CRM/communication
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CRM/communication
Hi guys just wondering what your views are on this? I have been cabin crew for the past 10 years and have always had an excellent rapport with the flight crew. On a flight yesterday the captain was making a P.A. to the pax about location , temp, time remaining etc ( quite a lengthy speech) which pax generally like. Down the back it got very turbulent to the point where drinks were spilling etc and about 10 pax were stood up in the cabin and i used the intercom to call the pilot to inform him it was quite bumpy down the back and could the seatbelt sign be switched on, but to no reply! After the speech the captain called me and before I could say anything I was greeted to "How dare you interrupt me when i am talking to the passengers". i was quite taken back as the F/O never answered the call either. What is your company procedure regarding this? should the pilot not making the P.A. answer? By the way this is the only pilot in the company with this attitude the others do answer and would understand the importance of safety.
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should the pilot not making the P.A. answer?
I too am cabin crew, to let you know my understanding is that (with my company anyway) the Pilot Not Flying is generally the one who take radio calls etc. The Pilot Flying is the one who would make the PA to pax. If the F/O did not answer the your call, and it was as bumpy as you say, there is a possibility he/she was on the radio to ATC trying to organise a smoother flight level?
Just a suggestion!
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L&G, you're asking for procedures, so here's ours. 
The PF is flying the A/C. The PNF does the RT and the PA.
I don't think I have ever needed to interrupt a cockpit PA, so can't tell you what the reaction would be.
I can understand why you called, but I can also understand why the pilots perhaps, right then, decided not to answer you immediately.
Commuting to work, I spend way to much time on the cockpit jumpseat, and as soon as even mild turbulence starts, the pilots get mentally & physically 'busy'. You can see it, and feel it in the cockpit atmosphere. From relaxed chatty mode they go to concentrated pilot mode. Often a hand sneaks closer to the control column even if the A/C is on AP, they start listening harder to ATC and start wondering what's up.
If one of them is already making a PA and therefore a bit out of the loop, the other then gets a 'double load'. Perhaps not an opportune time to answer a call from the cabin?
Any pilot, please correct all of the above if it's BS!
We have a special emergency thingy on the cabin interphone which we can use to alert the pilots about something that needs attention NOW, for occurences that can not wait......
The phrase "How dare you interrupt me when i am talking to the passengers" seems rather brusque and no susprise you were taken aback by that. Did the 2 of you have time to discuss this event later, and if so, what was said?
The PF is flying the A/C. The PNF does the RT and the PA.
I don't think I have ever needed to interrupt a cockpit PA, so can't tell you what the reaction would be.
I can understand why you called, but I can also understand why the pilots perhaps, right then, decided not to answer you immediately.
Commuting to work, I spend way to much time on the cockpit jumpseat, and as soon as even mild turbulence starts, the pilots get mentally & physically 'busy'. You can see it, and feel it in the cockpit atmosphere. From relaxed chatty mode they go to concentrated pilot mode. Often a hand sneaks closer to the control column even if the A/C is on AP, they start listening harder to ATC and start wondering what's up.
If one of them is already making a PA and therefore a bit out of the loop, the other then gets a 'double load'. Perhaps not an opportune time to answer a call from the cabin?
Any pilot, please correct all of the above if it's BS!
We have a special emergency thingy on the cabin interphone which we can use to alert the pilots about something that needs attention NOW, for occurences that can not wait......
The phrase "How dare you interrupt me when i am talking to the passengers" seems rather brusque and no susprise you were taken aback by that. Did the 2 of you have time to discuss this event later, and if so, what was said?
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Just to add my 2 cents to what flaps said, if the aicraft you were flying was an Airbus, I have heard many times pilots complainig that cabin calls to the cockpit have a buzz that lasts way too long and covers any radio communication or else they're doing.
As a personal policy, whenever I have to talk to the F/D I try to do it in person (we have the locked cockpit but also a video camera that makes entering the cockpit easier) because you can never know what you are interrupting with a call. That's for the Airbus, because on the boeing 737 for example, the captain call must be used only as an emergency call with us, so no such options for other calls.
Without excusing the captain's reaction, maybe he was irritated by the loud buzz that interrupted his speech and stream of thought, and maybe also the F/O's radio communications. This said, he should have been more polite and at least explained to you the reasons of his irritation.
As a personal policy, whenever I have to talk to the F/D I try to do it in person (we have the locked cockpit but also a video camera that makes entering the cockpit easier) because you can never know what you are interrupting with a call. That's for the Airbus, because on the boeing 737 for example, the captain call must be used only as an emergency call with us, so no such options for other calls.
Without excusing the captain's reaction, maybe he was irritated by the loud buzz that interrupted his speech and stream of thought, and maybe also the F/O's radio communications. This said, he should have been more polite and at least explained to you the reasons of his irritation.
