'Blue cleaning crew

[C172Heavy]

DanielWebster

It has nothing to do with hours flown, it's all about an attitude....and obviously yours sucks!

 

[FL000]

If you think cleaning airplanes is beneath you, it's not because you're a pilot, it's because you're a prima donna. Try doing some real labor sometime in your life and your attitude should change.

 

[B190Captain]

Like your opinion matters, Mr. 200 Hour, C172Heavy!?!? Can you say "geek."

When you get some flight time, maybe you'll understand that pilots are not paid to clean f*ing airplanes. It's time we take back this PROFESSION.

What am I telling you for? You probably still rub one out everytime you see a King Air taxi by.....

see ya, jr.

ps. nice 'funny' at the end of your post. Yucka-yucka! Duh.

Lighten up Francis!

 

[Cliff]

Re: Pilots cleaning airplanes???

Way to go guys. Keep lowering the bar. Why not throw some bags while you're at it. Or better yet, on your days off, why not go in and stuff V-files. Pretty soon JetBlue pilots will have to learn to hand out chips and pour drinks in order to pass the type ride.

I was never trained in any of that in FLIGHT school. Way to use that PILOT license B6 guys.

Can't help myself I gotta say it...

You are a dumb Ass!!!!

 

[skykid]

I clean the airplane bathroom everytime I go in there and pick up trash in the jetway and anywhere I see it in any airport. You wont believe some of the looks of amazement passengers will give you just by picking up a McDonald's wrapper in the concourse. You don't have to work for JetBlue to have pride in your job, but if they can get on t.v. showing they are team players and have pride, good for them. That stuff sells tickets. I didn't see that 60 minutes show but it sounds like better advertisement than a paid commercial.

 

[Brett Hull]

d@mn

It's people like DanielWebster and radiofly er that make me glad I went the corporate route.

Is cleaning your own house/apartment/car/etc...beneath you, too?

 

[Skank]

Well Danny,
Don't ever come groveling for a jumpseat if cleaning is beneath you. Of course, we wouldn't ask you to clean. But since our CEO, President, and just about everyone else does clean, you probably wouldn't want to jumpseat on such a demeaning airline.

 

[jointops]

Daniel Webster,

I'm assuming from the low number of posts you are new to this board. Going on that assumption, most people try to abstain from making derogatory comments concerning other people's choices and companies.

Certainly heated discussions arise, but in the end until you walk a mile in someone else's shoes, it's best not to sit in judgment. Anonymity is a mighty empowering tool to have on these boards, but most people show decorum and respect.

Leadership is commanded not demanded. Trite but true. And I assure you, JB pilots know the difference.

To everyone else, as usual happy landings.

 

[airbaker]

I hit many roadblocks after I was first furloughed from a major and tried to get into the corporate flying realm. One of the walls that I had to break down was that I'd still be able to give great customer service even though I came from the compartmentalized "airline culture". At my former airline I used to clean the airplane during quick turns and would often times be given a strange look from the captains. It's sad.

I cleaned the airplanes because I knew that if I was paying good money for a ticket (which in turn paid my mortgage) I'd expect a clean airplane. It's that simple.

Many of us pilot types are pretty type-A. I know that my house and car are always in pretty good shape; why not my airborne office? If folding a few seatbelts and removing a couple of newpapers from the seatpockets are beneath you, maybe you need to rethink your career. Flying airplanes isn't just about flying a nice CATII ILS, it's about teamwork. CRM does extend beyond the cockpit door.

JetBlue has a definate recipe for sucess; 99% of that comes from the attitude of the employees. I just wish I got on the JetBlue bandwagon back when I was based in JFK and it was called "newair".

Hindsight's always 20/20

 

[dgs]

OK, you all may think that the blue Kool-aid has gone to my head, but I've actually come to enjoy cleaning the airplane. After a few months of practice, I've got a pretty good system and I think I do a pretty fine job cleaning the rows and picking up things others may have missed. I did it at first "to be part of the team." No complaints about doing it. I was happy to help, set a good example, quicken the turn, etc.

