Smoking in flight

[Erlanger]

I don't smoke and have only been flying professionally since smoking was banned on airplanes and only flew acouple of times as a kid when smoking was allowed so I don't even remember that. But I can't even imagine flying with someone puffing away in my face up front in so close an environment or even imagine deadheading in the back in uniform and then smelling like a chimney. Or even with the wife and kids with someone blowing smoke over their heads.

So my question is for those that went though that in the day; how the hell did you deal with that. Did it bother you? Did fights break out over that? Other then a health hazard, it would seem to be a fire hazard too. I can't even believe it was excepted at one time. How the times have changed! Anyone got good stories?

 

[mar]

Back in the day (before my time)

Um, I'm actually not old enough to know, but, I've heard stories about the poor air quality.

Mostly, it seems, to be a maintenance issue. One pilot told me that you could see a black or brown streak of tar (and other crap) streaming aft of the outflow valves as that stuff got vented overboard.

Not only that, but it (the tar) would accumulate inside instrument panels and gauges making it a real pain to clean.

At one time even pilots were allowed to smoke in the cockpit.

 

[Dr Pokenhiemer]

In the army, we used to send new avionics techs out to the helicopter to change the A-S-H receiver. No smoking, but they still gave us ashtrays.

 

[Kingairrick]

My airplane has an ashtray for both pilots. I have jumpeated on airliners where the Capt. was smoking in flight, back in '89-90. Strange, I didn't really think anything of it at the time.

 

[Dr Pokenhiemer]

Rick--where'd the boat go?

I always wondered why there is no smoking within 50 feet of an aircraft, but they still provide ashtrays.

Things that make you go hummmm!

 

[FlyingToIST]

Wait until you end up flying / jumpseating in Turkey. Smoking has been banned for 10 or more good years now and the cockpit crew smokes like a fireplace.
Their reason ... They can't hold it for 8-9 hrs of IST-LHR round trip..

 

[C601]

speaking of jump seating, many years ago in another country, i was completing my flight training, but 1 weekend I went home, order to do that i had to take a 737 flight for 1hr 30mins to where i was from.

Anyways it was never a big deal for me to get a jumpseat when i was going home, this flight there where 2 brothers flying the 737 for this airline.

I opened the crew door, and it was like something was burning the cockpit was full of smoke. Turns out to be the 2 brothers smoking away.


anyways as where rolling down the runway taking off, the FO brother had control, with a smoke in his mouth, for nearly the whole flight. At the time it was funny, as the class i had that day was in Human performance.

AS soon as we landed the 2 cockpit windows where open, and here is one of them trying to blow the smoke out lol ......funny days

 

[kilroy]

A friend of mine 's wife got cancer from second hand smoke working as a FA back in the days. Big class action case against the airline for former FA's .

 

[rumpletumbler]

I used to fly with a Captain who would go back and smoke and do paperwork in the passenger area on deadheads. I always wondered if I should put him on the ceiling.

 

[Resume Writer]

Well, I did fly back when there was smoking on the airplanes. Usually the back rows were smoking rows, so if you were the aft FA, it was pretty bad. You would try to hang up your uniform in the hotel or out on the balcony to air it out, but not much luck.

I will never forget back in 1987, we were sitting out in the penalty box in LAS. AWA was experiencing growing problems and there were never enough gates for the Nite Flites. Now, keep in mind, we were sitting in the penalty box; no where near the gates.

First, the passengers wanted to smoke and we had to tell them they could not. Well, that made them mad.

Then, I overhear this one guy say, "I cannot believe we are sitting out here. I knew it, my bags are going to go without me!" Helllloooooooo!!! Like there was some big "bag vat" out there.

It gets better..

A lady comes back and asks if we can call the gate to hold her connection. We tell her we have no way to contact the gate. Then she points at the interphone and asks why we can't use that. I proceed to tell her it is a crew to crew phone.

So, when she goes to sit down, I looked at my other crew member and asked exactly how this woman thought we were going to contact the gate. I started to think about it and said..

"Perhaps we could send smoke signals...
or perhaps we could send morse code...

or...

(I took my shoe off and put it up to my ear pretending it was a phone, and said...)

"99, we need to have them hold the connections!" (I hope you all remember "Get Smart," the tv show!!)

Just a little FA humor in a bad situation...

Kathy

 

[minitour]

...(I took my shoe off and put it up to my ear pretending it was a phone, and said...)

"99, we need to have them hold the connections!" ..

LMAO Thanks!

