Thanks Qantas

[VHOGI]

Today my youngest and I did a MEL-SYD-MEL hop to burn up some FFP's, ride the ferries and see the Harbour but more importantly to spend some quality time together. On the way home, QF447, she asked if she could say hi to the pilots, after explaining why this was not an option in-flight we hung around in our seats after we docked back at Gate 24 at MEL until all pax were off and asked the CSM if this would be possible, after a quick check my girl was soon racing her way up front with the CSM for a visit to the flightdeck of our taxi home, a workhorse B767-300, and I have to say here and now the welcome she got was simply amazing, these 2 guys were fantastic, they took her in, sat her in the Left Hand seat, put on the captains hat and took some great photos, these are the sorts of things that in this day and age make all the BS we put up with in life all the more worthwhile. To the flight crew of this particular flight you'll be pleased to know my 6 year old girl has just gone to bed with a memory of today that will not be erased for a long time, after weeks of planning and all the excitement and expectation of the day, her most vivid and strong memory is what happened at the end of this flight and for that I am eternally grateful. What more can I say but a bloody huge thank you to the crew of this flight, you have etched a memory in 2 people that will not be erased for a LONG time.

[Nepotisim]

Sounds like you had a great day with your daughter. I am pleased that the crew (cabin and tech) were obliging in your request and gave you a few minutes extra of their time. I am sure it will be remembered for a long time. It is nice to see a positive post amongst all the others that occur here.:ok::ok::ok:

[the wizard of auz]

Good work those Lads. I dips me lid to ya. :ok:

[Ultergra]

Very refreshing to hear!

As a kid who once visited the flight deck (in-flight too back in the day) I know it set the tracks to where I am today.

A special shout out to all the crew involved who made your special day VHOGI!

:ok:

[cokecropduster]

Please send this into Qantas direct! All the crew would be really happy to receive this feedback!

[Keg]

I stuck your note on Qrewroom where it's now highly likely the crew will see it. Hope you don't mind.

[Boomerang_Butt]

Glad to know visits up front make an impression on the kiddies. I encourage it whenever time permits, always nice to see the smiles on their faces! Thanks for posting here, it's great to get some positives as the others have said, rather than all the negatives which seem to be the norm these days!

Make sure next time you're in Syd to go see the Heritage Collection if you haven't already. Ask for Des, he's always willing to explain the exhibits and has a story or two! :ok:

[VHOGI]

Keg, no problem at all, in fact I was trying to think about how I could convey this message directly to them but looks like you've done it for me, many thanks. I sincerely hope they do read it on Qrewroom.

To all others I'm glad you all appreciate the positiveness of this thread.

[Wod]

I think it goes back to the way it was, and the way we all would like it to be.:ok:

[blow.n.gasket]

I wonder how many young people will never think of becoming pilots now that access to the flight deck is next to impossible to achieve.
How many young people decided to become pilots because of a vist to the flight deck in days gone bye?

[Bypass ratio]

It's lovely to see a nice story coming out of Jetstar's subsidiary company.:ok:

[ditch handle]

How many young people decided to become pilots because of a vist to the flight deck in days gone bye?

"Joey, do you like movies about gladiators? ".............:ok:

[layman]

When my son was 15 (and had a couple of hours toward his PPL) he made a visit upfront Mel-Can (with QF). 14 years later he now sits upfront himself.

Might just have been the nudge to follow his dream

layman

[forgetabowdit]

How many young people decided to become pilots because of a vist to the flight deck in days gone bye?


I did. No doubt about it. I had always loved commercial aeroplanes from when I was very young, but what cemented it for me, what really made me WANT to commit 3 years of uni, +$60,000 and 8 years away from family and friends in G.A. was several visits to the flight decks of Qantas and Ansett aircraft.

Now that I sit in the same seat as those blokes I aspired to be like, I do whatever I can to encourage young guys and girls to get to see the flight deck - if they want to. When I was young, I always used to look for any opportunity to bypass the cabin crew who I thought couldn't possibly understand how much I wanted to see the flight deck, and for that reason now, where possible I stand behind the cabin crew and say goodbye and thanks to all the pax as they disembark, especially looking for younger kids that look eager.

Sometimes we're tired, sometimes the landing didn't come off just the way you would have liked (probably coz old mate did it!) and you just want to go home, but where possible I'm there.

It is a true shame that the flightdeck is now off limits during flight. It essentially de-humanises the job and I am certain that it fails to turn young kids' curiosity into a tangible and truley possible career path.