Now that I'm a captain I have a different viewpoint on cleaning airplanes. I feel more responsible for the success of every leg I fly. That means doing my best to motivate the entire crew to do an excellent job. That means doing everything I can to ensure that our customers have a good experience--including a clean airplane. I thrive on the satisfaction I get when people deplane and say things to me like, "This was my first flight on jetBlue and I loved it." The satisfaction is both short term--kudos for a good flight, and long term--confidence that our customers will return (with all the rewards of company growth, job security, increasing stock prices, etc.). I certainly don't think it is below me to help make their experience the best I can and cleaning airplanes is an easy way to help ensure our customer satisfaction and long term success.

 

[KATL8R26L]

cleaning

First once again B190 Captian wins the contest for the sharpest avtar.

Well cleaning planes, loading bages is what got me through college, back then the pilots just walked around the plane , and checked it out ,not many of them even talked to ramp people.

We could turn a plane , and do a better job at it than any other company, we had to so we could keep the contract, out of all the airlines that were flying back then , i would say that AirFlorida was one of the best, most pilots on the other ones would not even talk to a person working the ramp, Air Florida was different.

Would i clean planes now if was flying for an airline , yes i like to keep the my work area in order ,help out where ever it is needed.

keep flyingggggggggggggggggggggggg

 

[aroundtheblock]

During my commuter days at Piedmont the pilots would go back and helps straighten up, time permitting. This was never beneath me, and I was glad to help out with 1 condition:

The flight attendant realized I was there helping her and was thankful. On the other side of things, I was always thankful when the girls would come up and offer us drinks during the flight.

I grew up as an airline kid and I've always considered an airline pilot as professional as a doctor. How many doctors do you know sweep the floors after seeing a patient. If he were to help out, and after he revieved the nurse, he should recieve a thank you.

Bottom line: Helping out in the back is great as long as it is not expected.

 

[jetblue320]

It's Not My Job?

Boy, I'll tell you, these "It's Not My Job" guys are slick. I also noticed that most of them are on furlough or saying "we used to, or, back when with my old airline". See a small connection there?

I sure can't wait until I see or suspect that attitude when I am looking across the table at them, I mean, the JB Interview Table that is. I've heard that statement many times before. Those guys are still out of work or at least, not even afforded the opportunity to clean a JB plane. Get my drift.

C Ya

 

[aroundtheblock]

To Jetblue320:

My reply was that if a pilot chooses to help it should be his choice not a requirement for the job. I stated I helped out at the commuter level. Many pilots will seek a major airline for not only the better pay, but also the better work rules. Just like a baseball player who wants out of the minors. I doubt Roger Clemens cleans out the visitors' locker room after an away game to help get ready for the next team, and baseball has been losing alot of money as of late. I guess you can be a little pompus during a bad pilot environment cycle. But that is what it is: a cycle. I'll bet that before JB started up a couple of years ago you would have loved to work for a major. That being said, I'm all for good company attitudes, and someone in an interview should say he'd fly, fuel, load, and clean the plane. As an interviewer you should know that. You should also know where to draw the line of "expected side jobs". Should the pilot carry coveralls in his flight bag to help change a tire between tight turns. It might save a penny. On the overnights he could make a few sales calls. Should a pilot be "expected" to be a mechanic, telemarketer, or cleaner... Where do you draw the line? If I choose to go above and beyond my pilot duties, which I do all the time, it should be that... my choice.

 

[DanielWebster]

Nice going, keep lowering the bar boys! I guarantee you that people will come to expect it of you, and before you know it, it will be one of your duties in the operations manual.

Suckers, is a better word.

 

[klhoard]

On the overnights he could make a few sales calls.

Careful!!!

 

[Daedalus]

Daniel,

You complain that the "bar" is being lowered by the efforts of some to make the extra effort to cross bridges, and raise the expectations of others who's hard work only helps to make people like you look good up front.

Your adament position that individual members of the pilot profession have some over-arching responsibility to choose between the good of the "brotherhood" over the good of the employer is one of the reasons this industry is such a big mess.

