View from the Back - Ask the Elites thread
 

Why not?

Will my EUA clear???:rolleyes:

Yes, but you'll already be on the plane, the GA won't tell you and when you notice it on the PDA and you move up to the assigned seat in F another passenger will report you to an FA for self-upgrading.:p

Then the GA will eventually come on to upgrade you and will be incredibly confused when she finds you already sitting in your F seat. After a thorough explanation the GA, still confused, will stand by the front lav with a blank look on her face. :D

HAHAHAHA! Great title for the thread! :p ^

I have one...when stuck in 41E DEL-EWR in the Wintertime with a strong headwind TATL, when 2+ hours is added to the flight, is it kosher to hog both armrests? How about playing elbow wars with your seatmates to get them? :cool:

Shouldn't this thread be an opportunity for the pilots/FAs/GAs/etc to ask us questions? ;)

I am willing and able to offer detailed advice on how best to mix various cocktails with the limited supplies available onboard.

What have pilots ever done that has made a flight memorable (in a positive way)?

If you are serious (not totally serious, just a little bit serious) then I have a question for ya (actually a series of related questions). We (pilots) are required by CO to make three announcements. The captain makes one on the ground shortly before the door is closed. Once we level off the pilot not flying makes an announcement and just before or during the descent we make another one. My questions are:

Does anyone actually pay attention to these?
To see if you are paying attention can anyone tell me what is in the announcements?
Do you get any useful info from them?
Would you prefer we just shut up so you can sleep?
Do you like additional announcements such as "those of you on the left side of the aircraft should have an excellent view of the Grand Canyon, while those on the right can see Mount Rainer..." (on a day with REALLY good visibility)
Fire away!

Having a sense of humor on the PA. :D

...and in a negative way to include worst landings. Come on let the dirt fly!

Or when you notice it on the PDA, you wonder what happened, but remain in coach, then post about it here when you get home. Then some of the most professional men and women in the industry will chime in to tell you the PDA site is wrong. :D

Not sure about the announcement prior to pushback...pretty sure it is about the expected flight time, if we will be delayed from pushback, etc. The second announcement is about the flying time, the route we will be flying and if it is a good time to turn the seat belt sign off (and to keep it on while seated) and if there will be a smooth ride or not.

Third announcemnet during descent is usually made that the descent has begun, what terminal/gate we will be parking at...how long before we land, etc.

Just prior to descent it would be nice if you could give the cabin a "20 minute warning" before the fasten seat belt sign comes on. Too often we are just flying along and all of a sudden the seat belt sign comes on and the announcement to return to your seats for the duration of the flight is made. This would give us a chance to go the restroom one last time, get our things together, etc...rather than scramble around and be berated for not sitting down. :p

I listen to the announcements, usually to learn about the weather, tubulance we may hit on the climb out/decent (although, I usually look this up on my own before the flight) as well as the flight time. Some pilots take it to the next level and give geeky details such as what runway we'll be landing on. Most times, I'm probably one of the few people on the plane that are interested in that. :)

Most of the time the announcements are fine but sometimes a pilot drags on a bit too much - this especially bugs me on a mid-con redeye when every minute of sleep is precious.

I like the announcements. I mostly listen for flight time. I've usually checked weather before I go, so I don't really pay attention to that. I always wear my seatbelt while seated anyway, so don't pay attention to that either. :)

The scenic announcements is a trade-off. If you're sleeping, they annoying, but if you're awake, they're cool. So not sure there's a right answer on that one.

Although I am a window pig who constantly monitors the ever unfolding landscape (and, as a geologist, generally knows what I am looking at), when the Captain makes such announcements I always see passengers suddenly looking out to see whatever sights have just been pointed out.

I think that passengers really enjoy those announcements.

