The Quiet Ones

[ACARS]

Question to you Cabin Crew -

Is it inexcusable for either the flight crew up front not to talk with the passengers at least once in the flight? (I am talking about before push back through to 10mins before landing).

The reason I ask - last night on an RJ85 we SLF didn't get spoken too. I told the cabin crew when I got off to thank the pilot for his great hosptiality. She replied that he was probably too busy to talk to the passengers - b&%%&"ks I say :confused:

What do you Cabin crew think of such flight crew?

[tinyflyerBHX]

Had plenty of short flights where the flight crew havent had time to speak to the PAX. Also there maybe a problem that the PAX are not aware of that the flight crew are working hard to solve. Although it is nice to hear from the flight crew during the flight, I'd rather they be concentrating on doing their job and flying the aircraft to get us all there safely than talking to the PAX. In some cases no news is good news!

Regards tinyflyerBHX

[jettesen]

There are plenty of times where the flight crew have told me to carry on with my safety announcement as they as too busy to talk to the pax. There are many raesons for this. ..... they have preflight checks to do, pushback checks to do, pre flight briefings to do ( which can't always be done on a quick turnaround as pax are boarding due to problems with gate, bags, tech problems and dispatchers always interupting them,) it may also be a short taxi to runway, so its more important to get on their way then speak to the SLF afterwards. Don't be alarmes when they dont speak to you on the ground, as they are not sitting up there doing nothing believe me!!!!

[5Y NJB]

I told the cabin crew when I got off to thank the pilot for his great hosptiality. She replied that he was probably too busy to talk to the passengers - b&%%&"ks I say

What do you Cabin crew think of such flight crew?

To be honest, I think your reaction says more about you than the professionalism of the flight crew.

"Inexcusable"? What does that have to do with anything? As other posters have pointed out, the flight crew might have been dealing with problems you didn't know about. Or perhaps you'd rather the flight deck were busy making PAs instead of looking after the safety of everyone on board? Sorry to sound harsh but the crew is not there to entertain the pax.

[ACARS]

Thanks for the comments -

I can accept the comments about the work load - although I have done the same flight for the last two years. This airline are known not to address the passengers until 'approaching the active runway' - this wasn't even down last night.

I hadn't thought about them dealing with a possible issue through cruise/decend into my home airport.

Hadn't happend before and I thought it was a bit rude - I guess I should accept it and move on :ouch: Much more important things happening in the world!!

[cheshirekitty]

I expect the flight crew to safely transport me from airport A to airport B.

I don't expect pleasant conversation.

I think the OP needs to get a life.

[bfisk]

I, on the other hand, think the sheer amount of so called "hospitality" these days is absolutely ridiculous. You are welcomed at the gate. You are welcomed when boarding. You are welcomed as you pass midway through the cabin. You are then welcomed over the PA, then from the cockpit. Then, after the seatbelt signs are off, you are then reminded that they were turned off, and welcomed again. Enroute you may be welcomed once more along with the landing forecast. Then we are all reminded once more that we are about to land, and that we have to fasten our seatbelts, as if the sign was too hard to read, or we didn't hear it the first time. Upon arrival, we are notified that we have indeed landed, for those who didn't figure, welcomed to the new airport, and given thanks. More thanks as we exit the aircraft.

On one particular leg about 1:50 long, beautiful weather all the way, the crew up front gave us SLF a detailed description of what we could see to the left and right and how the flight was to progress, probably 7 or 8 times. Could have been ok, but for a flight that leaves at 7 am in the morning, with probably a lot of transit pax, not so good as a lot of us, my self included, was trying to catch some sleep.

The less said, the better. There's courtesy and hospitality, and there's "thank you for shopping at walmart" - like you give a crap. If you have something important to say, say it, if you don't, well, don't.


Hat, coat, door...

[Khaosai]

Hi,

the flight ops manual for each specific airline will give guidance on what level of communication is required between flightdeck crew and passengers.

I am a fan of keeping it to a bare minimum if possible. Thats from a crew and passenger point of view. For passengers travelling frequently its gets wearsome very quickly. For a crew flying multiple sectors with a minimum amount of time spent on the ground then its probably not a main priority.

