The dangers of being a pilot...
JanetFlight, Pax often know better!!!
Used to fly single pilot to an island often suffering fog even in Summer. Trick, be patient, wait on the ground and then go once the clearance had started! One typical day, sauntered into the Gate and briefed Pax in person for the reason for the delay. I always liked to do that if I could - it saved the Gate staff getting grief.
As I was leaving a rival flight was called to board for a flight to the destination and a gent in a suit followed me out and had a right go at me as to why they were going and we weren't. I finally ended it by suggesting he take it up with Head Office and that I was going to have a coffee until conditions started to improve and that he should do so too.
As expected the other aircraft sat in the hold at the destination before finally diverting back for more fuel.
Cue clearance starting at the destination so I went to deliver the good news to my Pax and, as I was about to leave the rival plane landed outside. Cue irate gent, now furious - "Look, they've been and they are now back and we've had to sit here wasting time! You call yourself a pilot???!". "Sir, if you check, the people who left here an hour ago on that plane are still on that plane but they had to come back for more fuel as they were running out!". I watched him dash off ....
When at the aircraft he came up to me "I'd really like to apologise! You clearly made a good decision and I'm really glad we were relaxing on the ground having coffee [no in-flight catering!] and not in the air. I've learned a lesson today and I'm really sorry for earlier!". "No problems Sir, I'll get you there shortly now conditions are improving! Don't worry about it!" As I suspected, he'd been to the rival check-in who confirmed they hadn't got in!
What he didn't know it was the first time I'd prayed to the weather-god to delay the weather clearance ..... which he/she/it did to absolute perfection!!!!
Used to fly single pilot to an island often suffering fog even in Summer. Trick, be patient, wait on the ground and then go once the clearance had started! One typical day, sauntered into the Gate and briefed Pax in person for the reason for the delay. I always liked to do that if I could - it saved the Gate staff getting grief.
As I was leaving a rival flight was called to board for a flight to the destination and a gent in a suit followed me out and had a right go at me as to why they were going and we weren't. I finally ended it by suggesting he take it up with Head Office and that I was going to have a coffee until conditions started to improve and that he should do so too.
As expected the other aircraft sat in the hold at the destination before finally diverting back for more fuel.
Cue clearance starting at the destination so I went to deliver the good news to my Pax and, as I was about to leave the rival plane landed outside. Cue irate gent, now furious - "Look, they've been and they are now back and we've had to sit here wasting time! You call yourself a pilot???!". "Sir, if you check, the people who left here an hour ago on that plane are still on that plane but they had to come back for more fuel as they were running out!". I watched him dash off ....
When at the aircraft he came up to me "I'd really like to apologise! You clearly made a good decision and I'm really glad we were relaxing on the ground having coffee [no in-flight catering!] and not in the air. I've learned a lesson today and I'm really sorry for earlier!". "No problems Sir, I'll get you there shortly now conditions are improving! Don't worry about it!" As I suspected, he'd been to the rival check-in who confirmed they hadn't got in!
What he didn't know it was the first time I'd prayed to the weather-god to delay the weather clearance ..... which he/she/it did to absolute perfection!!!!
Recently in India.../
Thread Starter
JanetFlight, Pax often know better!!!
Used to fly single pilot to an island often suffering fog even in Summer. Trick, be patient, wait on the ground and then go once the clearance had started! One typical day, sauntered into the Gate and briefed Pax in person for the reason for the delay. I always liked to do that if I could - it saved the Gate staff getting grief.
As I was leaving a rival flight was called to board for a flight to the destination and a gent in a suit followed me out and had a right go at me as to why they were going and we weren't. I finally ended it by suggesting he take it up with Head Office and that I was going to have a coffee until conditions started to improve and that he should do so too.
As expected the other aircraft sat in the hold at the destination before finally diverting back for more fuel.
Cue clearance starting at the destination so I went to deliver the good news to my Pax and, as I was about to leave the rival plane landed outside. Cue irate gent, now furious - "Look, they've been and they are now back and we've had to sit here wasting time! You call yourself a pilot???!". "Sir, if you check, the people who left here an hour ago on that plane are still on that plane but they had to come back for more fuel as they were running out!". I watched him dash off ....
