Hanging with the Pax

[skyaddict]

In the Ultra the conversations may develop when the pax come to serve themselves coffee or soda from the little micro-galley just behind the cockpit, and you check with them on the cabin temperature etc.. I've noticed that the rare chatty pax who won't stop talking tend to be the owners who are pilots (typically a private with their own Lancair or something) and want to start talking flying. Sometimes you have to figure out how to diplomatically cut them off to get back to work.

I agree most pax just want to be left alone (I always think of the Seinfeld episode were Elaine is terrified of a company-paid limmo ride because of the fear of having a chatty limo driver, which is how I sometimes feel when dog-tired and with a hotel shuttle or taxi driver who won't every shut up), but alot of elderly pax (esp. older women) seem to appreciate a mid-flight checking up, since some of them don't like to ever leave their seats.

 

[RNObased]

For my experience, it depends on the owner. You have to be able to read them and anticipate what they want.

If they feel like talking, I'll talk. If they want to be left alone, I'll make sure they are comfortable and go back to the cockpit.

Exactly. Some want to talk, some want to be left alone, some remember you from flying them before and love to test their memorys, to see if they can remember where you are from. I had one owner standing between the seats for a hour the other night as we passed a big line of thunderstorms. Even put the radios on the speaker so he could hear what we were hearing. Made him more comfortable and that is the name of the game.

As for voices' comments, there is bad with this gig also and if you don't think we complain about it then you aren't reading our posts very well.

 

[Dr Pepper]

VOR,
Thanks for hijacking this thread. If you want to know about the bad parts of Frac flying - ask. But start a new thread. This one is about talking to the pax.

Back to the original post. There is no doubt in my mind that there are some idiots at all companies that would just sit down uninvited next to an owner. NJ is no exception. I don't think it is common though, except for those individuals.