Talking on the PA whilst stopped and brakes set is fine. Not so keen on talking for any length of time whilst on the move.

Lots of info seems to be repeated, crew names, flight times, destination temp, local time etc which i feel is unnecessary.

A huge divide in the experience of the passengers travelling, so whats good for some does not suit others.

Rgds.

[Jean-Lill]

I fly as a pax 2 or 3 times a month with a large airline on 90 minute flights.

I have never been on a flight when the pilots have said nothing. I accept their priority is to fly us safely and more important issues over-ride the requirement for them to speak over the pa.

However, it is nice to hear their voices with an update about the progress of the flight etc and is good customer service from them in recognition of the custom we have given their company.

I find it hard to believe some people think they should remain silent if they have the time to speak.


What I dislike most about cabin announcements is when the cabin crew are thanked for their hard work over the pa. Praise and gratitude in my opinion should be given in private. It happened last week when there must have been fewer than 40 pax on the flight.

This is in no way a criticism of the service the cabin crew provide, they always work hard and do a good job in a professional manner. The flight experience is so much more professional when the pilots introduce themselves etc (if they have the time of course)

[mingalababya]

I was on a Garuda 747 many years ago where the cabin crew passed around a sheet of paper to the passengers with the captain's name, our cruising level, our route, estimated time of arrival etc. This was in-lieu of the flight crew making an announcement to the passengers on the PA. I'm not sure why they did this, but it sure was quite an "interesting" experience. My guess is that the PA system on the flight deck was probably not working ..hehehehehe .. it was an old aircraft with bits of the interior panel falling off.

[mona lot]

Of course it is excusable for flight crew not to talk to the passengers although it is not ideal! It depends on the length of the sector.

Company policy is always to do a PA. Flying is all about priorities and sometimes PAs are near the bottom of the list, sorry. There are times when it just isn't practical to do a PA for example when trying to meet a very tight air traffic control restriction before departure, or when given a last minute runway change before the top of descent, the aircraft has to be set up for the new approach and the approach rebriefed (note the CAA frown upon PAs during the descent).

ACARs, I am sure there was a very good reason you did not hear a PA.

[EASY 69]

Operational guidance aside, some people are naturally happier to talk more than others. Some people you can't shut up others are quite happy not saying a word. I remember a time when we took a bunch of pilots off cargo duties and put them on to passenger duties, most spoke not a single word for what were 8-9 hour sectors, (propably just as well actually!!), but some were so enthused about carrying passengers they just couldn't keep quiet......'now if you look to your left, about half way along the wing, you should see the inner engine. And just a little further beyond that is the outer engine, some of you maybe lucky enough to glance just beyond that and see the wing tip.' !!!! for 9 hours jeez!!

[A Comfy Chair]

ACARS,

Just an example (for a laugh). Unbelievably this happens more often than you think!

Our company expects us (as flight crew) to make a P.A, and gives suggested times and rough content. On the ground, as you can imagine, airlines tend to schedule minimum turnarounds. It only takes one or two things to happen (problem with loading, change in fuel order etc) and you are left in the situation of either pushing back straight away, or remaining at the gate for 2 minutes to make a PA. Obviously, pushback is the right answer.

On taxi, if it is a long, straight and uncomplicated taxi, then we would endeavour to do one then. If it is busy, or a complex/short taxi, then you just don't get the chance.

Airborn, then it depends on the sector length and initial workload. Los Angeles to Sydney, for example. After takeoff until top of climb can be busy, and if weather deviations, or any number of things come up, it could be 20 mins until we can make a P.A. If the CSM has started the movies for the flight, and its 20mins into cruise, a lot of passengers will be sleeping, or engrossed in the movie so best not make a P.A. and disturb everyone.

Just prior to top of descent, everyone will be awake and we'll try to make one then. Again, ATC delays, holding patterns, speed ups, weather deviations, runway changes, and of course murphy means these all happen about 10 mins from top of descent.

All of a sudden you've been busy for 30 mins out of a 16 hour flight, but you haven't had time for a P.A!

Of course, the other option is that the crew were lazy gits and didn't like speaking on the P.A :}

[ACARS]

Chesirekitty - I think telling the OP to get a alife is inappropriate - No PA announcement is lack of customer service skills fullstop.