When at the aircraft he came up to me "I'd really like to apologise! You clearly made a good decision and I'm really glad we were relaxing on the ground having coffee [no in-flight catering!] and not in the air. I've learned a lesson today and I'm really sorry for earlier!". "No problems Sir, I'll get you there shortly now conditions are improving! Don't worry about it!" As I suspected, he'd been to the rival check-in who confirmed they hadn't got in!
What he didn't know it was the first time I'd prayed to the weather-god to delay the weather clearance ..... which he/she/it did to absolute perfection!!!!
Used to fly single pilot to an island often suffering fog even in Summer. Trick, be patient, wait on the ground and then go once the clearance had started! One typical day, sauntered into the Gate and briefed Pax in person for the reason for the delay. I always liked to do that if I could - it saved the Gate staff getting grief.
As I was leaving a rival flight was called to board for a flight to the destination and a gent in a suit followed me out and had a right go at me as to why they were going and we weren't. I finally ended it by suggesting he take it up with Head Office and that I was going to have a coffee until conditions started to improve and that he should do so too.
As expected the other aircraft sat in the hold at the destination before finally diverting back for more fuel.
Cue clearance starting at the destination so I went to deliver the good news to my Pax and, as I was about to leave the rival plane landed outside. Cue irate gent, now furious - "Look, they've been and they are now back and we've had to sit here wasting time! You call yourself a pilot???!". "Sir, if you check, the people who left here an hour ago on that plane are still on that plane but they had to come back for more fuel as they were running out!". I watched him dash off ....
When at the aircraft he came up to me "I'd really like to apologise! You clearly made a good decision and I'm really glad we were relaxing on the ground having coffee [no in-flight catering!] and not in the air. I've learned a lesson today and I'm really sorry for earlier!". "No problems Sir, I'll get you there shortly now conditions are improving! Don't worry about it!" As I suspected, he'd been to the rival check-in who confirmed they hadn't got in!
What he didn't know it was the first time I'd prayed to the weather-god to delay the weather clearance ..... which he/she/it did to absolute perfection!!!!
We had exactly the same on a smaller scale. We arrived at Abbeville on the way back to England just as the weather turned to rain and fog. The following day the forecast for a cross channel flight was not VFR but a few microlights and GA thought it would be OK. So, we took ourselves into the town and had a pleasant day chilling and the chancers were readying their aircraft and departing. When we got back to the motel ALL of the morning chancers were back kicking their heels in the bar. The following day was a re-run, a few more folk had turned up and added to the chancers heading up to Cape G N while we, having checked the forecast, had another day chilling in Abbeville town. I hate to think how much fuel was wasted heading up to the coast and then turning back to Abbeville but I bet it was more than we spent on food and drink around the town.
Rans6.................................
Rans6.................................
Fog clearance at those suspected islands wasn’t quite so guaranteed. I was once waiting for an inbound flight for 48 hrs due fog. Most of the time the RVR would move between 300m to 800m up and down, up and down, so if you departed SOU when the weather was improving you could find yourself fogged out again by the time you arrived. It was already a calculated risk.
From the link
They single pilot? 
In a video which has went viral on many social media platforms shows an agitated passenger punching the co-pilot while he was announcing on board about flight delays. The passenger, wearing a yellow jacket is seen running up to the captain and slapping him on the face
FOG and sucker holes
Well FOG is a very interesting (and unreliable) situation. Together with its partner in crime 'sucker holes'.
Those who choose to rely on a clearance without 'reliable' alternatives do so at their peril.
If you add on freezing conditions and you are in a machine devoid of protection then Russian roulette seems like a safe game.
We could be socked in for days 'down west' with no alternatives whilst other companies flew overhead on their missions from clear base's.
I always remember a day at lands End when the pleasure flight Cessna taxied out for its 5 min foray, and before reaching the runway it just clamped in an instant when 'the split joined up in a record breaking time', never forgot that, and always ensured 'lots of fuel' as a clear bolt hole may not be as near as you would like when you need it.
Those who choose to rely on a clearance without 'reliable' alternatives do so at their peril.
If you add on freezing conditions and you are in a machine devoid of protection then Russian roulette seems like a safe game.
We could be socked in for days 'down west' with no alternatives whilst other companies flew overhead on their missions from clear base's.
