jack_essex - He/She was a very brave, if somewhat unwise Flight Attendant IMHO. I make it an absolute rule never to pass comment of any kind on a landing on the PA. Some pilots take strong exception to such PA's, taking the view that the CC are not in a position to know all of the circumstances surrounding any given approach and landing, and are therefore not qualified to pass judgement in front of others. I can understand their point.
One of the (many) bits of advice I give to new hire crew is never to refer to the quality of a landing in front of a pilot, even on the crew bus after a flight, unless specifically asked by the Captain - even then, discretion is appropriate. This isn't just about courtesy, but also about respecting the chain of command.
P.S. - Gerona isn't an especially short runway at 2,400m (7,874ft) there are certainly shorter, such as Luton at 2,160m (7,086ft). Sometimes, pilots will break a little harder in order to facilitate turning off the runway sooner: This clears the runway for a following aircraft and saves taxi fuel by reducing the taxi distance. This may or may not have been the case in GRO, but is not uncommon at many airfields.
P.P.S. Quite possible that my runway information is either out of date or that there are performance factors that I am unaware of, in which case please correct as required
Last edited by TightSlot; 24th Aug 2005 at 11:35.