It appears that jetBlue pilots are on the right track with this one. Their actions are proving to have far greater benefits for a much larger group of shared stakeholders. In addition, as these practices expand to other carriers, it will help to mend fences and improve the stature of the profession by those who watch us from the outside.

Daniel, you (and your kind) are not the cure...but the illness which has made the profession a shell of its former self. I'm glad to see so many on this thread who seem to understand the obvious, and have the right spirit and attitude to help restore some humanity in a profession that has been too long devoid of any.

 

[canyonblue]

I doubt Roger Clemens cleans out the visitors' locker room after an away game to help get ready for the next team, and baseball has been losing alot of money as of late.

Yeah,

And I bet he hangs around after the game signing autographs for the kids like he did in the minors. No way that would look too "minor league" for him. Got 10 bucks kid!

 

[Diesel]

I was reading this posts going man i can't believe jet blue pilots clean their planes. that's unreal. I thought they are pilots not cleaning staff. Then I realized what I do in my own job. I take it for granted because that's the way we've allways done it. For some reason if your an airline pilot you don't clean the plane but if you are a frax guy you do.

Every leg i have to get the catering, pour the cofffee, clean the plane, empty the lav. yada yada yada.

I don't know what it says about me but i guess i'm lowering the bar.

I think it's great that JB has everyobody jumping in to help. It promotes a real team atmosphere and doesn't draw a line that says this is my part of the plane and that's yours.

The real point of this is not cleaning the plane. It's to promote unity in the company. Now that can't be a bad thing.

 

[jetblue320]

To Jetblue320:

My reply was that if a pilot chooses to help it should be his choice not a requirement for the job. I stated I helped out at the commuter level. Many pilots will seek a major airline for not only the better pay, but also the better work rules. Just like a baseball player who wants out of the minors. I doubt Roger Clemens cleans out the visitors' locker room after an away game to help get ready for the next team, and baseball has been losing alot of money as of late. I guess you can be a little pompus during a bad pilot environment cycle. But that is what it is: a cycle. I'll bet that before JB started up a couple of years ago you would have loved to work for a major. That being said, I'm all for good company attitudes, and someone in an interview should say he'd fly, fuel, load, and clean the plane. As an interviewer you should know that. You should also know where to draw the line of "expected side jobs". Should the pilot carry coveralls in his flight bag to help change a tire between tight turns. It might save a penny. On the overnights he could make a few sales calls. Should a pilot be "expected" to be a mechanic, telemarketer, or cleaner... Where do you draw the line? If I choose to go above and beyond my pilot duties, which I do all the time, it should be that... my choice.

Exactly. I wasn't trying to slight you at all. Please don't think that.

And no, I never really wanted to work for a major, before or especially after jetBlue started up. I interviewed and was offered a class date with DL years ago (like 12 years ago) and declined. Of course, maybe I was making a mistake, but that's water under the bridge. If someone makes promises of being a team player and stating "sure, I always help cleaning the plane" during an interview, it is usually BS because they have either read all the gouge on JB or been told to say that. That is part of the job as an Interviewer to determine. It's a tough one too. Usually, the true spirit of the applicant will surface and that helps in making a decision.

For the record, no one at any level at JB has EVER asked or told me (or any other Pilot) that plane cleaning was expected. It's not in my contract either. It's kinda like an MEL item, referring to common sense. Do you need a manual to tell you that the airplane needs 2 wings for dispatch? Of course not. It's just common sense, that's all.
You see, we want to do it because it's just not that big of a deal, to us anyway. The rewards (yes, I said rewards) of us doing what to do as a routine are countless in a lot of respects. We do not consider it demeaning, or a responsibility either. I would venture to say that every JB Pilot would not walk past a scrap of paper without picking it up regardless of if it was in a jetway, an aircraft aisle, or his own front yard. Some people call that anal retentive. I call it just plain simple.
It just makes sense, thats all. If that is hard to understand, maybe JB isn't the place for you to work. I mean, not you personally, but anyone.

Take Care