Pilot walks off plane for wrong meal
#61
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I would send in a complaint to United, hopefully the time was made up in the air and you weren't delayed.
A Northwest pilot got suspended in 99 and I believe ended up getting fired in 1999 over something similar. He didn't like the meal tray he was given and walked off the plane and couldn't find anything in the concourse that looked appealing so he took a cab and went to McDonalds and the flight was delayed over an hour because of his actions. I know Northwest ended up giving all the PAX in first a voucher and miles and may have done it for those in Y as well.
It was a LAS to DTW and IIRC someone higher up in Michigan state government official was on that flight The pilot got suspended and had over 20 years experience for it and I think they ended up deciding to fire him.
Last edited by iluv2fly; Jul 28, 2011 at 9:22 am Reason: merge
#62
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"Its good to know that our lives are in the hands of nobody, but the most mature of people."
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#63
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What is really absurd is the passengers having to offer to buy the pilots meal!!! Do pilots on United get a different meal choice outside the first class passenger meal choices???
#65
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I remember taking an in range call once and the pilot said he had one special...to have someone grab him a Mountain Dew from the vending machine!
It was a pilot we regularly see and are good friends with, so of course we obliged.
And once in a great while we get an in range call asking for lobsters. That one doesn't work out, no lobster vendors at PWM (shocking! They could make good money!)
It was a pilot we regularly see and are good friends with, so of course we obliged.
And once in a great while we get an in range call asking for lobsters. That one doesn't work out, no lobster vendors at PWM (shocking! They could make good money!)
As far as lobsters, just call the lobster shack at two lights....a little bit of a drive for them....but gotta have the "lobsta"
#66
Join Date: Dec 2002
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That is a bizarre perspective. Where do you think UA gets the money to pay your salary? Thin air?
I'm curious if this is the new UA. Perhaps an email to SMI/J might help clear things (since he reads every mail).
Maguldi, no, no passenger pays any UA employee. One may tip a contracted employee such as a skycap/wheelchair pusher, but the money to UA employees is laundered and paid by UA, not any passenger. I also pay taxes, does that mean that I get to pass judgement on the president (I do, as I get to vote for/against him) or the militaryy (nope, I get zero say in their benefits.) That arguement holds no affermative weight, it's just extranious info that has no argumentitive value except in the bumper sticker category of catch phrases with little no no actual worth.
I'm curious if this is the new UA. Perhaps an email to SMI/J might help clear things (since he reads every mail).
Maguldi, no, no passenger pays any UA employee. One may tip a contracted employee such as a skycap/wheelchair pusher, but the money to UA employees is laundered and paid by UA, not any passenger. I also pay taxes, does that mean that I get to pass judgement on the president (I do, as I get to vote for/against him) or the militaryy (nope, I get zero say in their benefits.) That arguement holds no affermative weight, it's just extranious info that has no argumentitive value except in the bumper sticker category of catch phrases with little no no actual worth.
#67
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#68
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What's wrong with this country?? to unions
Last edited by enviroian; Jul 28, 2011 at 10:24 am
#69
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#70
Join Date: Jun 2004
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Again, it is a nice concept to think that somehow, you pay me directly, but I am not in a "tip" profession. I never have received $$ from a customer (although I have been offered many times) and stuck it in my pocket. One cannot argue the trickle down effect and then stop it only when the ladder reaches you, if you wish to go to 2ndary and tertiary sources, by the same logic, one must go to quaternary and even furthur. I am not a waiter, a fast food delivery guy, or someone on comission. I receive an hourly rate. Just as a pilot gets paid the same if his plane has 1 passenger on it or 300 (for the same aircraft type and block to block time.) That alone should go to show, that my pay (as well as a pilot's, who of course is what the thread is about) salary is not paid by a customer. If that were so, then the full planes should pay the pilot more, and the less full (or got forbid, ferrying an empty plane) would pay him little to no money, which just isn't how it works.
Literal factual arguements work well with me, conceptual motivational speak that has far less impact on the reality of how I get paid, and where the direct funds come from has much more of an impact on me. Both mine, as well as the pilot's contract spell out pay rules. Nowhere in them is anything at all to do with getting paid by the end consumer.
