Letter of the week at Avweb.com about Airline Pilots

[Paul R. Smith]

Is the jerk an airline pilot?

Why is there no shortage of non-airline a-holes out there who feel that I am entitled to their opinion as to how happy I should be.

Up The Shut F#@K and perfect those turns about a point.

 

[Mike man]

...I'm heretofore going to do my own part to restore prestige to the role of commanding the big iron.

Thank you Matt Sawhill, I wish someone would be kind enough to stand up to management...I'd bet if you take a look at this board in a few days you will find a huge list of stuff you can take with you to your meetings with the managers to "restore the role of commanding the big iron."

Let me be the first to start a formal list...

-Why is it that during a Chapter 11 filing the pilot contracts are the first to go, and that items the pilots bargained for are thrown out, lit on fire and stomped on...but the CEO gets to keep his multimillion dollar apartment, and gets a multimillion dollar bonus for "steering" the company through tough times? (It is the same guy who got the company into the chapter 11 filing in the first place.)

Lets all help Mr. Sawhill by making a huge list so that he can finally restore this profession. Thank you in advance Matt.

Name : SAWHILL, MATTHEW P
Airman's Address : XX11 XX TXXXXN DR
AXXXXX, IA, 500XX-XXXX
FAA Region : Central
Date of Medical : Jun, 2006
Class of Medical : 3
Expiration of Class 3 : Jun, 2011
Airman Certificates : Private Pilot
Airplane Single Engine Land
Glider
Instrument Airplane

 

[mamba20]

How would you feel if your doctor was bitching about some "minor" surgery he was about to do on you just minutes before you went under? Our profession could use a serious shot in the arm that's true, but we can't allow distaste with the current state of affairs to erode our professionalism.

 

[ultrarunner]

Hey Mamba, there's just a weeeee bit difference in overhearing a couple of pilots complaining about having their pension fund flushed down the toilet vs. them saying..."ya know, I am really tired of this SFO-LAX trip....I don't think I wanna do it!

Good grief....

 

[Paul R. Smith]

How would you feel if your doctor was bitching about some "minor" surgery he was about to do on you just minutes before you went under? Our profession could use a serious shot in the arm that's true, but we can't allow distaste with the current state of affairs to erode our professionalism.

Boy thats a stretch.

 

[dragontamer]

You guys want to pretend that bitching in front of the public is all right then have at it. I'm not playing. But then again, I'm happy with my job and life--probably puts me in the minority, particularly on FI.

 

[ATRCA]

How would you feel if your doctor was bitching about some "minor" surgery he was about to do on you just minutes before you went under? Our profession could use a serious shot in the arm that's true, but we can't allow distaste with the current state of affairs to erode our professionalism.

Show me a surgeon who makes $26,000 a year with no medical benefits and I'll show you one who's bitching about the procedure he's about to perform.

 

[wms]

Beware out there! he is on the loose

Letter of the Week: Whining Pilots

From now on, whenever I see pilots complaining in the terminal, their names and an account of their actions will be sent to airline customer service at my earliest convenience. I'd encourage the rest of my travel companions to do the same.

I'm sure the airline will get right on it. I agree there are issues, from rampers that destroy and steal everything in sight to agents that are rude to passengers to the poor image of some flightcrews and FAs that can't remove the jumpseat from their butt to check on the cabin. But don't think for a minute the folks at the GO care one little bit.

 

[Lear70]

Show me a surgeon who makes $26,000 a year with no medical benefits and I'll show you one who's bitching about the procedure he's about to perform.

Ditto...

You've obviously never spent any time in an E.R. between 0100 and 0300 after the med school resident (who isn't making much more than that) has been up for almost 36 hours with just a few power naps of 10-15 minutes and has someone drug seeking screwing with his latest power nap.

They bitch just as much as we do. Difference is, when they're DONE with med school, specializations, residency, etc, they go on to good money and bitching about their golf game, rather than how badly different their career is turning out than they expected.

However, yes, if I was having a private discussion with another pilot or two over Moe's or ABC before heading to the plane and this random guy came up to me and started asking me for my name, employee number, etc, he'd very quickly find himself facing TSA explaining his curiosity to the specifics of the identity of a pilot he really had no business asking for to begin with.

No, it may not do anything more than delay his flight. But it'll be the LAST d*mn time he tries that particular maneuver and maybe,,, just maybe,,, he'll think more about sticking his nose in other people's business where it might affect his own ability to get where he needs to go.

That said, yes, I pick and choose where I'm going to kvetch about something. Try and keep it out of the public eye if we can but, honestly, depending on what carrier you work for, there just may not be that much good to talk about. YMMV

 

[BushwickBill]

Funny how all you guys bash the hell out of the TSA and then run to them like sissy's when it suits you...

Don't get me wrong. Other than waking up in the morning the one thing I give thanks for is I don't have to deal with the TSA on a daily basis.

Sometimes when I have the misfortune of airlining I see pilots with the "no bucks, no buck rogers" sticker. Gotta love that one. Raising public awareness of how bad your job stinks is important, just try and do it with some class.

Then again this letter writing guy needs a reality check and most likely, guys with white shirts and epaulets to give him a beating.