I have flown twice a week for two years on the same airline/same route. I know enough about flying to know that one of them should have found two minutes to speak to the passengers.

Believe it or not some passengers to have the utmost respect for flight crew - I prefer to hear something about the route/weather/eta. Others don't give a flying duck.

I think the crew in question should have flown with the Pilot from a few weeks back who whilst applying power to start the take up run from the numbers on 25R said to the passengers "let's see if this thing flies". :D

[PENKO]

I think the posts have been pretty clear. Whilst it is very welcoming to hear a PA from the cockpit, there are very good reasons why on some occasions there is no time or opportunity for one. Just read the post of 'a comfy chair' again.

-If things are running behind schedule a bit, do you prefer the crew to depart on time or do you prefer a two minute delay just for your hospitality PA?

-Do you actually want the flight deck talking to you during what is potentially a very critical phase of your flight, the taxi out?

-At 5 in the morning reaching cruising altitude, do you want to hear how high you are, or do you just want to sleep?

-Some company policy actually prohibits PA during taxi, takeoff, climb descent and landing. Believe it or not sometimes your flightdeck has every intention to do a PA 'half an hour before arrival' when suddenly ATC gives them an early descent...


Now I know some individual pilots who are not keen on PA's or just plain lazy. But they are a minority in my opinion. The factors mentioned above happen far more often. By the way ACARS, why don't you ask this question in a pilot's forum? Trying to rally the cabin crew behind you? They have other worries then wether or not the pilot is doing his PA, believe me. The cabin crew have this great ability to tune out all non-essential blabla. Evidenced by the fact that 90% of times they call the flightdeck asking 'what time are we landing' mere minutes after we have informed the passengers of that very fact in multiple languages!:p

[ford cortina]

ACARS, I am a pilot, I strayed on to here today. I work for a African Airline, we fly a mix of Arabic and French speakers. I am English, I don't speak French or Arabic. So I normally do not bother with a speech, although sometimes I do give a PA, but it is in English.

Just because you have travelled on a route frequently does not mean you are aware of everything that goes on up front and that we should find two mins to talk to you. I was taught a very good lesson when I was a PPL, Aviate, Navigate, Communicate, this has served me well.
I agree there is nothing nicer than having a PA, when I am pax, but I would not consider it rude for one not to be given.
Happy flying and sorry for the intrusion on to the Cabin Crew forum
FC:ok:

[flapsforty]

The cabin crew have this great ability to tune out all non-essential blabla. Evidenced by the fact that 90% of times they call the flightdeck asking 'what time are we landing' mere minutes after we have informed the passengers of that very fact in multiple languages!:p

Mea Culpa Your Honour! ;)

For 20 years I happily tuned out PAs. When I became Purser I had to forcibly retrain myself to pay attention.
.. and even after 8 years as Senior Dragon, it still occasionally happens that I have to check the Flight Track system for our ETA after realising that the pilots have just said "something" via the PAS. A deeply ingrained CC habit as you say...

ACARS, 9 people have now taken the time to explain in a friendly manner why sometimes there is simply no time for a cockpit PA. A Comfy Chair has in addition kindly given you different real-life examples of when and why such situations can arise.
All in all demonstrating convincingly why your initial leading question and your reaction of "bølløx" to a most likely truthful answer from the CC were both .. let's say.. not necessarily justified.

Why not take your own advice from post 5 eh? :)

I guess I should accept it and move on :ouch: Much more important things happening in the world!!

[ACARS]

I asked for your opinion and certainly got it :ouch:

Don't worry I will continue to sit at 15A and keep my opinions to myself in future. :oh:

[Jean-Lill]

Acars,

There is no harm in asking a sensible question which your's was. There are virtually no airline pilots who do not make cabin announcements on every flight they make, they are a very decent bunch of people.

[sg64]

I was on an AA flight into LHR on 14 January. LHR was covered in a lovely layer of fog, so we were in a hold for around 30 minutes. All we got was an understandably grumpy pa from the flight deck saying that "you may have noticed that we're making lots of right turns up here, well air traffic control have told us we'll be here for a while". When we then left the hold, we were obviously not far off landing but had not heard anything further over the pa. The cabin crew were still collecting trash at this point. One of the cabin crew then made an announcement that they thought we were close to landing and that our tray tables should be up..." and as she said that, we emerged from the fog and touched down on the runway! The passengers laughed and cheered at this point, and the announcement continued "...well we obviously have now landed".

