Flew four sectors within Egypt in a 737 a year or two ago. It was an eye-opening experience.
A few of the points that spring to mind:
- both pilots entering the cockpit literally seconds before engine start. (OK, I accept that they could have done their setup beforehand, but talk about the old fighter pilot adage of “Kick the tyres, light the fires, first into the air’s lead, we’ll brief on Guard.” [But I didn’t see anyone ever kick the tyres.])
- - front row of cabin stacked full of unsecured crew baggage, both the seats and the floor. (They apparently don’t trust their loaders with their bags.)
- 28 seat pitch meant anyone over 5’10” couldn’t fit into the seats except for the emergency exit row, (which had a little more legroom if only because the seat backs on the row in front could not recline).
- especially the 400 pound (I’m not exaggerating) American who was put in the aisle seat beside me (well, ‘beside’ is a relative term – he literally spilled over into my seat). I spent the trip leaning 30 degrees to the right because he took up a third of my seat space while he ate two helpings of everything the FAs had to offer AND from the stash of food in his rucksack. When I pointed out to the FA that the gentleman would block the emergency exit, (he would not have fitted through it – he could only get down the aisle with some difficulty), she said “Where else can I put him?” I let it go as my wife and I were closer to the exit than he was.
- with a flight attendant still standing in the aisle taking happy snaps of a honeymooning couple in Row 9, I commented to my wife that the pilot was taxying very fast. Silly me – he wasn’t taxying, he was taking off, about ninety seconds after taxing, with no apparent check with the cabin crew (no emergency briefing that leg since we’d all been briefed on the previous leg). The FA realised what was happening when the aircraft reached about 90 knots and turned to run for her seat at the front. By the time she reached the Row 1, the aircraft had rotated and was at 15 degrees nose up. She never made it to her seat but just clung desperately to the Row 1 seat back to stop herself rolling back to Row 20. I don’t even want to think what would have happened to her (or the poor sods she would have hit) had we aborted.
- 1500’ on finals into Cairo and all the mobile phones come out as everyone calls Mum to tell her “We’re just landing now.”
There was more, but I’ve done my best to forget. The funniest part of the day was the look on the face of the other pilot, who was approaching retirement, travelling with me. What do they say? Priceless!