Got some favorite examples? The reason I ask is because while we are not prohibited from using humor it is discouraged because one man's humor is another's deeply offensive comment. Some white knuckle fliers don't appreciate hard landing or "creative parking" humor. (creative parking is leaving an airplane anywhere other than a gate)

Does anyone actually pay attention to these?
YES, I SEE MOST PEOPLE LOOKING UP AT THE SPEAKERS TRYING TO LISTEN. UNFORTUNATELY, MORE OFTEN THAN NOT YOU CAN BARELY HEAR WHAT IS BEING SAID.
To see if you are paying attention can anyone tell me what is in the announcements? WEATHER, ETA, ETC
Do you get any useful info from them? YES
Would you prefer we just shut up so you can sleep? ON A REDEYE, YES PLEASE.
Do you like additional announcements such as "those of you on the left side of the aircraft should have an excellent view of the Grand Canyon, while those on the right can see Mount Rainer..." (on a day with REALLY good visibility) YEAH, I THINK ITS COOL.

Unfortunately I think us aerogeeks enjoy the humor more than the Kettles on their annual cruise trip.

How are your feelings when we blow you a little crap on those teeth rattler landings?

My favorite is Mt. Rainer and I will always plan my seating accordingly. I've had a few pilots do sharp banks around the mountain and it is always incredible! So... notifications are great! Any special maneuvers.. even better.

I remember one pilot coming on as soon as we began to taxi at EWR who came on and said "Our flight today will be a total of 2 hours...one hour of scening flight time between Newark and Toronto and one hour of scenic taxi time of Newark Airport...for those of you on your right we will start with 20 minutes of Terminal C to your right, 20 minutes of Terminal B, and 20 minutes of Terminal A...due to the scheduling we due anticiapte arriving five minutes ahead of schedule. Sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight." :D :p We all had a good laugh on the plane and I highly doubt anyone found anything offensive in that.

I'll let you know as soon as I have one! :D

ps. not admitting to anything here but I heard about guy who knows a guy that made a bad landing and while standing by the door a passenger comes up and gives me...I mean him...a business card and says, "I'm a Chiropractor, thanks for the business!"

Due to the fact that I fly out of EWR, it is usually something like:

"We will be 39th or so in line, after we clear the jam-up behind us so we can slowly taxi to the 2+hour line to wait!" :D

The coolest thing I think pilots have done is come into the cabin (on longers flights) and shake hands, meet and greet the F cabin. (I fly F all the time domestic) I have never had this on CO, but MANY times on UA.

For the worst (and its a minor gripe)...how hard is it to update us when we are in line?? And how hard is it to not lie??? We CAN see out the window, so when we're told we are now 4th for takeoff, and we see 9 planes in front of us....:rolleyes:

"Folks we are just a few minutes away from push back , they are just taking care of some last minute bags and we will be on our way , Thank you for flying CO and welcome Aboard"


"This is the captain , we have just reached our cruising altitude of 35000 feet, Im gonna go ahead and release the seatbelt sign . The computer is showing we have about 5 hours to go , We are expecting an ontime arrival and we will get back to you once we begin our descent "


" Folks this is the captain again , we are currently 130 nm from the airport and have started our initial descent , temperature in EWR is 30 degrees and a slight wind from the southeast at 10 knots We should have you on the ground in 25 minutes "

Biggest pet peeve of mine, especially on the redeye flights, though mostly directed at the FAs and not the cockpit crew. Please do the selling of the headphones, the preview of the video, the welcoming on board, the reminder of the valuable OnePass miles we'll be earning, the recitation of the drink service schedule and anything else that comes at that two ding announcement while we're on the ground. Pretty please. With a sub-4:30 flight time having to wait the extra 15 minutes into the flight to fall asleep is actually significant.

"......just in case this flight becomes a cruise, your seat cushions can be used as flotation devices......"

Normally I do not like these types on announcements, but if we are flying over somewhere that is especially know for its scenic beauty, I would like to hear the announcement, as long as I am sitting on that tide of the aircraft. :p

"cross check and verify straps"

on a 90 minute ground stop we had the FA go "What we can't tell you is if you'll meet your connection. What we can do is that we have an assortment of Coke products available, and light snacks."
I chuckled. Until i knew she was serious.

