Nwa

[balls deep340]

Does Northwest Airlines fly Crjs? or is it Pinnacle?

I was at a bar last night and this guy was telling this girl he flies for Northwest Airlines. He looked real young; he goes on to explain to her he flies the Canada Air Jet.

I've heard other stories similar to this one.

What gives?

PS this is a true story.

 

[fly4ever]

NWA doesn't fly CRJ's yet so you can guess how much of that line was the truth.

 

[SkyKingFL350]

True, NWA doesn't fly the CRJ with its pilots, it controls Pinnacle who flys the CRJ under NWA colors and flight numbers. Flying for Mesaba, I don't always tell people I fly for them, it leads to a long discussion about how Mesaba sells all the seats to NW and our planes are painted the same as NW but we are a different company and so on. So in this pilots defense, he may have been trying to keep the conversation simple. Then again he may have been trying to talk it up. Either way, the general public sees a NWA CRJ when it is parked at the gate, I'll bet one in ten might notice the different name painted on the side or the fact that the FA stated it was operated by Pinnacle.
So don't trash the guy too much.

See ya!

 

[scabseeker]

I can't say I blame the public though. Today in Minneapolis I saw a commercial promoting the city of Pensacola and at the end the narrator said "...and now non stop service on Northwest Airlink..." while a picture of a NWA 747-400 was shown on the screen. So much for accuracy.

PS this thread is total flamebait so I hope no one is hooked in.

 

[Lear70]

Northwest Mainline doesn't fly any RJ's. However, most of the time when asked where I work by the uninitiated (non aviation people), I simply say Northwest. As someone else said, you use the word "Airlink", "Mesaba", or "Pinnacle", and people give you a really quizzical look, similar to "Who the h*ll is that?" and you end up in a 20 minute discussion of the differences, similar to telling someone you work for Chatauqua or ExpressJet.

As far as Pinnacle -vs- Mesaba brand recognition is concerned, people recognize Mesaba much more easily if they travel Northwest much, simply because Pinnacle is a new name, in the last 5-7 years PCL wasn't very big and got booted out of MSP and DTW for a few years, and more important as of late, Pinnacle doesn't say "Operated by Pinnacle Airlines" like Mesaba does every time they fly.

Our F/A's started doing it once a few years ago and Pinnacle management specifically put the nix on it via an internal memo, saying that Northwest Management specifically wanted it to seem like "Seamless Service", i.e. confuse the customer into thinking there is no difference between the mainline aircaft and RJ's.

Personally, I don't give a rat's either way, as long as the paycheck keeps coming (however small it may be)... and don't get me started on pay rates and our current negotiations that start next week.

 

[BRA]

I always just tell non-aviation people i'm with US Airways express...or a part of usairways. It does save a lot of useless conversation. THey have no clue anyhow. Otherwise, you do get "the look" "I've never heard of them?.... are you lying to me?"

 

[norskman2]

I usually just tell bar chicks I fly the Space Shuttle....

 

[wings421]

norskman, you must go to the bar knowing that you AREN'T going to get laid!

 

[Spinn555]

"I usually just tell bar chicks I fly the Space Shuttle...."


Reminds me of the story of the 2 pilots sitting at the airport bar. One is a Airforce pilot, the other a student pilot. Both dressed in street clothes A good looking girl comes up and starts talking to one of the pilots. The conversation with him eventually ends up with him telling her that he's a pilot. (Big surprise, right?)

"So what kind of plane do you fly?" she asks.

"See that one out there on the ramp? That's what I fly. It's called a C-130."

"Wow!"

The other guy perks up, slides over and whispers in her ear, "That's not so special, I fly a C-150."

She goes home with the student pilot.

 

[norskman2]

Spin,


LOL. That's hilarious!

 

[Looking4Traffic]

Hey Balls --

That was me in the bar. I would appreciate it next time if you wouldn't give me away. Truth is, I'm a Delta pilot flying RJs (I can't wait to get the flame on that one) but Minnesota chicks dig Northwest pilots in the midwest so . . . whatever it takes.

In any case, you remember the old rule from high school . . . never interfere with another guys effort to get laid!

 

[flyndesk]

Flame bait? I doubt it. I had a guy ask for my jumpseat once and he was all of about 23 and kept telling me he flew for Northwest. I said, "oh, Airlink? Cool." He then said, "my badge says Northwest." Uh........ with an "Airlink" after it. What an idiot. AND I WAS THE CAPTAIN!!!!!! The "20 minute discussion" wasn't going to be necessary. He was very vague in an inappropriate manner.


Of course no one knows who you are if you never tell them!! It doesn't take 20 minutes to say who you really are. I fly for ATA and trust me, they all think it is AirTran. (An AirTran employee saw my ATA bag tags once and thought I worked for AirTran, too!!) Even when I tell them the difference, I get blank stares. But then I get to tell them about our little major airline, all the cool places we fly, and maybe win a new customer.

 

[727RedTails]

What am I and the other 40 or so pilots furloughed from nwa and now flying for Pinch-a-nickel suppose to say? Technically we are nwa pilots flying the crj. Maybe he was in this situation.

 

[FlyChicaga]

That's like the time I was at a bar and saw a J-41 FO tell a woman he flew for American. Seriously.

 

[WhiteCloud]

That's like the time I was at a bar and saw a J-41 FO tell a woman he flew for American. Seriously.

Does that kind of stuff actually work? Wise up guys....tell them what you do if they ask and then move on quickly to stuff they like to do. Kids these days.

 

[coolyokeluke]

I was at a bar talking with a woman I was interested in. I'd been flight instructing all of two weeks. She asked me what I did and I told her I was a pilot (she said that was interesting) and didn't expand on that and the conversation went on. I got a phone number. Told her the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth as far as my vocation on a subsequent date. Nine months later I proposed. Just had my first year anniversary. So in certain situations maybe the pilot line does work!

 

[ASH]

I couldn't bash the original poster. People don't have a clue who CHQ, ALG, etc, are. It's easier to say US Airways Express, and leave it at that.

But for integrity's sake I work for US Airways.........um...express....

 

[BRA]

Well you just throw in the fact that you are a pilot, and then move on to other topics. Such as "I'm employed as a pilot, and i wear a size 14 shoe and can lick my own eyebrows" If she doesn't have a drink yet, offer her one. If some guy comes over and asks how long your plane is...promptly leave.

 

[belchfire]

I tell 'em I'm a pipefitter!

 

[FN FAL]

I was at a bar talking with a woman I was interested in. I'd been flight instructing all of two weeks. She asked me what I did and I told her I was a pilot (she said that was interesting) and didn't expand on that and the conversation went on. I got a phone number. Told her the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth as far as my vocation on a subsequent date. Nine months later I proposed. Just had my first year anniversary. So in certain situations maybe the pilot line does work!

I met a chick, married her, then she sent me to flight school...I guess I did things ass backwards?

 

[Sticky]

It always cracks me up to hear guys tell women at bars that they're airline/corporate pilots. I wonder if they tell them that they make 15,000-24,000 a year...or high school dropouts make more money? The few times women have actually asked me in a bar, I just say that I count potato chips for a living. To me, that less embarrassing and easier then explaining that someday down the road I'll be making 6 figures.

 

[Lear70]

Sticky... has anybody mentioned how disturbing your Avatar is in relation to your babysitting comment...?