Trailer park passengers

[B1900DFO]

Trailer Trash In the Back Of The Plane?
Lets get real here guys. Most regional pilots make a lot less than the "trailer trash" that we carry around. I guess the jokes on us because we work our ass off and invest 20-70k for the privelage of making 15-25k to start at any number of regionals. I would imagine regional pilots are the lowest paid white-collar employees in the world. It's freeking sad.... Of course our Mesa bro's are going to raise the bar...right?

 

[pilotyip]

Trash people

trash people make it easier to pick out other guys looking for a jump seat, they will normally be wearing a tie, and from what I have seen in the past few years, they are the only people on the airplane wearing a tie besides the pilot.

 

[CaptainBrazilia]

Even the rich folks can act like trailer trash.

Back when I commuted between LAX and DTW, I once jumpseated on a NWA DC-10 and ended up in a first class seat. Just prior to the door closing, in walked Kathy Ireland (yeah...the SI swimsuit model) with her two kids.

Let me tell you...first of all, kids younger than 10 should NOT be allowed in first class! Second, K.I. proceeded to allow her children to rip the in-flight magazines into the tiniest of pieces and scatter them throughout first class, laughing as they did so. I guess she thought they were being cute. When a FA asked her to control her children (as they were getting on many of the paying-passenger's nerves) she was scolded quite harshly by K.I. and was told in a rather mean way to "mind her own business." After they deplaned, I was absolutely astonished at the mess she had allowed her children to make.

What a nightmare!

 

[Palerider957]

B1900

Yeah, the pay is a laugh. At least it's starting to come up a bit. We're in contract negotiations, although I don't expect too much of a increase (although our company is having a RECORD year of profits) they are already crying the blues for the current economic climate.

Phishndave:

yeah, it's good to have pax, it's not good to constantly have to decide if someone is too drunk to let on the plane. Some of our gangster passengers are downright frighenting to the FA's, who only have each other once the door is closed...revenue passengers or not, there is more tension in the cabin and not just 9/11 concerns. We have done away with liquor kits in our planes, partly becaue the new breed of passenger was getting trashed and making a scene (didn't help that we always run late and have to comp drinks)

The company is supportive if you have to make a decision to put someone off, but that's not done lightly. Sometimes I think I should change our call sign from "Candler" to "Justice."


As for a dress code, I said that jokingly as obviously the current economy woudln't allow that.

 

[captainv]

pax

Although i can understand the sentiments behind this thread, i'm a little surprised to see it on the Regionals side. The Majors, ok, but the regionals? I'm sure the verteran pilots in the majors can remember an era of dinner served on china, and even coach passengers dressed in their best.

However, that was in an era where air travel for generally confined to the upper class. Today, we are mass transit, like it or not. personally i think that's okay, more people get to travel and see the world, even those of limited means. that's fantastic - democracy in action.

as for drawing the lowest common demoninator in terms of behavior, well, aside from the dress code, look at it from the pax point of view. everything about airline travel is a pain in the ass. parking at the airport, checking in (although the kiosks rock!), SECURITY, late flights, oversold flights, tiny seats, missed connections, having to go through newark to get from your home in the midwest to florida, waiting an hour for your bags, etc., etc., etc.

compare that to corporate/fractional aviation. the airplane starts when you get there, outstanding personal service, a luxurious, high-performance airplane, your own catering, no security, minimal delays in your travel time. you are in control of virtually everything...

if you really miss those days in the airlines, don't hold your breath waiting for them to come back. if a high-brow airline could support itself catering to the upper crust, someone would've doe it by now. but you could always send in a resume to NetJets....

Captainv

 

[boeingav8r]

Even the rich folks can act like trailer trash.

...Just prior to the door closing, in walked Kathy Ireland with her two kids.

Let me tell you...first of all, kids younger than 10 should NOT be allowed in first class! Second, K.I. proceeded to allow her children to rip the in-flight magazines into the tiniest of pieces and scatter them throughout first class, laughing as they did so. I guess she thought they were being cute. When a FA asked her to control her children (as they were getting on many of the paying-passenger's nerves) she was scolded quite harshly by K.I. and was told in a rather mean way to "mind her own business." After they deplaned, I was absolutely astonished at the mess she had allowed her children to make. What a nightmare!