This struck me are really bad for the cabin crew. We were at the back of plane, in the rearmost section of economy, and the cabin crew member who was sitting in the rearward facing seat at the exit, had sat down and belted up a mere 5 seconds before we hit the runway. Clearly the message that the landing was about to happen had not been relayed properly to all of crew. Surely not the safest way of doing things for the crew.

[TightSlot]

This subject has come up several times in the Pax/SLF forum, usually with similar results to those seen here.

The simple truth is that every flight contains a large group of humans who, true to their genetic make-up, are individuals, with varying perceptions of what is important based on their life experience up to that point. Any action on the PA, which is by definition an instrument for mass communication will result in some individuals feeling that it is inappropriate - too little or too much. Finding a balance that meets the needs of everybody is virtually impossible, although extremes at either end, as discussed in this thread, will nearly always upset most people.

[A Comfy Chair]

ACARS, i'm sure Flapsforty and others have no issues with you asking questions. I'm not Cabin Crew, as many others who lurk in the CC forum aren't... and I haven't been kicked out (:}) so I'll assume us outsiders are welcome (for the moment anyway :E)

We love reasonable questions from "SLF", however your third post (the one Flapsforty was refering to) shows that despite being given some fairly detailed answers, you continue to say the crew were in the wrong. You haven't asked a genuine question... if you had, you'd have been happy with the multiple answers. You were trying to make a point.

The Cabin Crew usually couldn't care less what the pilots say in a "routine" P.A. (As Cabin Crew have their ears turned off for the pilot announcement!) I am impressed that Flapsforty has managed to retrain herself to keep her ears turned on! It is no skin off their nose if the flight crew make a P.A or not.

Coming into a Cabin Crew forum to say that Pilots are being bad by not making PA's is a little pointless. There are other forums for telling pilots they are being bad!

You say that you've flown the same route for years, twice a week. In all that time, how often have they not made a P.A? If it is once, I think you really need to consider that in all that time, to not get a P.A ONCE is pretty good going.

For what its worth, I agree that we should be making P.A's, and the VAST majority of pilots (even the ones who don't want to) DO make P.A's. Very rarely, we are too busy, or yes, sometimes we forget. We are human, and do make mistakes (despite what we tell the Cabin Crew :})

[Abusing_the_sky]

Guilty as charged again!:}
Oh bwoy, lost the count i (as a CC) didn't pay attention to the F/D's PA. I am ever so sorry, but between handrails down, head count, cross check with the dispatcher, closing doors and asking JU's to confirm doors for departure, bugger me if i have time and/or give a monkey re F/D's PAs.
But sometimes, during taxiing, i ding them and ask " guys, have you done your PA?" I only ask them that when and if everything's ran smoothly and there were no PAs: no bad weather, no issues with the take off performance analysis in said bad weather, no waiting and/or arguing with the handling agent for the de-icing rig, no trainees in the right seat.
During the cruise, i still don't give a monkey's if the F/D makes a PA or not. Pax should know where are they taking off from and where are they going to land; if anyone asks me "which mountains are we flying over" i am more than happy to come back with an answer after I've asked the pilots; i am no walking Encyclopedia, all i know is pax safety and FA drills and that's enough; I am NOT a tour guide!

As for
I have flown twice a week for two years on the same airline/same route. I know enough about flying to know that one of them should have found two minutes to speak to the passengers.



Until you fly up to i.e. 30hrs for 5 days, as CC or Flight Crew, may i just say you know NOTHING about flying Sir (see above)
Customer service... Since when do pilots have to provide customer service, in your terms? It's like moaning about the landing in cross winds (it was the most dreadful landing i ever experienced darling, make sure you pass that on to the Captain - say it with the appropriate "posh" accent); tell you what: not only you walked out of it unharmed, but do us a favor and how about you land it next time?:ugh:

There is a defined line between pax and air crew; bankers and their customers; doctors and their patients. Know your place and rights and get on with it.