I always remember a day at lands End when the pleasure flight Cessna taxied out for its 5 min foray, and before reaching the runway it just clamped in an instant when 'the split joined up in a record breaking time', never forgot that, and always ensured 'lots of fuel' as a clear bolt hole may not be as near as you would like when you need it.
Fog clearance at those suspected islands wasn’t quite so guaranteed. I was once waiting for an inbound flight for 48 hrs due fog. Most of the time the RVR would move between 300m to 800m up and down, up and down, so if you departed SOU when the weather was improving you could find yourself fogged out again by the time you arrived. It was already a calculated risk.
It certainly was a bit unpredictable! 
Oh, and why I soon invested in an extra toothbrush and toothpaste for permanent residence in the old flight bag!!!Inter-island was not so bad as you'd not lose too much by sitting on the ground drinking coffee till a definite clearance presented itself (informed via a phone call from spies lurking at the destination - worked very well that!) rather than going on the TAF which was always a bit of a Lotto on such days - and far better for the pax too given the "luxurious" accommodation once on board! The chug across the Channel was, as you say, a bit more problematic as you'd often have to go on the TAF to stand any chance of keeping the schedule. Always annoying to arrive and find the island crystal-clear & CAVOK but with just the last 3 fields in the West still in the gloop with the RVR being measured in MM!
My "dit" was a local trip hence the luxury of an extra coffee that day!
Pax reaction to weather delays
1992… my first 2 sectors in command after the 744 conversion were a HKG-SEL-HKG shuttle, having got the HKG approval observing as heavy crew on the way in. Left HKG in the morning with long turnaround for evening departure back to HKG, as the first leg of the aircraft’s SEL – HKG – LHR schedule, with Korean Airlines and Cathay having similar timed SEL-HKG-LHR departures. A typhoon was expected to arrive at HKG by the time these flights were due to arrive and forecast to be pretty severe.
It seemed to me that there migt be some possibility (!) of not actually getting in off the IGS approach at night in a major typhoon when only just qualified on type and previously only having landed the simulator at HKG. So I had a chat with the station manager and ops control regarding best options from a commercial viewpoint. My initial preference was just to delay to allow for a forecast improvement to materialise. However, apparently a very similar situation had occurred a couple of months earlier, Cathay and Korean had departed on schedule but BA had delayed. This had resulted in major ructions in the terminal and some bad publicity. The advice was take lots of fuel, divert wherever I wanted but get out of Seoul as a repetition would probably have “serious adverse repercussions” ! The fact that the Cathay and Korean flights never got in to HKG on the previous occasion and their passengers ended up with a much longer delay than the BA ones didn’t apparently figure in the local thinking….
We did managed to get in on the first attempt, but I felt justified in liberating a bottle of fizz for the crew bus …… As it happened, BA had just started a Seoul cabin crew base a few weeks earlier. In the bus the senior Korean stewardess very excitedly told me this was the first time she had landed in Hong Kong as a crew member …. I told her it was mine too. I'm not sure she believed me - she just said “Ah – you are a very very funny Captain!”!
It seemed to me that there migt be some possibility (!) of not actually getting in off the IGS approach at night in a major typhoon when only just qualified on type and previously only having landed the simulator at HKG. So I had a chat with the station manager and ops control regarding best options from a commercial viewpoint. My initial preference was just to delay to allow for a forecast improvement to materialise. However, apparently a very similar situation had occurred a couple of months earlier, Cathay and Korean had departed on schedule but BA had delayed. This had resulted in major ructions in the terminal and some bad publicity. The advice was take lots of fuel, divert wherever I wanted but get out of Seoul as a repetition would probably have “serious adverse repercussions” ! The fact that the Cathay and Korean flights never got in to HKG on the previous occasion and their passengers ended up with a much longer delay than the BA ones didn’t apparently figure in the local thinking….
We did managed to get in on the first attempt, but I felt justified in liberating a bottle of fizz for the crew bus …… As it happened, BA had just started a Seoul cabin crew base a few weeks earlier. In the bus the senior Korean stewardess very excitedly told me this was the first time she had landed in Hong Kong as a crew member …. I told her it was mine too. I'm not sure she believed me - she just said “Ah – you are a very very funny Captain!”!