I've noticed that celebrities can be the worst behaved travelers out there. My father is a captain at one of the majors, and he had Oprah on one of his flights. Of course she sat in first class. They think that since they're wealthy and famous, they are above the rules and they can do whatever they please regardless of other people. Anyway, halfway thru the flight, one of the flight attendants noticed Oprah started clipping her dirty stinky toenails and pieces of nails were flying everywhere in the cabin, disturbing other passengers. One would think with her money, she'd get a professional pedicure.

Back to your comment Captain Brazilia, I thought at one time, maybe a long time ago, they did have a rule that children were not allowed in first class. I may be wrong.

 

[FurloughedAgain]

I'm going to have to agree 100% with Pishn@Daves.

These people are our customers.

I dont care if they come aboard dressed in paper-sacks they (or their companies) paid good money to fly with our airline and they deserve to be treated like CUSTOMERS.

If that means that the flight attendant needs to suck it up and pour them an extra cup of diet-coke then so be it. They are our CUSTOMERS.

The sooner we, as airline employees, realize that we are a part of a service industry and learn how to provide exceptional service to our customers, the sooner our airlines will begin to return to profitability.

We only have the tools that the airline provides us -- but giving them the respect that they deserve, and understanding that they paid hard-earned money to fly with us, will go a long way.

I know how much I hate it when I go to Wal-Mart and the cashier talks on the phone to her buddy, chews gum, and doesnt say "thank-you" when I leave -- I can only imagine how much it irritates our customers.

Ok, getting off my soap box.
Respectfully,
Furloughed_Again
(who will never again say the word "passenger")

 

[boeingav8r]

Originally posted by FurloughedAgain
I'm going to have to agree 100% with Pishn@Daves.

These people are our customers.

I dont care if they come aboard dressed in paper-sacks they (or their companies) paid good money to fly with our airline and they deserve to be treated like CUSTOMERS.

If that means that the flight attendant needs to suck it up and pour them an extra cup of diet-coke then so be it. They are our CUSTOMERS

So where do we draw the line?? Sure, everybody on board is a paying customer. But that does not give them a license to act however they want, dress however they want, throw hygene out the door and take advantage of the flight attendants.

What's next? Are the flight attendants going to be required to give stinky passengers sponge baths now with the little hot towels, just because they are our "paying customers"?

I agree with you...this IS a service industry. The passengers expect certain things out of the crew such as service and professionalism, but WE should expect passengers to be clean, neat and well behaved. I think that would actually inspire some of the cabin and cockpit crews to provide even better service to the passengers

 

[g159av8tor]

[QUOTE
Your story reminds me of a conversation I had with a ValuJet pilot a few years back. I asked him if he enjoyed his job and his immediate response was, "I fly scum..." Not the most respectful answer, but at least he was being honest about his feelings....

[/B][/QUOTE]

That's the funiiest thing I've read on this forum in a long time!

Tailwinds...

 

[chperplt]

You guys haven't seen anything yet... Come up to the "county" here in Northern Maine. We fly 19 circus freaks on every flight. I don't imagine we fly a full set of teeth between the 19 of them on most days. Hell, in their minds deodorant is optional. I flew most of my last leg today with the oxygen mask on it stunk so bad.. Imagine being in a Beech 1900 on a 330 mile trip in that stench..

 

[vschip]

gotta disagree with you, chperplt, having been born and raised in maine, its not northern maine your flying too, its southern quebec, fly to AUG or PWM, we know how to shower, and probably have 4-5 full sets of teeth per flight!

 

[chperplt]

VSCHIP,

I did say the "county" now... Although, I would have to say that other than the folks that fly to AUG for business, most of those pax are pretty nasty also.

Not many hygenically challenged people out of BHB, RKD, and PWM, but some out of AUG and most certanly out of PQI..