Anyway, until it changes and I doubt it will ever to be honest, I'm the one in the red jet waving at kids up against the glass trying to 'pay it forward' from the many blokes that inspired me. I know I'm not alone. We should all keep it up (and I know that many do) and remember where we came from and think about the type of people that us as pilots want to attract to our airlines in 5 - 10 years time.

[Eastwest Loco]

Bloody great job to the Tech crew.

I partly grew up on the flight deck of TN aeroplanes from the age of 8 as Dad's great mate Ken "Boomer" Collins would take me jump seat on a days flying.

Brilliant, and I would have aspired to a CPL if not for astigmatism which then procluded to me. It happens, so I went elswehere in the industry.

The order and attention to rank and detail, procedures and precision have an effect on a younger person and rightly so.

A normal kid is going to see quite clearly that one has to have standards and abide by them in order to operate a complex machine.

I still remember my eyes nearly bugging out of my head when I visited Captain Jimmy James on the flight deck of TJA in flight and wondered how he and the F/O and F/E managed all those dials and still flew.

Well done again.

Keep the magic alive and maybe make a few more Aussie kids aspire to something that needs a heap of hard work and dedication.

Best all

EWL:ok:

Ground clear on 2:ok::ok:

[teresa green]

Thank God to see a bit of sanity back. I always made it a practice to invite kids up to the flight deck, of course we could do it in flight then before 9/11, and it made our day to see them so interested, to say nothing of relieving boredom for us during long flights. Xmas was always special as they looked for Santa, what a bloody shame the world has come to this. Anyway congratulations to the QF crew, there should be more of it.:D

[nitpicker330]

I've had a few locals ask to come up after LDG here in CX as well. They are always welcome and we sit them in the seats for a few pikkies. It happens maybe 3 times a year?? not as much as we would like.

Especially from DPS, those flights are full of very lovely little brown things from all over the world!!

Ahh the good ol days.

[YoDawg]

Yeah we used to have the kiddies come up to the cockpit during the cruise for stickers and a look around. Loved it when the little baastards pulled a circuit breaker on the panels behind the seats.

But occasionally they brought a yummy mummy with them which definitely was worthwhile...

[Dubya]

....whilst boarding passengers in Adelaide (B737 Capt, so good view of everyone in the aerobridge) I saw a kid, who looked like he would be the sort to be picked on at school....sort of nerdy, 9 years old, square glasses....got the idea....he was travelling with his family to Syd......I spun around and asked cabin crew to grab the kid when he comes thru and well let him have a look....well, his eyes were like saucers...his old man and mum popped in as well....
...message came thru during the flight, that the old man wanted to see us as they disembarked....which they did....they got our addresses...and luckily enough they owned a winery in the Barossa, and so, just like clockwork, every month a carton of quality red turns up on the doorstep...

.....moral......be nice, share the experience, have fun, and you will be unexpectedly rewarded......

...no matter how pissed off we get with management, or the system, or whatever, there are squillions of people who would kill to do what we do...and we get paid rediculously do to it...

...just have fun.......:ok:

[compressor stall]

When I was a wee little tacker of 9yo I flew to Europe with mum and dad. On the BKK-Bahrain(?) sector, dad asked the FA about having a look up front and we were lucky enough to get invited up to the cockpit (747 classic).

The vision is still in my head to this day - sun had just set over India, we were just off the eastern shore with the amazing network of towns all lit up beneath. The dials and gauges in the cockpit were all illuminated and bathed in the orange glow as it was getting dark. I stood there trying to take it all in, and probably saying little. Dad loved the experience as well.

Cue 20+ years later, and whilst I distinctly remember the event, I had not given it too much conscious thought in recent years. Then my first flight up the sharp end of a real jet with pundits in the back was out of Thailand heading to the Middle East. There were three crew and I was the spare for the first couple of hours - through the late afternoon.

My turn came up as it was getting dark, I made my way up the front, jumped in the RHS and looked outside - towards the coast of India with all the lights along the coast. Of anywhere in the world I could have made my "Jet debut", there it was, at exactly the same place, and at the same time of day and that indelible childhood event.

Sadly I had lost my dad a couple of months before and I could not tell him about it.

[coco-nuts]

This is the way to go everybody.
Keep the good work up.


cheers

Coco

[Tempo]

It's great to get the kids up at the end of the flight.....throw them in the seat and let them 'drive' the plane. Seeing their joy takes me back to when I was 4 (yes I can remember it so clearly)....going up the front of an Air New Zealand F27 and talking to the pilots. Actually I didn't do much talking. Hooked ever since.

