mobilebucky

That is true, but based on the original post, the co-pilot/passengers are all willing to chip in to pay for his meal of his choice, the grandstanding by the pilot just unnecessary.

n198ua

I live in WI, Scott Walker would love this story.

BBFD

Seriously? Come on, he got food that would have held him over if the OP's facts are correct (and I have no reason to doubt them). It's not like somebody is saying the meal is wrong for religious purposes or not gluten free or whatever else could have compromised the safety of the flight if he passed out from an allergy. I don't care what the contract says, it is unacceptable to hold up a flight for 45 minutes because you did not get some extras and then act like a baby in front of the pax. So did they make up the 45 minutes and do a quick turn so the pax outbound from TPA did not miss their connections?

I guess if I do not get my first choice of meals I will demand a refund in the future....

Mike Jacoubowsky

I would be more comfortable with this thread if it were a bit more, er, hypothetical. It brings up a lot of interesting points that should be looked at more generally and less specifically to the incident involved. Identifying the situation so specifically puts things into a mode that almost requires action for this particular instance, boxing people into corners that are tough to come out of. Everyone protecting their own turf, everyone with justification for their (seemingly ridiculous) actions, rather than being able to look at things from a distance and say y'know, there really should have been a better way of dealing with this.

For all we know, the pilot's actions could have represented the sum of a number of things from a very bad day, and this was the last straw. I wouldn't want my life to be judged by the worst I've been. On the other hand, this could be just one thing in a long line of relatively minor issues that resulted in major consequences with this Captain.

We just don't know. We know that what happened should not have happened, but we don't really know enough to figure out how best to deal with it.

But hey, I'm the guy in F once in a while (much less recently than before) who doesn't complain when they offer my meal choice and it's cheese ravioli or cheese ravioli because the other option is gone.

J.Edward

He should have asked for an apology card.

OskiBear

These prima donna antics just don't endear anyone to the public.

As a white collar, middle management schlub who works his behind off, I have a difficult time sympathizing with this. Years of corporate downsizing and compensation reductions have taken their toll on me and my coworkers. Yet, we still come to work everyday and do our best. We didn't pull these antics when first our raises stopped and then our 401k matches stopped and then our compensation was reduced and then 75% of our coworkers were laid off and then when our medical insurance costs were increased. We could always look for a new job.

I just don't see what is gained by the posturing in this example. Can't a grievance of some sort be filed after the fact? The 150+ people in the back are the ultimate reason the pilot has a job. Let's not forget that. Inconveniencing them to make a point with the company or the union does not make the right point with the customer.

The pilot needs to get over it.

goingbananas

I have an extra skykit card laying around...he can have that!!

Daniel-SYD

Those cookies are pretty good.

roknroll

Winner!

cmhua777

I can see it both ways, somehow. I am inclined to see the passenger's POV and wonder how delaying a flight for a dessert snafu can be wise, but if this happens frequently, then this may be what needs to happen in order to get long-term resolution.

Also, UA pads their flight times quite a bit and it may have been that the captain knew he could take a departure delay without causing a significant arrival delay at an airport where there should be ~0 connections.

aluminumdriver

Ahh, another FT thread with partial information. Gotta love it.

The OP may not know all the issues involved here unless he can say he talked to the captain or FO directly. Talking to a FA doesn't suffice.

Secondly, crew meals are part of our contract, we pay for them, so we want them onboard, just as you do when you have a FC seat with a meal. They are also a safety aspect, since low blood sugar and flying are not a good thing, that's why we have them in our contract. I always check before we leave for my meal to make sure it's there, and that it's what I can eat. We can't depend on uneaten FC meals, most of the time we don't get leftover FC meals.

This captain might have ordered a special meal (we have everything from salad meals to kosher to low sodium) and needed that meal. If I have a full crew meal, and I get a salad instead, that's not a meal so I wouldn't take it either.

Third, going into the terminal to buy food is an option, and one I usually choose since the food is better. The problem with that is you're loaning the company your money, since it can take months to get reimbursed, there may not be a restaurant close by or open, and sometimes you run into a flight manager who wants to argue that you spent too much for lunch and hassle you.

We delay trips for catering for passengers. I see no problem with the delay for crew catering either. However, delaying this long for just a side item for a meal I would not agree with. I'd just run inside and buy some items and expense it.

AD

demkr

Only difference is, when food is not catered (as was for a flight I was on last week)-we paying pax don't demand that the flight be delayed in order to accommodate our request

SFO777

Gotta love it, yeah we're all just stupid pax and the OP and FA made up everything.

aluminumdriver

No one called you stupid Pax. Is that what you consider yourself? I don't.

Are you flying the plane? I think that answers your question, there is a big difference there. You can go fly as a passenger with 2 hours sleep, you don't want your pilot doing the same.

GoingAway

Not always the case