Simples:}

Rgds,
ATS

[IRRenewal]

Our ops manual dictates I WILL speak to you before departure. it is a safety issue. Apparently all pax will listen to me and will recognise my voice should I order an evacuation.

Our ops manual also states I MAY talk to you at any point during the flight (but not during climb or descent unless absolutely essential). No matter how anxious you are about knowing the expected arrival time or the temperature at your destination, non of this is a safety issue and for me flying the aeroplane has the higher priority. Aviate, Navigate, Communicate.

If we get told to descent 50 miles before we were planning to, that little window I had for a PA is gone. A shame, but not a safety issue.

Did you have a safe flight, ACARS?

[frequentflyer2]

One BA pilot who used to fly the LHR to BFS shuttles had a great line of patter for his pre-take off announcement. One beautiful summer's evening in the late 1990's we were flying back on the last flight of the day. Concorde was just in front of us so we had to wait while it took off. The sheer power of its engines made our Boeing 737 vibrate and he came on the intercom with some witty comments about this followed by an amusing description of our flightplan. I don't remember it all but one comment stuck in my mind. He explained we would make a sharp turn immediately after take-off. This was necessary, he said, because travelling in a straight line would result in us landing in America which he was sure was not part our travel plans. Everyone laughed and there's no doubt it helped nervous flyers relax. As a passenger I do understand the flight crew are very busy but if the pilot has warned you about turbulence during the intial climb it does give you a greater sense of security when the aircraft is swaying around. The same thing applies if it's going to be a bumpy approach.

[flapsforty]

I flew Virgin Atlantic a while ago LAX-LHR and thougt it was odd that the captain did not say a word for the entire long-haul flight, instead leaving all announcements to the F/O. But as you say, who knows what's going on up there.

JohnR, different airlines have different procedures for this and many other things, and since I don´t fly for Virgin, I can´t speak for them.
But the very same thing can happen when you tavel on 'my' airline.

Explanation of how things work at my mob:

Before every stretch, the pilots decide who will be the Pilot Flying and who will be the Pilot not Flying.
The PF (Pilot Flying) does the taxiing, flying & looking out of the window with everything that entails, from pushback to on-blocks. (very simplified, pilots feel free to expand)
The PnF is also very busy and will do many things. Among them keeping an eye on the PF and the instruments, read the checklists, do the Radio Transmissions, do the call-outs, dial & preset frequencies, pre-set the v and l-nav buttons, type into the flight management computer and other systems, check the manuals if needed, send ACARS massages and do the public address to the passengers.


If on a particular stretch the Captain is the PF and the First Officer is the PnF, the FO will be the one making all the PAs.
Unless something out of the ordinary happens and the Captain feels that the pax specifically need to hear from him/her since he/she is the ultimately responsible and final authority on every flight.

Now you know a little more about what can go on ´up there´:)

[CEJM]

JohnR,

Different companies, different rules. In my company it is normal for the captain to do the welcome PA and after that it is the PF who makes the remaining PA's (top of climb, before top of descent). However it does occasionally happen that the F/O also makes the welcome PA. Nothing to worry about.

Added to meet Flapsfoty's request in the Questions thread.

In 'my' UK airline, we decide before going to the aircraft who is pilot flying (PF) and Pilot Non Flying (PNF). The PNF does the walk around and part of the paperwork in the flgiht deck. The PF in the meantime prepares the aircraft for its flight, i.e. loads the flight plan into the computer etc.

The captain will do the pushback, engine start and taxying. Once lined up on the runway he/she hands over control to the F/O (if he is the PF) and the F/O does the take-off, climb, cruise, descent and landing. During the landing roll out the captain takes control and taxies to the gate.

The PF does all the flying and the PNF does the paperwork during the cruise, listens to the weather, speaks to air traffic control, company and handling agents.

That is in broad terms how the workload is divided in 'my' company.

CEJM

[angels]

I must confess its not the sort of thing that worries me, but I do like a pilot with a sense of humour!

Recall a rather hairy landing at Gatters on CX once. On the way down the plane was all over the shop (the pilot had warned it was going to be a bumpy descent), but the landing itself was a real greaser.

The pilot came on and said, "Welcome to Gatwick.....Good landing, wasn't it?!" Happy smiles all round.

