I thought riding on airline could not get any worse

[Fozzy]

You couldn't be more wrong. There's a reason I route all my NWA frequent-flier miles to Continental.

You do that also? Funny.

Every week I (am paid to) walk through the terminal and two things come to mind. How soon can I get out of here? And do the crews know how bad it sucks here?
I pity them all.
This gig needs to last 20 more years. 15 minimum. :0

Razor, don't bother applying over here. You don't have what it takes. Turning left and closing the door is not an option.

 

[chingaso]

Take the thread back!

This forum is for fractional pilots. I have never once been in the airline forum because I don't give a damn about it. If there was a thread in the airline forum titled "what I don't like about fractional flying" I'd never see it, because I don't care. Besides, I wouldn't feel at all qualified to comment on their experiences because I can't possibly relate.

I'm sure if we followed Rez and Razor around for a week, we'd catch them "whining and crying" about something they have to deal with in their jobs. As 121 drivers, they can't possibly empathize with any of us about the realities of riding on one of their planes, their world is far disconnected from ours. Jumpseating and non-revving doesn't compare to what most of us have to do 5-8 times a month. We don't choose the flights, they're chosen for us.

Airlining to and from work is a reality of frac flying. Airlining can be pleasant, and just as many times it can be a pain in the ass. Just like any job. For an office worker, driving to work can sometimes be pleasant, sometimes its a pain in the ass. For commuters, rush hour and traffic jams are a pain in the ass. And it is perfectly normal human behavior to not like it. There is absolutely nothing wrong with bitching about it with your buddies.

Not much has changed in airline flying, some say. I disagree. Sure, many of the same problems are there, and its all a matter of perspective, I do agree with that. The one, single yet important factor that has changed for passengers over the last 10 years is customer service, or the lack thereof. Airlines aren't alone in this, just about every service industry in America has moved away from the idea of quality customer service since the beancounters have begun to run these companies. It will reach a point where, like the gentleman suggests, that people will begin to vote with their wallets and the smart companies will return to making customer service a priority. Fractional owners already vote with their wallets, as is seen by the mass exodus of owners from my fractional company, since customer service gets a sideways glance from our execs and 'customer service' is simply a marketing term now. Sorry, but I can't help but mention that our CEO is an ex-airline executive. (now don't get pissed, I'm just making a joke)

The original title to this thread was "I thought riding on airlines could not get any worse..." and it was meant to share war stories about commuting. Plain and simple. It wasn't meant to be an indictment of the airline industry, nor was it meant be an attack on the professionals that drive the heavy iron. Airlining is what it is. If you're an airline guy, don't be so sensitive. Lighten up a little. Don't you have some traveling horror stories? I doubt there are any cruise ship captains reading this board, so we can flame away about that mode of travel without hurting anyone's feelings.

To get back to what the thread is about:

-How come there aren't any clocks in airport terminals?

-What happened to the 2 carry on rule? Clareene and Skeeter get on with their 2 kids with 2-3 suitcases each, backpacks, 2 diaper bags, a bookbag, PSPs, totebags, and a dog. Then act like the cabin is their living room.

-What happened to the overhead bag size rule? Ever seen the size of some of these steamer trunks these people carry on?

-Southwest started it, but now there's a whole lot of Flight Attendants using the word "those" and 'that' to describe everything. "That seatbelt, those tray tables." Gang!

-Is there a FAR about how many cabin announcements have to be made, and can we get them to limit the announcements to the Federal minimum? Just when you're dosing off you get jolted into an adrenaline rush by the VISA application advertisement. Plus, just after the Captain tells us that he's expecting some turbulence so he's turning on the seatbelt sign (ding) and to not get out of our seats, the FA comes on and tells us that the Captain has just turned on the seatbelt sign and for us to stay in our seats.

-God bless the engineers at Bose.

-ever notice that just about the time you realize you're freezing your ass off, they just ran out of blankets?

-how many times have you explained to your seatmate that you don't work for the airline, or have been mistaken for an airline employee? I'll be standing there waiting for pax to deplane so I can get to my bag (thats 12 rows back) and after hearing "thank you" enough times I finally just smile and say "come back to see us!" That's better than the time a guy drove up to the front of the hotel and handed me his keys thinking I was the valet. [note to crummudgeons: the last point was humor. A joke. I was not complaining about how much I hate my job or dislike my uniform; I'm definitely proud of both.]

To be fair, I'm going to start a thread, maybe even in the Fractional forum, talking about the awesome experiences I've had on airlines. Like the FA that gave me free drinks across the country because she knew I was a pilot who'd had a long week.

 

[CA1900]

From my ride home yesterday: The guy in front wants to keep turning around and asking me things. He does it while I have my headset on watching SuperBad (funny movie!), and does it on the descent after we've had to turn off our electronics and I have my earplugs back in.

Him: "Hey, any idea what state we're in?"

Me, removing earplug: "What?"

Him: "I said, do you know what state we're over?"

Me: "Well, since we're on our final approach, I'd venture we're in Florida by now." I start to reinsert my earplug.

Him: "How come you wear them things?"

Me, restraining myself from saying what I'm really thinking: "To protect my hearing from long-term exposure to high-frequency noise."

 

[Fozzy]

You must close your eyes and fake sleep. That is the only way to avoid such conversations.

 

[learflyer]

How long ago did you get turned down by a frac? Guess thats the real question.

Such a tired a$$ response.

 

[Occam's Razor]

Razor, don't bother applying over here. You don't have what it takes.

Thanks for the chortle!

Prithee, what does it take?

 

[Voice Of Reason]

Thanks for the chortle!

Prithee, what does it take?

