that my assistance was NOT required. He proceeded to yell at me the entire time it took me to walk back up the jetway. I still have no idea what prompted his angry outburst. All I remember paying attention to was that he claimed it was his job and who the heck did I think I was.....

Any reason why this Captain was so angry with me?

Not on CO... worst I've had on CO was a bit of discomfort when the Captain made his first PA and seemed to forget or not know the name of the FO...

"This is Captain <name>, my first officer today is <pause> <uh>" <click... time passes... PA resumes with all info>.

The one airport that immediately came to my mind is BRS. Its runway is 6,598ft, which is not as short as SNA, but it is on top of a ridge. I flew in during the 2nd week of CO's flight, and it was raining and very gusty. The last several hundred feet of Runway 27 actually sloped downhill. Pretty scary, and that was before pavement issues it had a year ago, when easyjet and others actually stopped flying there for a few days.

The takeoff was great though on the 752 with full fuel.

Only reason I can think of is he misunderstood and thought you wanted to board the aircraft 15-20 minutes early. That still doesn't warrant an angry outburst so I suspect he might be one of those "characters" I mentioned before.

In the good old days a captain and FO (and sometimes the entire FA crew) would fly the same schedule together all month. It gave you a chance to get to know each other and develop some relationships. Now our scheduling systems are breaking up crews in order to be as efficient as possible. We rarely have the same FA crew for two legs in a row and its not unusual for the pilots to go separate ways every couple legs. I did a 3-day trip last year and flew with 5 different CAs! Much of the time when the CA makes his first PA he met the FO less than 10 minutes before. Many of the CAs I fly with no longer announce either name so they don't end up insulting/embarrassing anyone.