So now we are not professional...

[Bringupthebird]

The job has been dumbed down to the point where the quality of individual and the pay they receive is falling in-line. Once you build an airplane that can overcome the shortcomings the pilots are assumed to suffer from (Hint - Airbus), then you really can't expect to attract top-tier people. You get not only what you pay for, but also what you have planned for.

How many crusty 4-stripers would be terrified to take a light twin with round dials into even moderately hard IFR? How many pile them up when they do?

 

[ATLboeing]

...but I didn't see anybody on here complaining about being lumped with Sully just a few months ago.

Now that was good.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

This profession has changed as a result of the airlines themselves. If pilots were treated as assets instead of liabilities, then we, as a whole, would take more pride in our work.

You are allowing your environment and circumstances to define your level of professionalism. B-A-D.

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

Yes, he's wrong.

I don't have a problem casting aspersions on specific crews when they screw up. What I resent is the extremely broad brush he's using to insinuate a larger problem affecting the industry as a whole. The overwhelming majority of pilots I've flown with ARE professional. They fly to SOP, safety is #1 and they do care about customer service and how they represent themselves and their company. There's always a few at every company that we all wish would just go away, but Babbitt was way out of line to lump us all together.

Customer service is for FAs and gate agents.... (jB? not that there is anything wrong with that )

Why are you offended.. if you are professional then there are no worries.. the fact is the public is shocked.. in that realm we will get no where saying we are pro's when they believe we aren't. Perception is reality.


Also, Babbitt isn't a pilot rep. He is head of the FAA and answers to the White House via the DOT Sec. Not us.

 

[JoeMerchant]

You are allowing your environment and circumstances to define your level of professionalism. B-A-D.

I hate to say it...But I agree with Rez.....

Boy was that hard to type......

 

[75M]

I read an article a long time ago that basically said, if you want to be perceived a certain way, first you need to behave that certain way. Regardless of whether you (or anybody else) buys it, or not. This will slowly, but surely shift the perception that you ARE the way you have been acting.

Okay, what?

If you (as an airline pilot) want to be perceived as a professional, then the first step is to behave like a professional. Then others will see how you are behaving and perceive you as a professional.

I say this because, time and time again I read on this board (among other places), "if management wanted me to act like a professional, then they should treat me like a professional." I believe this is reverse logic. If you want to be perceived and ultimately treated like a pro, the first step is to behave like one.

Okay, How?

Know your airplane.
Know the procedures.
Stay current at ALL levels of automation.
Treat your crew with respect.
Treat the gate agents and other employee groups with respect.
Show up on time.
Use sick time for when you're sick.
Wear the uniform correctly.
Put away the laptop, ipod, USA Today and paperbacks while you're flying.

Just a thought...

 

[Rez O. Lewshun]

The attitude of "I'll act professional when they pay me better" has never worked as a negotiation tactic. It is for the weak.

 

[jonjuan]

Customer service is for FAs and gate agents....

Try saying this during an airline interview to an HR rep or a fellow pilot. You'll quickly be show the door.

 

[75M]

Customer service is for FAs and Gate Agents...

Try saying this during an airline interview to an HR rep or a fellow pilot. You'll quickly be show the door.

I think most customer service issues are pretty much for FAs and Gate Agents. If a passenger has a question about how high?, which way?, or how Long?, (ahem) I'm their man. If a passenger wants to cover seat assignments, checked bags, wheelchairs, business class upgrades, etc., I point them to the nearest CSA and say, H.A.N.D.

 

[no1pilot2000]

I have talked to airline pilots in the past in airlines I have worked for. Some of these individuals feel that some pilots have become as "automated" as the aircraft they fly. By this I mean they should go back to the basics of flying and paying attention to the aircraft they are flying and what is going on around them. Is this a wake-up call to ALL pilots, no matter what your skill level is????? Only time will tell.

 

[Linedriver]

You are allowing your environment and circumstances to define your level of professionalism. B-A-D.

This principle exists and because I'm aware of it, and point it out here, doesn't mean I think the end result is the correct one. It's basic human nature - people respond to how they are treated.

If you alter the perceived quality in a particular environment, the population in that environment will respond.

 

[waveflyer]

No- that's like Mesa not shining their shoes and ironing their uniforms. There are a lot of dumps out there w/ sh!tty pay and rules. But a professional is a pro all the time.

That being said, the idea that guys are screwing off MORE today than yesteryear- is just dumb- You got to check your history. There have been plenty of accidents where the CVR wasn't released out of 'respect for the crew'.
The automation thing grumpy, there's no reason we can't handfly the airbus. It actually handflies very nice. But there are training departments who actually encourage handflying less- due to ASAP reports. If you can't hold an altitude- you need to be hand flying more, not less.

 

[IBNAV8R]

Trouble is, what used to be a thinking man's job is now dumbed down for monkeys and 250-hour wonders. Thanks largely to the FAA, politicians and lawyers, everything must be written in black and white. There is little need to practice judgement anymore because this is being taken out of the equation. "If you follow the SOP to the letter, nothing bad can happen." Airplanes today are highly automated but must be carefully monitored at all times.

Here's a news flash for anyone who's not taken aviation psychology or human factors - HUMANS ARE POOR MONITORS. The more the human is taken out of the actual process, the greater likelihood of human complacency. Until we get back to being pilots and not just systems managers and referees for FA catfights, this trend will continue. And, no amount of regulation will reverse it.

 

[boeingdriver213]

"We have met the enemy, and he is us." Accidents, incidents like this affect all of us, from the regional guy to the "crusty old" 747 captain. We who wear airline uniforms are lumped together by the public. If one guy does it, we all must be doing it. Until we collectively address this as a whole, we will ALL continue to be percieved as less than professional. Policing ourselves would be far better than the government doing it for us, with the enevitable disasterous results....

 

[Bringupthebird]

The public takes a safe flight as a given - that it is the result of the "system" not the judgement or professionalism of any one pilot. In fact they probably think the safe flight was IN SPITE of the pilot, who would have screwed the pooch if not for some level-headed guy on the ground.