[oil additive]

My dad worked for TAA from the 60's to the 90's, and as a kid we did a lot of flying on DC9's and 727's. I loved visiting the guys up the front and the flight engineers always loved to tell the kids stories and point out all the bits and pieces that make an aircraft fly. TAA even had a 'Junior Flyers' club and I still have my old plastic wings tucked away in a box of goodies in my study. Really great memories.

Years later, I decided to fix em not fly em and I'm passionate about getting kids involved in work experience to hopefully ignite a fire in their bellies (like the one that was ignited in mine).

Good on that QF crew and good on VHOBI for posting such a positive story :ok:

[dream747]

As I was young kid back then I happened to fly on Qantas quite a number of times. As usual I would always ask if I could see the flightdeck and those guys up front at QF would always be as enthusiastic and eager to let me in all the time even after a long day, to answer any questions and show me around in there.

I am now training to be a pilot and they have indeed played a big role in keeping my inspirations up. I hope I will have have an opportunity to do the same in the future.

Thanks guys! :)

[PyroTek]

I still remember being on a BA 747 when i was about four or five years old. Went up to the flight deck, like others, set me in my direction of what I wanted to do!
Won't ever forget it!

:ok:Pyro

[ResumeOwnNav]

Great to hear that some still do that little extra to make someones day. Such as simple gesture.

Though not a shiney 747, my inspiration was from row 2 of a Whyalla Airlines Navajo, AD to CEE. I used to watch and wonder what ALL those numbers on the gauges could mean?

Nav.

[VHOGI]

I am really so pleased to see such a positive response to my initial post, sincerest thanks to you all for taking the time to post your replies and your stories of flight deck visits here, you will all be pleased to know that this expedition has now been documented in the form of a photo album that is being prepared for viewing to a very keen grade 1 class in a primary school in the eastern suburbs of Melbourne. I really hope the crew of this flight are now aware of the happy memories they have brought to this little girl. I would love to post a pic, are we allowed to do that?

[Track5milefinal]

are we allowed to do that?


Absolutely!

My first flight deck visits were with Ansett probably in 94-95, in the 737 classics for memory! nowadays the flight deck visits are still as fascinating but the many questions asked of the crew are a bit more in depth!

15 years down the track and im slowly working towards the seat up front! ALOT more blood, sweat and tears (And $$$) to go... but boy the dream of getting that seat just sends shivers up my spine!!

[Qantas 787]

This is a great thread - I was fortunate to visit many QF flight decks, including a 747 on my 8th birthday. I remembered each visit to this day and it really fuelled my passion for aviation and Boeing aircraft.

To all the crew who let a young girl visit the flight deck about 2 decades ago, thank you! :ok: All the flight crew I have ever come across have been fabulous people to meet.

[Pera]

My kids have never had a bad ride with Qantas. The service has always been great. Last flight the kids were invited to look at the flightdeck but they weren't interested!

The one time we flew as a family with Virgin was fine also, just to be fair.

[flypy]

Thanks for posting this OGI.

I remember on pretty much every flight I went on as a kid pre 9/11 trying to get up to the front. Most of the time they were very accommodating...

Jumpseat ride at night into MEL in a QF 762, jumpseat ride into MEL in a QF 734, and plenty of other visits back in the TN days, A300 and 733/734. Also remember a visit to the big brown expanse of a brand spanking new KLM 744 too, I had to go with other kids - they knew sweet F.A about what they were looking at but I was cluey... I could pick a 744 from a mile off with the upper deck and winglets.. :}

But yep, they're all etched in the memory. Now i've just gotta try and get a job working there... :(

[captainrats]

Most of the niceties of flying have gone.
Good to see guys who are bringing them back

[rjtjrt]

VHOGI
You probably saw the sticky but in case you missed it - to post photo's:-

http://www.pprune.org/dg-p-general-aviation-questions/358738-image-posting-pprune.html

http://www.pprune.org/spectators-balcony-spotters-corner/203481-image-posting-pprune-guide.html

[mingalababya]

I had a memorable cockpit visit on a Qantas Boeing 707 in 1977 from Jakarta to Sydney. We had just completed a school tour of Indonesia and were returning home from the old Halim airport in Jakarta. There must have been about 15 of us asking to visit upfront and the crew were fantastic in accommodating all of us, not at all the same time of course!

A few years earlier, we were also on a Qantas 707 flying from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney. I must have been about 9 years old at the time and weather got a little bumpy so the flight engineer strapped me in the jump seat. I ended up being in the cockpit for about an hour due to that. Sadly, those days are long gone.