As we trundled to the gate the pilot came on, "Ladies and gentlemen. It has just been pointed out to me in the strongest possible terms that the landing was performed by my FO Cap'n xxxxxx." In the background of the announcement was an ironic cheer and the sound of handclapping.

More smiles all round. :ok:

[ACARS]

Until you fly up to i.e. 30hrs for 5 days, as CC or Flight Crew, may i just say you know NOTHING about flying Sir

Abusing_the_sky - Why would you say such a thing? I happen to have a very keen interest in GA - I probably know a lot more than you think.

Coming into a Cabin Crew forum to say that Pilots are being bad by not making PA's is a little pointless. There are other forums for telling pilots they are being bad!

Comfy chair - my original question was asking what do Cabin Crew think about Flight Crew who don't give a PA, hence why I asked on this forum.

Everyone is different and whilst being hammered with 30hrs a week might reinforce simple lessons and concepts in YOUR head, it may not be necessarily be something other people need in order to catch onto the way things work in an airplane. - Bravo Eclan :D:D:D

ACARS, your attempt to start a war hasn't quite worked out but you never know,

Never my intention :O

[A Comfy Chair]

Yes, your original question was about what do CC think about this... your second and third posts, however, showed that despite getting answers from CC and pilots, you kept pushing the line that the pilots were behaving in an unacceptable manner. That is why I said if you want to abuse pilots, the Cabin Crew forum is a silly place to do it. Not many pilots are brave enough to lurk in these Cabin Crew halls! :}

I think your answer, in a nutshell, is that most think that it is preferable for a PA to be made, but acknowledge that sometimes it isn't practical. We have also learned that Cabin Crew don't actually listen to PA's made from the flightdeck :} (Unless they are particulally important).

A question for you (a serious one... unusual I know) - Would you rather take a 2 minute delay at the gate before pushback to hear the pilot say welcome on board, or would you rather they said nothing and you departed on time?

For a laugh go ask 411A (a self confessed experienced aviator who I think might still live in a time where political correctness hasn't been invented) in the Questions forum what he thinks of your question about PA's. :E

[CornishFlyer]

I have operated a flight before whereby the autopilot wasn't working correctly and so the flight crew had a lot more work to do and as a consequence had no time to inform the pax and they weren't about to worry everyone by saying that they had a problem so it's was a quiet sector from the front. Their workload had suddenly gone thru the roof for the poor guys and although it wasn't an emergency situation, it just meant they had no time for niceties.

Maybe your experience was down to something like that. Something you were totally unaware of. Something that was important! Not hearing a PA isn't the end of the world and sometimes you need to think outside of the box. Making comments to the crew about what goes on the other side of that door which nobody apart from the pilots is aware of, is pretty rude and will do yourself no favours. Coming on here asking if it is "inexcusable" that you didn't get a PA is going to be met with a plain and simple, no and also the sort of comment you have received. Surely you can expect nothing else?

[ACARS]

Making comments to the crew about what goes on the other side of that door which nobody apart from the pilots is aware of, is pretty rude and will do yourself no favours. Coming on here asking if it is "inexcusable" that you didn't get a PA is going to be met with a plain and simple, no and also the sort of comment you have received. Surely you can expect nothing else?

Fair comments Cornishflyers- the discussion has opened my eyes. :eek:

[EASY 69]

I remember once a very young and overly enthusic capt (American), asking me what type of passengers we were carrying. Flight was a charter MAN/MCO std 0600,operated by ATA. I told him they would be usual north of england,take it or leave it, pretty resourceful types,who were mostly still half asleap. He gave me a wry smile. We boarded all pax, they settled down into their seats, dispatcher just signing off last bit of paperwork and engineer doing the same. Then the pa blurted out in a real southern texan KFC type accent 'Good mornin ladies, gentleman and kiddies. Welcome onboard American Transair flight 123 from Manchester Uk to Nashville Tennesse USofA. Your non stop red eye special........................' Over 70% of the passengers shot up and got off the aircraft, thinking either they were on the wrong flight or that the Capt was a fruit cake.
It took quite some time for everyone to be convinced that it was ok to reboard and then finally when they did a very, very embarrassed Capt made a very,very apologetic pa. Just proves that passengers DO listen to those PA's !!!

