'Blue cleaning crew

[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