Free Meals Stopped @DAL

[CatYaaak]

Catyaaak,

I don't think I've seen you here before, but you have a lot of posts, so you must have been here for a while - or very busy lately. Either way, your posts remind me of the ones I've seen on the Yahoo and some other boards that the general public can access. Like many of the other yohoos that post on this board, it seems you guys enjoy it just a little too much when a major airline pilot has something negative happen to his career. Why do you have to be such a d!ck?

'Scuse me for not joining the Pity Party, or classify what's transpired as "something negative happen(ing) to his/her career" on this particular subject. Let's be clear what the subject is... we're not talking about bankruptcy, paycuts, furloughs, losing one's medical, or anything of the sort. I wouldn't wish that on anyone, nor will you find me posting anything along those lines. This thread doesn't even have anything to do with "Free Meals"....again, that's what per diem is for.... so the personal $$$ impact on the crew is nil. No, this thread has finally rendered itself down to it's real concern... scheduling, and has only done so because it will effect crew convenience in a negative way.

Well, welcome to the world the airlines (pilots included) managed to create....a Stressed-Out Standing In Long Lines When You're Not Dashing To The Other End Of The Airport Looking At Your Watch world. A world the paying customer has had to deal with pretty much every time they fly. Sorry, I'll save my pity for the elderly and infirm, families traveling with children, and those without watermelon-sized bladders, not for those who helped make it happen.

Those of us that aren't any of the above can at least experience a small amount of stress-relief that comes from these Parris Island-y, forced-runs though the Clusterf*ck-of-a-logistical Nightmare you quaintly call a "hub". I hate to break this to you guys, but the smiles you see from de-planing pax aren't ones of happy anticipation to see their loved ones, of satisfaction to be at their destinations, or even from the joy of experiencing one of the General's smooth landings. No, to explain the majority of those smiles you have to refer to Socrates's observation as they took the leg irons off his chafed, bleeding ankles; that sometimes Pleasure is merely the removal of Pain one has been enduring....in this case, their whole travel-by-airline experience from the time they entered the departure terminal to the time they exited it's counterpart where they arrived.

Please spare me any objections that "pilots have nothing to do with this...it's all the Other Guy's fault!" especially on this flight scheduling issue. Collectively through the Union, pilots apply pressure for the company to develop lines that maximize pay (i.e. block time) for a given duty day and time away from home. For some reason (perhaps as an outgrowth of living behind a closed cockpit door), pilots believe that the things they negotiate...without exception...are fenced-off from having any ramifications or negative effects on the larger company (and in turn, the customer). Now, this would make them different than any employee group working for any company in any industry anywhere on the planet.

But there I go again, forgetting that any airline is just a Jobs Program for pilots, and pax are merely just part of the scenery.

 

[CatYaaak]

When the 50 minute turn becomes only a 10 minute turn and Yaaak has a tight connection on the next leg ....... ahhhh, dang time to stand in line at Burger Hut.

Ask yourself why those lines exist at all? Do you think it has anything to do what kind of service the people will find once they board the aircraft?

You can afford to smile at those "Line People" though...they're the ones you AREN'T screwing-over when you cause the ones who actually ran and wheeled and tugged their kids in order to be where they were supposed to be when you were scheduled to depart.

Of course I'm just a passenger, not the pilot, so what would I know about it? I just don't realize that the intelligence and resourcefulness required to drive the bus is so friggin' taxing that it leaves nothing left-over to try and plan or figure out the how to feed oneself.

But save yourself the superhuman effort. I'll organize a food-drive in the cabin and have our pax food sent up in the hopes that raising the pilots' pretzel-level will stave off disaster until real food can be found. After all, none of us wants to end up at the bottom of a smokin' hole because our steely-eyed pros up in the pointy end have rumbly tummies.

 

[Mugs]

Looks like you get this weeks mountain out of a moehill award Yaaak. Amazing work you have done for the achievement. Of course, you missed the point entirely. Then again, I can't believe I am waisting time arguing with you about crew meals of all things.

If they take away crew meals to cut costs, who cares? If you eat them with the frequency that I do, you would know that they would not be missed. In my view they serve only to increase flexibility somewhat. The sooner we get to the airplane, the more likely it is to go out on time. I have found plenty of defects (or other issues) during pre-flights in which I was glad I was there sooner rather than later to report it and get it fixed or defered. If not having to run and grab something to eat saves ten minutes, that is ten minutes of additional time for us to be on board making sure everything is ready. As a passenger, which would you prefer? The crew on board an extra 10 minutes or the crew getting lunch somewhere else? It has nothing to do with some sense of "entitlemnent" or need to be "served" as you are tyring to make it out to be. If they take them away, so be it. We just occasionally loose 10 minutes of potential troubleshooting time or some ability to make up time when things are running late. Sorry if you think eating is an act of entitlement for an airline pilot. I'm sure you just go without.

 

[Mugs]

Please spare me any objections that "pilots have nothing to do with this...it's all the Other Guy's fault!" especially on this flight scheduling issue. Collectively through the Union, pilots apply pressure for the company to develop lines that maximize pay (i.e. block time) for a given duty day and time away from home. For some reason (perhaps as an outgrowth of living behind a closed cockpit door), pilots believe that the things they negotiate...without exception...are fenced-off from having any ramifications or negative effects on the larger company (and in turn, the customer). Now, this would make them different than any employee group working for any company in any industry anywhere on the planet.

But there I go again, forgetting that any airline is just a Jobs Program for pilots, and pax are merely just part of the scenery.

So the solution is to fly as little as possible on any given day? What management team doesn't want as much productivity as possible on any given day? SWA, for example, makes money in large part because of the superior utilization rates they get out of their aircraft and crews on a daily basis. The result? Productivity that allows for low costs and low fares --- which is what the consumer has made loud and clear is the thing they want the most. The airlines are now mass transit. Just like a bus or a train. If people want luxury, they can go see you for a charter at several thousand bucks per hour. Hopefully you won't include any lessons in economics.