[BYALPHAINDIA]

Yeah, Or can't be bothered?

Coming from experience, I think some crews have forgotten that this job is about making the pax feel wanted, relaxed, And it to be a 'Fun' experience for all frequent or infrequent flyer.

I can symphathise with Conan and Acars on some of their points they raised.

'Cheshire' Kitty you are obviously a young & inexperienced CC? But I don't agree with what you said, About not communicating with your customers?

Are you frightened of being yourself?

Some of the crews I have known, Have not been themselves on the job, And pretended to be something that they are not.

How long does it take to make a PA - 40 seconds?

Like any where you get some really interesting crew, Then you also get some real 'Boring' types who cannot make or hold a conversation whatsoever.

Dare I say it but I think some of these communication & service problems are common in some of the 'temp' summer 6 month CC who know that they are only going to be working at XX Airline for 6 months then down the road, So they may feel that they can behave how they want, Because they won't get a 'Perm' job anyway?

I have seen some 'temp' Charter CC first hand behave immaturely when in a large 'temp' crew, Getting giddy, And going beyond being funny/amusing all in front of their seated audience!!

I was a pax on a well known 'Loco' carrier last year, And the experience was unbelievable and an embarrasment to the excellent work the full time CC do!

I have even considered not flying on their 757's again.

But then obviously my choice of flights will be limited.

At the end of the day the pax just want the basics, A - B, Good service a bonus if excellent service is provided.

Friendly and attentitive CC, Who just be themselves, And not have the 'Dominant' hardfaced & look at me I'm lovely attitude - the pax aren't bothered about all that anymore - maybe 30 years ago!!

I know for some CC and regular flying pax the job is 'Teedious' but don't forget some of your pax are not so fortunate and have never flown before, And they are in your care.

The job is still publicly viewed as a luxury compared to working in an office 9-5?

[PENKO]

Sorry, could you say that again? What were you trying to say?

[VS-Toga]

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.

[Cyclone733]

In an ideal world we'll speak to you before we start the engines and push back and again in the cruise.

End of the day, if we need to bust a groove to beat the aircraft next to us to the push back or to meet a slot we'll leave it to the ever capable cabin crew to brief you on the important safety instructions and the less important flight times.

In the cruise we'll normally have time to speak to you. Not entirely sure a seasoned traveller needs us to tell them that we're at 36 thousand feet and making good progress to x with an on time arrival expected. The weather at the airport being fine for our approach but otherwise not a hugely useful prediction of weather in the surrounding area. The ever popular "We're passing over z, but it's dark and we're flying above thick cloud" speech isn't a huge amount of use to the tourist or the business traveller.

If you are interested feel free to ask the cabin crew questions such as "Where are we?" "What route are we flying?" "What type of engines are on this aircraft?" You may get funny looks, but we'll normally try and give you a sensible answer or a badly drawn diagram....

If it's stormy/snowing or foggy and you don't hear from us it's more likely we're busy working out the 2nd, 3rd or even 4th option for where to take the aircraft. Yes we want you to enjoy your flight, but getting you to the most suitable airport is our main priority.

End of the day our main job is to get you to where you want to be as safely and as quickly as possible. If we can add extra value to your flight we'll try. We aren't ignoring you for the hell of it, we're probably working out how long we can sit in the hold before we divert and speaking to our operations department to find out which airport has the best facilities to look after you and get you to your orginal destination from our diversion airfield.

[Sykes]

Funny thread.

Some of you guys are very precious; I'm not sure how you can get out of bed and face the day.

BYALPHAINDIA: Your post was the best so far :ok:

I never knew until I read it that I'm NOT meant to get pax from A to B in a safe and timely manner, I'm meant to:

I think some crews have forgotten that this job is about making the pax feel wanted, relaxed, And it to be a 'Fun' experience for all frequent or infrequent flyer.

How could I have been so wrong? :eek: :\ :}

I can't understand your problem with 'Cheshire kitty', as I can't see anywhere where he/she said that they were CC?

After that, your post goes into a decline.

But... Funny stuff guys; keep it coming.

SYKES:

P.S. Oh yes, please come to Australia and make comments/complaints like these to the CC. (But only if you really like being laughed at.)