Just wanted to add my tuppence.....
This is simply about prioritisation.
Please understand that flying takes a lot of mental concentration. A modern airplane is not like driving a car; it is about detail, accurate proceedure and concentration. Sometimes, when minor things go wrong it might be the first time either the PF or PnF have ever expereicned the situation in live and airbourne, and in that instance we have formal proceedures to follow that require accuracy, process, dilligence and concentration.
My airline encourages us to make FD announcements and give us latitude in what we say. However, time does not always allow that. Circumstances even on the stand can dictate we simply don't have the time, or more importantly, the mental bandwidth- especially when you are concentrating on loadings, fueling, hitting your slot etc.
If we're flying from somewhere like LHR then it's easier to use the PA as we know the taxiways, proceedures, our colleagues and so on like the back of our hands- if we're downroute then our first priority is safety. So again, brain needed to do other things.
Also, upstairs- when you're in the cruise, it really depends on time of flight and so on- some pax want to hear things, some don't and to an extent you're damned if you do and damned if you don't. People will moan if their film/meal/snooze is distrubed. Also, often on the climb there's quite a bit to deal with, so again brain is engaged in driving. And on descent there's loads to deal with, so unless you're in an interminable holding pattern, again, my priority is a safe landing. And, things change all the time during that time that need the correct reaction and response- it's not like driving down the M1.
However, I relalise some are nervous and some just want to be informed, so if we have time and have something interesting to say, then we'll chip in. And we do have a sense of humour.
Lastly, IMHO, the majority of pax would not know good airmanship if it slapped them in the face. So comments about landings and so on should be ignored, as are gripes about PA announcements. I've yet to hear a pax say "Well, we had a prang, a few of us got out of it alive, but hell that skipper's a wag- he was cracking us with his witty one liners up as it all went tits up".
So my take on this is simple; my first and only priority is to get you there in one piece. If I do that, I have fulfilled every professional obligation I have. And very lastly, just for the record, in no part in my job description does it mention being a paid entertainer.
Last edited by VS-Toga; 27th February 2009 at 18:12.