As the name says - I am Pax and can only view this topic from the back where the information I have is past experience and looking out of the window.
When I hear stories of people taking off into storms - I actively move that carrier down my preference list. I know, of course, that each f/c will make their own choice and you cannot expect the same result with every rotation. Except that, as pax, I do! I agree with fireflybob that 'slotmania' works against us all.
I want to know that my carrier will always skirt around cb activity and sit on the stand or even divert. On my regular trips to JNB I am always pleased when we sidestep the cbs over the equator. I
like to see the red trail on the SkyMap showing me that the f/c want us to comfortable.
That is what I am paying for.
I realise that a departure through dark cloud might turn out to uneventful. I realise that the folks sitting in the pointy end have pretty colours on the radar BUT!!!
In all of this the P/A is crucial. If you do decide to go, speak to us and reassure us that you have heard from a company a/c that just went through it. You can presume that most pax will not know how rapidly the situation can change in the five or fifteen minutes that it will take to get from the stand to line up!
Nowadays, because of wx radar and the great improvements in data transfer between a/c + met + ATC, we have much less turbulence than 20 or 30 years ago. Which means that pax are much less used to it. What is considered 'a light bounce' by the professionals might be considered 'heavy turbulence' by inexperienced pax and that view will be taken back to their friends and family, aka your customers!
I shall never forget going through an African thunderstorm at FL160 in a Viscount. Almost everyone was being ill and it seemed to go on for ever.
That was 33 years ago and the flight crew would have had little choice but any modern carrier that puts me through an avoidable storm, will not see me again.
At JNB last December, there was the usual summer storm passing through and I was VERY pleased that the J41 captain said that we would be holding for 15 mins. As we turned onto 03L, he warned that it was still going to be bumpy. It was what I would call moderate turbulence but one woman still screamed out loud - despite having been warned, twice, about the bumps. We were out of it in ten minutes.
So - talk to us and tell us why we are going to be late! Will Ops be cross that you missed the slot and had another 30 mins wait? Yes. But, to most pax, airlines are 'all the same' and the only things that you can differentiate with are cabin service. Not making the passengers scream and throw up, is also a valid service to offer.