[woftam]

What a great positive thread for a change.:ok:
Yes we are limited in what we can do these days but this is an initiative that is so much appreciated by the kids and their parents.
A lot of people don't have a camera with them so I have on many occasions taken photos on my camera and emailed them to the people. It is very gratifying to get some of the replies and realise just how much impact such a simple gesture has had on a child and their family.
Like everyone else, I really miss the "good old days" when we could have people up front in flight. I reckon I have cured some people who were previously "scared of flying" by having them up front for a chat in flight and explaining a few things to them. (Some of them having seen me were probably even MORE scared!!!) ;)

[Dubya]

funny you should say that, Woftam.....I had a very well know ex-Aussie cricketer from the Lillee/Marsh/WALKER days in the jumpseat...when it was all legal...and none of the crew had a camera.....so he pulls his out and takes about 100 shots of everything.....and then sends me a CD with them all there, and a book of his latest memoirs, ........and the funny thing he was on his way to Sydney to do a charity lunch that a whole load of suits had paid $1000 per head to listen to his banter....another great guy...imagine Russel Crowe or other knob doing that.......I don't think so......
...oh, got a good story about Neil Armstrong if anyone wants to hear it...
....where have all the good guys gone..........?

[airspace alpha]

For the most part I find flying with Qantas, and in fairness most of their competition, to be still a relatively pleasant experience. And the quality of customer care is still around.

Two weeks ago I was returning ADL-MEL on the afternoon of the storms in Victoria. As a natural consequence the aircraft was delayed and we all sat around in the departure area. I noticed the Captain quietly strolling around the area chatting with the passengers. He was explaining the delay, which was only around 20 minutes anyway, but I watched him engage with the entire complement of passengers in that lounge- every single one of them. The result was that everyone knew what was going on, nobody was irritated, everyone felt included. He could easily have just sat around drinking coffee and waiting for the PA to announce a delay but he didn't.

And yes I wrote to Qantas to let them know directly that they have good people working for them.

[Sal-e]

Stories like this seem to rekindle good memories of all our childhoods when we only dreamt of one day flying planes. This story transcends airline competition, rivalries, dodgy management, recession, strikes, fuel prices etc etc (woes of the industry). It certainly gave me that warm, fuzzy feeling that all too often the industry has failed abysmally.

[rammel]

Russell Crowe might do something like that. A lot of the time I think he gets a bad rap in the press, but that's the world his in.

One day when I worked on the Ramp he left his diary onboard, it had all his personal info and contacts in it. The Cabin Cleaners found it and handed it in, and didn't expect much more to come of it. Well a couple of weeks later when he was back in town he invited the people that found it out for dinner with him and his wife, Shane Warne and his missus were also there. From what I heard they all had a great night and from then on my opinion of Russell softened.

As someone said earlier, you reap what you sow. So good on the crew for doing a little bit extra.

[Transition Layer]

Bit of thread drift, but in the feelgood theme of the thread I thought I'd stick up for poor old Rusty...

Crowe to the rescue on set of Robin Hood (http://www.theage.com.au/news/entertainment/film/articles/2009/07/20/1247941856766.html)

:ok:

[teresa green]

I well remember doing the dreaded red eye on TAA (B727) and at 0200 this little tacker was driving everyone nuts with his behaviour, including his poor worn out young parents. The flighty out for a leg stretch, picked up the little bloke and brought him up to us, where he was entertained (wearing my hat) with pencils and paper, sharing our tucker, and finally curled up against the Flighty (a father of four) and went to sleep. Peace reigned for another few hours, and the Cabin Manager was able to assure the young parents he was asleep and in safe hands, and for them to get some rest, now days of course the whole crew would be considered phedophiles or a bit suss, (never mind we had 11 kids between us and would rather slit our own throats, than touch a child) the mother would give a press statement "we had no idea he was gone" we would all be DNA tested, called in for tea and bickies, and no doubt get a letter from Gordon and Slater for the stress we caused. The whole thing is nuts, am I glad I flew when I did, you betcha.

[SimonBl]

I dearly remember my many jumpseat visits pre 9/11 too. Highlights were a decent into Adelaide and then the takeoff seat being offered to me too - the decent into Singapore at night, with parallel runways operating, thunderstorms off to the left and another heavy landing slightly ahead of us on the other runway to the right.

Thanks to all the crews who humoured a 30+ wannabe, it did prompt me to get PPL lessons but, unfortunately I had to abandon those.

