Recently I was sitting next to a 320 pilot (in F on a 3 class domestic, of course) and asked him whether or not the channel 9 switch is part of the pre-flight checklist. What I was getting at was - could a pilot forget about it, or do they purposefully check it and make a decision every flight. He said it was definately not part of any checklist and pilots often forget about it. He said that he will usually turn it on by himself and will turn it on if someone reminds me. The only time he would turn it off is if "it gets a little hairy, like with bad weather". I told him that's the time I like to hear the most . He said that he knows there are quite a few pilots that don't like it, don't like to feel like people in the cabin are watching over their shoulders, and they purposefully turn it off.

How do you get to speak to the Captain before the flight? Isn't there some sort of blackout before the flight and isn't the flight crew busy running checklists, etc?

I remember that I asked for channel 9 one time and the FA said they couldn't ask now because of the blackout, whatever that means.
We may have already pushed back from the gate when I asked.

The FAA (and CAA in the UK) recommend carriers to observe a 'Sterile Flightdeck' policy which involves no crew in the flight deck below 10,000 feet Altitude and no 'unneccessary' crew disturbance during the pre-departure checks and preparations. This might be what the FA was refering to as the Blackout...

I believe the sterile cockpit is mandatory by FAA regulations. Between pushback and 10,000 feet and 10,000 feet and docking in the other direction, there is to be absolutley no chatting in the cockpit. Only business talk. The idea is that this phase of the flight is so critical, that there must be no distraction. Especially due to the risk of missing an important command that could lead to collision or disaster.

Obviously problems do not get fixed with time. Delta's new Boeing 767-400s have entertainment controlers located on the top of the armrest, despite the fact there are no personal tvs. Whenever a pax puts his or her elbow down, it inevitably smacks the FA call button.

I have never had a problem chatting with the flight crew before a flight. You may recall being invited to visit with the crew prior to a flight, it is usually no problem. That is when I ask for Ch 9.