Stupid Flight Crew tricks

[hoover]

So I get a call from one of my flights doing an empty repo flight: "We have been waiting an hour for a fuel truck. Can you call ops or the fueler and try to get something done?" AN HOUR?! WTF?!

You'd think it would occur to the crew to call after about 10 or 15 minutes.

Anyway, what is your stupid flight crew tricks story?

 

[Midnight Mike]

At a past airline, certain flight had no catering & in return, the pilots would receive money in lieu of the lack of catering. Well, some of the pilots would cancel the catering, so that they could pick up the extra money. Found this out, when the cater called me on a late shift asking if we could give them more notice for cancelled orders......

Another pilot lived in LAX & hated to commute to the east coast, so, he would bid for a trip that had a 4 day LAX layover, & call in sick for the first day of his trip, so that he would not have to commute, & get better a couple of hours after the trip left JFK.

 

[Atlanta Vicks]

We get the occasional pilot call in sick for the first turn of his 4 day so that he/she can commute in, sick calls before/after vacation. Basically the norm. What really pisses me off though is when we assign reserve trips for the next day, the reserves call in sick after we give them a courtesey call. So you're next course of action is to not give them courtesey calls, but to call them with the assignment when they duty on for reserve? Nope, because they can see the trips you put on their schedule in Flica and then call in sick. But 99% of the time our crews are real good to work with.

 

[Metro752]

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[arthompson]

I love the crew members that swap for a trip and then call in sick for it. I'm especially thrilled at all the ones that think that they have a god given right to be off on the holidays while the rest of us are working.

 

[Homer Jay]

I especially like the crew schedulers that don't understand that being away from you family every holiday for the last six years is tough on you and them and the only way to get ONE is to call in for it. Have some compassion.

 

[arthompson]

You're not the only one that would love to be home with your family for the holidays.

 

[Homer Jay]

Don't you get to come home every night? And you are telling me that you haven't been home for any Thanksgiving, Christmas, or New Years in 6 years? Didn't think so. I know there are crewmembers that abuse their sick time, but most call in when they need a break. Airlines seem to abuse crewmembers to the point where we have NO loyalty to the company. It comes down to taking care of your own, cause God knows the company won't take care of us. There is a reason why we are bailing out of the airline industry and going to places like NetJets. Read the thread in the Fractionals section about transitioning from the airlines to NetJets. It sums it all up...

 

[Bill Mostellar]

So I get a call from one of my flights doing an empty repo flight: "We have been waiting an hour for a fuel truck. Can you call ops or the fueler and try to get something done?" AN HOUR?! WTF?!

You'd think it would occur to the crew to call after about 10 or 15 minutes.

Anyway, what is your stupid flight crew tricks story?

The crew in your situation might have already made calls to the fueler, local ops, etc. and is just now trying to get the company involved (your summary doesn't go into that).

When this happened to me, we did make the locals calls starting about 10 minutes after the truck was supposed to arrive. The Captain finally called Dispatch for assistance after an hour of local attempts.

It turns out the authorization number given to the fuel company was incorrect.

You weren't my Dispatcher, were you?

I wish you success!

 

[rvsm410]

I would give anything!!!!

You know, I understand the problems you all write of..I only have one real question, as intelligent people, didn't you read the job description that comes with "all" airline work? When you were plodding along for hundreds of hours with all those students waiting for you're big chance at the airlines, to flying jets and all that good stuff...didn't any of you ask a current airline pilot and learn what it was going to be like (QOL) before you ever applied and begged, hung out in the "hiring pool" for months to get hired..

I just don't understand why you complain of the working conditions when you should have know long before what they were going to be like! That goes for the Pay and upgrades, all of it. It's not a mystery.

It would be like a doctor complaining about the hours, and working with blood and guts..

I don't know, I was never confused about the long hours and shift work I would be performing, the holidays I would be working away from my family..I knew they were coming...I would not dream of calling in to be away from the very job I worked so hard to earn...

I was just really happy to be doing something I "Loved" to do...all this other stuff was just part of it...aviation is NOT a normal job...its much better than the walking dead of the corporate 9 to 5 that hate there jobs every single day....seems you all are turning your passions into a "JOB"... JMHO...

I would do anything to return to work for Airtran...It was my ultimate dream, it only lasted a short time before medical conditions took it away from me forever....My hope for you all, is that you realize you have arrived at your goal, make the best of it and enjoy it eveyday, respect yourself for the accomplishment by honoring the work with the best performance you can give it...I would do anything for another chance.... Remember it can be snatched away from you anytime, any given day...

Good luck and look inside and ask you're self if you are doing your best, and remember how you got there...Be happy