-mini

 

[Daveman]

Wait until you end up flying / jumpseating in Turkey. Smoking has been banned for 10 or more good years now and the cockpit crew smokes like a fireplace.
Their reason ... They can't hold it for 8-9 hrs of IST-LHR round trip..

Light the Hookah.
It is an item on the check list! The jumpseater can join in too!

 

[Resume Writer]

I have another related story. This is classic!!

We were flying on the 757 from PHX to EWR and the weather shut down the east coast from about DC to up north of BOS. Every airplane was diverted to PHL. I have never seen so many airplanes at one airport. We did not have a gate and were way off in a remote area.

We told the passengers that if we were to get airstairs and if they decided to go to the terminal and find their own way to EWR, that we would not let them back on the airplane. Most were fine with that, and many left.

Meanwhile, we already had a 5 plus hour flight from circling, and most of our beverages were gone. We managed to get some catering and did two beverage services. Some people just wanted to get off the plane to get some fresh air. No problem, we stationed an FA down with them. (frankly we wanted to get off the plane, too!)

We had just been fueled and two of my crew members and I were standing at the front of the airplane, near door 1L which had the airstairs connected to it.

About two hours into this ordeal, this guy came up, wild eyes, fried hair (you know the kind of hair that is often seen on major drug abusers), and said that he needed to have a cigarette outside. I told him that he could not smoke because we were told we could not allow it.

So, he goes into this tirade. He started yelling that we were doing nothing for them, they were all starving and thirsty and we had offered them nothing to drink. (not sure where he was during the two beverage services)

As this guy is going on with his tirade, I was THINKING in my MIND, "geez, I cannot believe I have to stand here and take his sh*t."

All of a sudden he stops mid-sentence and says, "Yep, you DO have to stand here and take my sh*t!"

Thankfully my other crew member stepped in and told him we did not have to, as I started laughing so hard I had to disappear behind the galley curtain in F/C!!

Kathy

 

[bafanguy]

Um, I'm actually not old enough to know...

At one time even pilots were allowed to smoke in the cockpit.

Mar,

Long time...no read. Looks like you're doing well. Glad to see it. Yep, they smoked in the cockpit. Flew with one old 737 capt who managed to catapult the ash from his smoke across the cockpit into my lap by waving it in front of the eyeball vent. Actually, the artistry of it all made it OK ( he, however, wasn't your dream captain ).

Flew with a DC9 capt ages ago who smoked like a chimney. For some reason, every airplane we got that month had the ashtrays turned upside down and shoved into the holes by the time we got on board rendering them unuseable as you couldn't get them out of the holes without tools. He accused me of doing this; I've had better months. Well, the smoking didn't get him because he fell through the ceiling of his house while installing a ceiling fan, broke his neck, and died on the spot.

Of course, there are guys you didn't mind smoking. The original SWA guys will know Roger Benjamin, "Ben". He smoked the occasional cigar and would offer you one too. He was the guy who, when we flew DC3's would empty the honeybucket himself because...are you ready for this ?..."copilots don't get paid enough to do this...".

It's all sorta relative in the big picture. Have a Happy.

 

[BD King]

bafanguy----------That's right. Ya gotta watch out for those killer ceilings. My 30,000 hour cousin never got a scratch flying but broke his leg a couple of years ago by doing a one and a half with a full twist through the ceiling. Those low ceilings will eventually get ya. Hummmmmm, bet you are the only guy on this site typed in a 880. Fact is, bet most of the guys don't know what a 880 was.

 

[njcapt]

Hummmmmm, bet you are the only guy on this site typed in a 880. Fact is, bet most of the guys don't know what a 880 was.

Hey, I know what a Convair 880 is! It's the coolest aircraft I ever flew in. Ya gotta love a 120 seat, three pilot, five seat across airplane that cruised at .92. Flew SEA to ORD on a TWA 880 back in 1970 or 1971.

You didn't fly it at Denver POC, did you, BAFANGUY?

 

[FN FAL]

A friend of mine 's wife got cancer from second hand smoke working as a FA back in the days. Big class action case against the airline for former FA's .

Be that as it may, one day I was flying a part 91 trip as a contracted pilot to a construction company. Our FBO did that and as a 135 Aztec pilot, I got selected for such trips.

When the owner of the company, who was sitting next to me, pulled out a pack of Camels and turned them towards me...I selected "nav" and "AP" on and took one...when in Rome...

I wonder if my wife can sue as a result of dumass second hand soccer moms driving on the interstate killing me due to stress as a result of having to commute on the highway with those freeking idiots.

 

[bafanguy]

BD & nj,

I was merely the FE on the -880, but even that was pretty cool. I didn't fly it at Denver POC.