One of the reasons corporations actualy LIKE unions is that it provides them a predictable cost model of labor costs. Regardless of company performance, the labor cost is pretty much already known and determined by the company in advance. The company could do great, but the labor costs are relativly fixed. The concept of the end consumer paying those costs directly does not work as well in such a model, as that would make labor a much more variable cost. Bean counters don't like variable costs in large corporations when they can eliminate the variablility with long term contracts amking them fixed.
Last edited by fastair; Jul 28, 2011 at 10:27 am
#71
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Wow, how did this evolve to who is paying the salary? And why would I make this hypothetical when I was sitting right there?
I doubt this was an allergy thing... when catering first asked the FA what was wrong with it, she said there was no side, there was no dessert. Also the copilot offered to go BUY him something in the terminal, and I and another passenger offered the same to the FA (I didn't say it to the pilot, I figured he would boot me off the plane as a security risk or something).
Cali
(who is a GIRL, by the way)
I doubt this was an allergy thing... when catering first asked the FA what was wrong with it, she said there was no side, there was no dessert. Also the copilot offered to go BUY him something in the terminal, and I and another passenger offered the same to the FA (I didn't say it to the pilot, I figured he would boot me off the plane as a security risk or something).
Cali
(who is a GIRL, by the way)
#72
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So he got his meal, but not his desert? Why not just take a FC passenger's desert on the QT and when it comes to serving that passenger the FA could have said "terribly sorry, the caterer didn't provide enough deserts so I don't have one for you".
Piolt just should have emailed customer service and had them deposit 1,000 FF miles into his account.
On the unrelated to the OP topic that's come up; if all customers stop flying UAL, and UAL subsequently goes out of business there is no money coming in and therefore no money to pay employees. If some people want to make the argument the that the money they are being paid may have been theirs previously (by going back 5 or 6 transactions via some sort of trickle-down effect) then perhaps they shouldn't even be getting paid for their current work as they've already been paid before.
Piolt just should have emailed customer service and had them deposit 1,000 FF miles into his account.
On the unrelated to the OP topic that's come up; if all customers stop flying UAL, and UAL subsequently goes out of business there is no money coming in and therefore no money to pay employees. If some people want to make the argument the that the money they are being paid may have been theirs previously (by going back 5 or 6 transactions via some sort of trickle-down effect) then perhaps they shouldn't even be getting paid for their current work as they've already been paid before.
Last edited by iluv2fly; Jul 28, 2011 at 10:37 am Reason: merge
#73
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I'm struggling with who is showing the least maturity ... Posters on this thread or the pilot. The pilot will likely lose big time in the comparison as he has a contract he was trying to stick to, and to get his company to follow, we may not get it, like it or even understand it but there was a basis for his actions. Compare that to much of the posting here which is whiny and finger pointing without much basis other than serve the customer even if you screw yourself in the process.
I would say the fact that the suits were included in the delivery showed this to be an issue that needed to get mgmt involved, and likely the next plane to be catered will not encounter similar issues (I would hope). There was a wrong, don't lose sight of it even if you don't think a missed meal is a big deal personally. Then again, we don't know when he started his day, how long or short his next turn is, whether he has snacks in his bag, etc etc etc ... Iow, we don't know it all other than yes, passengers were inconvenienced due to a catering foul up.
I would say the fact that the suits were included in the delivery showed this to be an issue that needed to get mgmt involved, and likely the next plane to be catered will not encounter similar issues (I would hope). There was a wrong, don't lose sight of it even if you don't think a missed meal is a big deal personally. Then again, we don't know when he started his day, how long or short his next turn is, whether he has snacks in his bag, etc etc etc ... Iow, we don't know it all other than yes, passengers were inconvenienced due to a catering foul up.
#74
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I am assuming they fly several flights a day. Or a couple of legs. If he doesn't get what he asked for, then he is hungry the rest of the day. Den TPA is at least a 4 hour flight. Then they screw up there. Then what. I'm sure that this isn't the first time this is happened to him.
#75
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