The many Bae-146 landings into Paraburdoo, Karratha and returns to Perth made the long days at work very worthwhile too. Thanks guys!

(PS: Friends were always amazed how I 'managed' it. The secret, I told them, was "I just asked politely"). It's such a shame it doesn't happen now.

Simon....

[juliusg]

I would always get into the cockpit via my AOPA card. Give it to the purser, smile and say please, and then get invited. I often took airplane magazines with me, read them, and sent them up to the crew.

I was flying back from Vienna on Lauda in 1999 and as we crossed the coast at Derby went to the cockpit. The captain was an Aussie, 2IC an Austrian. The big 777 cranked over the route I'd flown six months before in a Piper Lance. "Ahh, the GAFA" said the Cap. "GAFA? Vot is dat?" said the 2IC. "It's the great Australian f-all", yelled the Captain. We laughed as we watched the Canning Stock Trail cross under the wing.

The next year I was on Air NZ to LA and sat on the jumpseat as the 2IC told me about the 'Skippies' in charge. Then Ansett fell over, 9/11 happened, and no more cockpit visits.

[peter mcgrath]

On the way home, QF447, she asked if she could say hi to the pilots, after explaining why this was not an option in-flight

Its so sad how things have changed since 9/11.

Back in 1982 on an Air New Zealand flight from Sydney to Los Angeles the crew and pilots were happy to give me an in flight tour of the cockpit.

those GPS location in the photo show where we were at the time (29° 23.8'N 134° 31.4'W).

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_VtQWcwrKPuM/SABiCf0fq_I/AAAAAAAAF5U/nuIolLfhMAE/s912/001Untitled-6.jpg

[air doris]

Great post!!

I'm cabin crew and very much miss the days when I could take all the kids on board, families at a time, up stairs to the deck to see the pilots, who were given postcards, signatures or any other souvenir that was available. The looks on their faces when they entered the deck, especially at night when the lights were illuminated still stays with me. And from a cabin crew point of view it maintained that interaction with passengers which is very lacking now. However, all is not lost. Time permitting on the ground and with willing pilots we are more than happy to take the little ones up. It's not the same for us but they still get a buzz.

[OhForSure]

This is typical of Qantas crew. In my experience they have always been fantastic. Great job guys, keep it up.

[Eastwest Loco]

The Great White rat cops a hell of a bucketing from a few disgruntled punters and the media who get wound up by whatever group is seeking rightly or wrongly to advance their current cause.

BUT - there is no better feeling after a time away from home than being greeted at the door of a QF 747 by an Aussie accent, patting the big lady on the flank as you board and stepping back into Australia before you even get home. The Purser may have PMT, but who cares. You are better than half way home. generally the CC react as anyone does. Treat them with the respect they deserve and it will be reciprocated. Treat them like servants, that service is what you will deservedly be lacking.

Middle management are generally the worst. Something to prove and a perceived easy target. NOT!!!:ok:

That and the first Australian landfall on one of her own.

If that doesn't drag a silent personal tear, you are a heathen.

Go QF. You aint perfect, but you will do just fine.

Best all

EWL

[nitpicker330]

Hey EWL, we may not have an Aussie rego but a lot of the Aussie flights are crewed by Aussies................it's our accent you'll hear on the PA's

So fair suck of the sav.:ok:

[Taildragger67]

EWL,

patting the big lady on the flank as you board

you keep your mitts off my sister! :}

[Jabawocky]

Hey Owen...are you organising all this from CEN ?:}

It still does happen, but I can not say where when or who.... and that is the real shame!:sad:

You know it would be a marketing coup if an airline worked out a way of doing this carefully and quietly. Within 12 months they would actually see a benefit versus their competitors. :oh: Maybe I should sell that idea!

[Keg]

you keep your mitts off my sister!

Is she still flying? I haven't seen her for years. Last time I did she didn't qualify as a 'big lady'! :ok:

I had a couple of kids- 9 and 7 I think they were- visit the flight deck at the end of PER-MEL sector on Fathers Day last Sunday. They had lost their dad about 12 months ago and had been struggling a bit that day according to Mum. It was nice to be able to brighten their day a bit and put a smile on their dials- even if for just a short time.

[VHOGI]

You'll be pleased to know that little princess involved here STILL looks at the photo album of that trip and STILL loves the photos of herself in the left seat with the Captains hat on. I've got one on my office wall and many people comment on "how did you get into the cockpit" They ALL leave with a smile on their faces after I tell them the story/truth!!