Don't pray for, but pity those here with the chips so big there are no longer visible shoulders... Only a few years ago, NJA was the joke of the industry, and Flops was the highest paid frac. Time and again I've said everything goes in cycles...Buffett will be gone soon and his heirs (of nada) will get "theirs" by using their appointed positions to sell to the next HIG capital or corrupt hedge fund.
Funniest part is...there is enough fodder here for entertainment when I pull these posts back up in a few years, I won't know where to start.
The bigger the (oblivious) ego, the harder they fall. Now that so many have alienated themselves from every other facet of the industry, where will they go when they realize it's not United after all? (opps! guess it may be!) lol.
I'll be glad when I finally get to leave my little plane at Flops and leave the biz of "kiss my OWNER's azz" mentality far behind. I'll be back to visit though....just don't ask me to dump your lav. or serve the preflight drinks....
(Occam--in case you haven't noticed several NJA guys here think they are peers of their "owners." Yeah.... owners ...just like the slaves had).:laugh: Maybe they can pull out the pilot Amex black card and get a Biz Airbus to take them to their lav dumping, bag throwing duties in style.
As I previously said to one of the guys who turned down the offer (and for the benefit of the many who never care to apply in he first place) a "to each his own" reminder:

You DARED turned down the sacred NJA offer?
You must be crazy...
Don't you know NJA is today's best thing since UAL?
They are paid the best, get to kiss the best a$$es, get to eat the best crew meals...
Don't you know 100 year old Warren Buffett owns NJA and he's going to live forever, and anyone who follows will be specially programmed to do exactly as he has done (just erase the last 20 years of pilot pay from your mind)?
Don't you know the best of the best wealthy they drool over will never EVER cut back on private flying, no matter how high oil is or how many of their companies tank in this increasingly poor economy?
Don't you know anyone who turns them down must be an idiot and anyone who thinks differently about their company "must have been turned down" there?:smash:
There. I must have have saved 17 pages or so of clutter from this thread.
Congrats and good luck to you. Take the adventures while you can, so you don't end up like 80 percent of the NJA guys on here who have to try and justify THEIR inner voices by expressing the above 24/7 on a message board, rather than getting out and enjoying the life they claim so many should aspire to.
Carry on.

Keep burning all those bridges everywhere, though...I'll be interested to see how that works out for you all...unfortunately, a nouveau riche (lol!) few are ruining the reps of an entire pilot group in the company. Aviation is VERY small, and I'd love to be a fly on those interview panels' walls.

 

[Voice Of Reason]

Forgiveness

Such a tired a$$ response.

Forgive them, for their vocabulary is as blatantly limited as their self esteem.

 

[Occam's Razor]

This forum is for fractional pilots.

Cool! Then read this, fractional pilot: The topic is "airline flying". If you wanna whine about how many times you gotta get re-catered cuz your pax didn't show on time...or how your company terminated a huge portion of your pilot group because they fear unions...you're on your own.

I have never once been in the airline forum because I don't give a damn about it.

Thanks for sharing! Point?

If there was a thread in the airline forum titled "what I don't like about fractional flying" I'd never see it, because I don't care. Besides, I wouldn't feel at all qualified to comment on their experiences because I can't possibly relate.

A man should know his limitations.

I'm sure if we followed Rez and Razor around for a week, we'd catch them "whining and crying" about something they have to deal with in their jobs.

Don't take that bet! You'd lose. My job is my vacation. At my last job people I didn't even know were shooting at me! And I had to land on a boat...in the WATER! And the dang thing wouldn't even stay still!

This job? MUCH less stressful.

As 121 drivers, they can't possibly empathize with any of us about the realities of riding on one of their planes, their world is far disconnected from ours. Jumpseating and non-revving doesn't compare to what most of us have to do 5-8 times a month. We don't choose the flights, they're chosen for us.

You mean when you...what's the word for it?..."Deadhead"? Goofiest thing! My boss schedules me to fly in the back of airliners (not always MY airline!), and I have no say in the matter.

Hmmm. Looks like you're right. You don't know much about airline flying as it relates to airline pilots.

Airlining to and from work is a reality of frac flying.

70% of the pilots at my airline commute to work. That's before they even show up to start work, Poindexter!

-How come there aren't any clocks in airport terminals?

There are lots of clocks. They aren't digital though, so you gotta know how to read the big hand and the little hand.

-What happened to the 2 carry on rule? Clareene and Skeeter get on with their 2 kids with 2-3 suitcases each, backpacks, 2 diaper bags, a bookbag, PSPs, totebags, and a dog. Then act like the cabin is their living room.

They get away with it because they don't use hyperbole to make a point. You should try it!

-What happened to the overhead bag size rule? Ever seen the size of some of these steamer trunks these people carry on?

Hyperbole, Pt II.

-Southwest started it, but now there's a whole lot of Flight Attendants using the word "those" and 'that' to describe everything. "That seatbelt, those tray tables." Gang!

Shift all your Frequent Flyer miles to Continental. That seems to be a popular option.

-Is there a FAR about how many cabin announcements have to be made, and can we get them to limit the announcements to the Federal minimum?

Yes.
You can't.

Plus, just after the Captain tells us that he's expecting some turbulence so he's turning on the seatbelt sign (ding) and to not get out of our seats, the FA comes on and tells us that the Captain has just turned on the seatbelt sign and for us to stay in our seats.

Pesky FAR's!

-God bless the engineers at Bose.

Irony alert! You mean you like when SOME noise cancels OTHER noise?

Me too!

-ever notice that just about the time you realize you're freezing your ass off, they just ran out of blankets?

Mwa-ha-ha! It's working! It's working!

 

[Fozzy]

Prithee, what does it take?

Sorry, I am not going to bite.
From the tone of your posts I really don't think you would be a good fit here. Good luck at your current employer.