Professionalism

[lymanm]

I'm slightly annoyed at the crew of the last anonymous blue-coloured A330 that visited Orland/Sanford this Saturday. I'm just one of many wannabes here @ SFB who probably know much less than most on this forum. However, vast amount of experience does not excuse a the marked lack of professionalism that I witnessed earlier this evening.

It was already dark, but as is the norm @ SFB there was a pile of Cessnas waiting to go on 9L. They had all been waiting for quite some time, when out friendly Airbus came up behind the last one and in the most condescending and rude tone I've ever heard on the radio says:

"Ehh, tower, there is a, ahem, Cessna in front of us"

Next, when they received their take off clearance, they did not acknowledge it. They just started rolling! Finally, on climbout, SFB tower tried to contact them for the hand-off. After 3 tries, it was obvious that the crew had switched freqs immediately after take-off.

Now, I realize that it costs a bundle of money to idle at taxi while you wait for Cessnas, and I also see how difficult it must be to share the airport with GA aircraft. That is not my point. I am not necessarily upset about what was said, just HOW it was said. To me, this particular crew's actions and words just reek of plain old snooty-ness. Not professional. I know that %99.9 of you visitors to SFB are pros and are *extremely* patient. However, it is important to realize that we are very impressionably at SFB, and heavy pilots should take this into consideration. I know I'll never forget this particular crew for a long time. So guys, please just remember that we're all here together.

That's all for my rant...

[LittleBubba]

Let me take one guess, could it have been a British operator?

[Diesel8]

nah, could not have been, because such behaviour is considered gash and as such is reserved for american crews.

[AffirmBrest]

And US pilots over here always acknowledge clearnaces/freq changes w/o exception??

There are 'good' and 'bad' pilots on both sides of the atlantic, and often good reasons for crews to act in a way that may appear 'unprofessional' to a self-confessed wannabe.

LB, your sarcastic specualtion serves no purpose other than to ignite a US-UK slanging match - hardly professional!

lymanm - maybe the A330 crew were not being condescending, but just not expecting a Cessna to be in front of them at the hold (One of the things that really winds ME up is observing the snootiness of some operators at their 'local' airport, be it LHR, SFD or anywhere..!).

Maybe they are used to automatic frequency changes on departure (happens a lot in Europe, but NOT in the UK!) and simply made an honest mistake. It does happen!

Judging the character of anyone, based only on your observations of a tiny piece of the big picture, and failing to appreciate that sometimes people make mistakes (It would NEVER happen to you or I, would it?), is what I would consider unprofessional.

There has been a lot of 'guess what I saw' posts on Prune recently, and whether people do it to show how great they are, or how stupid others are, doesn't really matter - it's just all a bit anal. Live and let live!

I have seen both (what I would call) unprofessional and professional behaviour all over the world, the best you can do is learn from the mistakes of others and assure yourself that you will try to do better when it's your turn. Failing that, hope that you receive the same forgiving attitude next time you don't manage to do better!

That si all, end of sermon (gets off soapbox)

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...proceeding below Decision Height with CAUTION...

[PaperTiger]

There was a recent thread here about the traffic mix at SFB. The gist was to clear out all the non-airline users so that the professionals could deposit their punters in peace every Saturday afternoon.

And there are but two blue A330 operators using SFB. One British, one Canadian.

Can't we all just get along ? (tm)

[Diesel8]

Affirmbrest,

Of course my remark was tongue in cheek and you are absolutely right. I hope you will post a likewise intelligent post on the thread about Delta at LHR.

D8

[AffirmBrest]

Sorry D8 - you must have replied at the same time as me - I was replying to LB and lymanm.

Still stand by what I said here tho'

AB

[lymanm]

Gentlemen, my post was merely a forum for my ranting. I don't claim to be perfect, nor do I expect it from anyone else.

There were probably reasons unknown to me that would explain that crew's actions. However, the fact that every other flight crew arriving here practically defines politeness and professionalism makes events like this stick out. It IS the norm to acknowledge a take-off clearance. It IS the norm to remain on frequency until advised...etc.

There probably is an explanation for everything. We've all had bad days. I guess the whole point of this thread is to learn from this fellow's bad day and try to prevent it ourselves.

Cheers

[ronchonner]

it s BRITANNIA or MONARCH AIRLINE...
general aviation have been in SFB airport before the terminal construction.
now, if these airlines can not adopt a gentleman attitude, they are free to go to orlando international.
first come, fist served...

[redsnail]

"fist served" ronchonner? Surely this thread will now go to Jetblast!
No offence ok?

[never2low]

Ronchonner,
A BLUE 330!!!!! Now what colour are Monarch??? Britannia don't go to SFB (they go to MCO) and by the way can you tell us when they got their 330's!!!