That's the FAs announcement once they reach the gate. ;)

As a frequent flyer who is also an aviation enthusiast, I love listening to these announcements. As mentioned I really wish I could understand them most of the time. Either too quiet or sounds jibberish, but I think that's a speaker problem because I can't even understand the FAs announcements on the same flight.

Most won't, but as I said there are a number of other aviation enthusiast that love to listen to them as wish every airline had Channel 9!

If it's on a plane with no air map, I would like to know at least which states we fly over on a domestic flight. Also, include the basics such as scheduled flight time, weather conditions, and cruising altitude. You never know if someone on airliners.net will post a trip report and those people enjoy thorough details, including if a pilot gives an announcement or not. :cool:

I will agree with the others, on a redeye flight, it is nice to keep the announcements to a minimal, unless we're flying over a destination with some interesting light patterns.

Oh yeah, especially when I'm sitting on that side of the plane. Otherwise, I'll just sit on the other side acting jealous.

The pilot said nothing about our position for takeoff on my last flight from EWR. Even though it is frustrating for some, I am used to ground delays and would actually like to hear what number we are.

I was landing in IAH once when we had not one but TWO go-arounds due to strong gusty crosswinds. The pilot came on after the first attempt and explained that the FAA would not turn the airport around to the NW/SE runway into the wind, and after the second one explained that he essentially told them he was landing on the NW/SE runway whether they particularly liked it or not. That was pretty cool! And it definitely was a thrill ride on the two attempts on the E/W runway.

--PP

Sometime in the 80's when Continental started their turnaround, I was on a flight down to New Orleans. The captain announced, "Those of you on the left side of the aircraft have a once in a lifetime opportunity. When I tell you look up and to the left in three two one..."
What I saw was an F4 Phantom on the hose in a mid air re-fueling with two more in formation waiting their turn. ^
It was a pretty empty flight. (not unusual for CAL at that time and I was actually surprised it didn't cancel for "mechanical" but I digress) What was really entertaining were the folks getting up from their seats on the right side, moving over to the left and looking up :rolleyes: a half hour later.:rolleyes::rolleyes:

I was leaving my home base of ORD one day when the captain came on just as they were going to close the door to tell us that we had been told that we would not be leaving for at least another 40 minutes due to ATC. He then invited all the youngsters on the plane who wanted to to come up and see the front office. Several took him up on that, got pics of them in the left seat, wicked, wicked cool!!! What an incredibly awesome thing to do, and I'll bet those kids will never forget that day!

--PP

I'd say for a flight that's mid-day, announcements can be fine, but if its an early AM or late pm and especially a redeye, its best to keep them to the only necessary ones.

if there are any ATC/WX issues I'd like to know what's going on.

I feel your pain. As a IAH guy I try to avoid EWR in my schedule!
I think this is great thing too, but since 9-11 many company rules have changed that prevent the capt from spending much time out of the cockpit.

To be fair you are looking out the side of the aircraft and not the front. Just because there are 9 airplanes in view (even in front of you) doesn't mean you are 10th for takeoff. In general we try to relate exactly what we are being told. If it changes or is in error we are not ALWAYS at fault. I have flown with ONE capt who said he always tells 'em "8 minutes." As in, "we'll be out of this turbulence in 8 mins," or "we should be airborne in about 8 minutes." His theory is that 8 minutes is about 3 minutes longer than the attention span of your average person these days!

ps. gold stars to eagle92 and rolov for nailing the announcement content!

Invited my daughter into the cockpit (pre departure) and let her make an announcement. Again, I truly appreciate anytime a pilot goes out of their way to make a nice comment about us flying, etc.

thanks ^

I absolutely love the pilot's guidance re: what we're flying over, what's significant, why I might want to see it, etc. A month before 9/11, we flew over Manhattan at sunset with the pilot's clearly-NYC-born commentary ... it was unforgettable. It was worth well more than the cost of the flight.