UnstableAviator
Dual Given.
- Joined
- Mar 12, 2003
- Posts
- 303
All you ASA folks will be likely longing for ATL after about a week of the goat rope that is UAX IAD.
Here are a few highlights:
-Find a printer game. You'll need to print your own releases, and quite often only 1 or 2 printers work in the A gate area. If you're on the C/D concourse, its even worse. I've always had good luck grabbing a sandwich at Subway then using one of the gate printers near there. Which leads me to...
- Playing gate agent. Because no matter how OBVIOUS it is you are a pilot, foreigners (mostly) will still repeatedly walk up to you and ask about their connection to their faraway land. And by ask I mean pointing at a ticket and shrugging shoulders.
- Mobile lounging. Gotta do a plane and concourse swap? Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. At least they are cool in the summer.
- Deferred APU? May God grant you the patience of Job. At least your CRJ's are AC power and can use the handful of GPUs that don't have red tags. Us ERJ/Saab folks need the converter box...
- English. Its gotten better with Air Wisky, but you'll still need to decipher that "People walk" actually means "Paperwork", and not in fact an actual jetway/ramp.
- Ops Radio. Not staffed by Americans. Usually ok, but if you have anything non-standard they just have no clue. They listen for only key words like any poor language speaker. I made the mistake of asking for paramedics over Ops radio one day due to an unconcious pax at the gate, I had to repeat myself at least 5 times before they understood. Never again, just use ground.
-Lav Service. Similar to ATL, the cart is always broken.
- BW3 wetnaps. That right, occasionally "catering" distributes Buffalo Wild Wings wetnaps to United RJ flights for United pax.
- Ramp numbering system that it f'n retarded. Spot 79? Spot 83? Spot 72? I've been flying in and out of there for 5 years and I still don't have any idea how they came up with those other than "numbers from a hat".
- Expect the usual wait for rampers, tugs, push crews, and load report, crew blame for delays, long lines for the handful of food places, and crowded terminals just like anywhere. Oh, and watch the cliffs...er...covered steps from jetway to ramp on the C/D concourse. You'll see what I mean soon enough, I'm still fearful of the day grandma or gramps breaks a hip falling down those things.
Here are a few highlights:
-Find a printer game. You'll need to print your own releases, and quite often only 1 or 2 printers work in the A gate area. If you're on the C/D concourse, its even worse. I've always had good luck grabbing a sandwich at Subway then using one of the gate printers near there. Which leads me to...
- Playing gate agent. Because no matter how OBVIOUS it is you are a pilot, foreigners (mostly) will still repeatedly walk up to you and ask about their connection to their faraway land. And by ask I mean pointing at a ticket and shrugging shoulders.
- Mobile lounging. Gotta do a plane and concourse swap? Sit back, relax, and enjoy the ride. At least they are cool in the summer.
- Deferred APU? May God grant you the patience of Job. At least your CRJ's are AC power and can use the handful of GPUs that don't have red tags. Us ERJ/Saab folks need the converter box...
- English. Its gotten better with Air Wisky, but you'll still need to decipher that "People walk" actually means "Paperwork", and not in fact an actual jetway/ramp.
- Ops Radio. Not staffed by Americans. Usually ok, but if you have anything non-standard they just have no clue. They listen for only key words like any poor language speaker. I made the mistake of asking for paramedics over Ops radio one day due to an unconcious pax at the gate, I had to repeat myself at least 5 times before they understood. Never again, just use ground.
-Lav Service. Similar to ATL, the cart is always broken.
- BW3 wetnaps. That right, occasionally "catering" distributes Buffalo Wild Wings wetnaps to United RJ flights for United pax.
- Ramp numbering system that it f'n retarded. Spot 79? Spot 83? Spot 72? I've been flying in and out of there for 5 years and I still don't have any idea how they came up with those other than "numbers from a hat".
- Expect the usual wait for rampers, tugs, push crews, and load report, crew blame for delays, long lines for the handful of food places, and crowded terminals just like anywhere. Oh, and watch the cliffs...er...covered steps from jetway to ramp on the C/D concourse. You'll see what I mean soon enough, I'm still fearful of the day grandma or gramps breaks a hip falling down those things.
