What I like about this job.
 

Normally, when we log in, the top half dozen threads are full of complaints and angry flamers etc. Go on, see what's there now.
So I thought I'd start a thread about the good things in the job.
The question, basically, is:
What is the nicest thing that people have done for you while at work?
(Prurient posts will, I'm sure be moderated!)
Here's a couple to start off:
PMI. Swiss a/c on next stand. One of thier cabin crew arrives at foot of our steps on turnaround clutching some chocolate money (you know, the sort of thing you get under the Christmas tree). Thought we might like some. Why, I dunno. Nice, though, eh?
PMO. Dispatcher turns up, not only with paperwork, but little glasses of cold espresso for all the crew. More warm feelings etc.
I am happy to be trumped by your tales of goodwill....

Grateful pax. after being allowed to sit on flt. deck for landing -- looonng before 9/11 - - turned up next day at the crew hotel with stretch limo. and chauffeur, took the crew on a day trip around New England - in the fall.

Mexican pax. thrust his way on to the flt. deck at disembarkation, insisted that I accept a full, unopened bottle of Tequila ( complete with drowned insect inside ). Cost me a fortune to London Customs 30 mins later !

The best part of the job is for me was the people, felt like it was us vs the rest of the world for the 3 to 5 days we were together, very rare that I didnt meet a great person and sometimes a great friendship came of it.

Once upon a time, as a newly minted MEL pilot, I talked my way into the jumpseat of an Air France A310 to ORD. The crew were awesome, pointing out that "We both fly 310's" (mine just happened to be a 1966 Cessna), and after we got to Chicago, took me out carousing. I only wish I could return the favor to a kid these days.

Seeing the sun every day.

A long long time ago when I was a wee lad, I was with the family on the way back from holiday on a flight operated by Britannia flying into MAN. The Captain had been a bit of a banter merchant on the PA as soon as we had boarded... Joking about this and that... The pre-flight announcement had most of the passengers in stitches.

About 30 minutes into the journey, the skipper came back on the PA and said
"Ladies and Gents; I'd like to announce that unfortunately we cannot accomodate any visitors to the flightdeck during our flight, however, we do have a spare seat up here which one lucky child can sit in during the landing back at Manchester. If you would like to sit in the spare seat, all you need to do is draw a picture of my colleague, First Officer XXX, the child who draws the most realistic picture, will get to sit in the flightdeck"

Now, this was a dream for me as a 6 year old plane fan, so I began drawing what I thought the FO would look like - we hadn't seen him all flight so it was obviously a guessing game... To cut the story short, I didn't win, but I thought it was a great idea and I'll never forget that flight. It's such a shame (as the above poster has also stated) that I won't be able to do such a thing for a passenger one day.

'Cold'? You sent them back?

Nice thread, but not R&N. Was it your fault Pprune went down this morning?

Brit crew in LAX hire car and driving along freeway. Behind large Rolls Royce which starts swaying with a flat and pulls over. The crew stop behind the RR and one goes up to driver's window and puts on best British accent 'Good morning Sir! We're from Rolls Royce! We see you have a problem and we are here to deal with it!'. Guy sits open mouthed in disbelief, crew set to work putting him back together. Great laughter all round, crew well looked after.

Aah, Rainbow.

We were all having such a nice dreamy time, just then. For once it was that warm and fuzzy feeling.

Down to earth with a bump! :ugh:

It was the comradeship, being a member of the family.
Some friendships have never ended. Thank God.

Charter to Heineken Cup final. Two complimentary tickets appeared from the back.

"Was it your fault PPRuNe went down this morning?".

Yeah, that was me. I think the servers' bonhomie filters were overloaded..

Seeing the sun every day. Yes, like that one.

...And being treated as a professional, rather than just the driver. (Wait, good feeling's going...);)

How about enjoying the sun set over a period of several hours when flying west chasing the sun... :):):)

Or the sun rise over the western horizon climbing to altitude just after sunset.

Good memories
 

En-route from Berlin to The Canaries, I mentioned that we had recently flown over Lourdes and were about to overfly Fatima. Don't ask!
Soon after, the No 1 asked if a woman and her two boys could visit the flight deck. She told me that she was a Catholic and had always wanted to visit both shrines.

I explained that we were six miles away from Fatima as we passed overhead. She insisted we all join hands and said a very heartfelt prayer for us, the crew, the passengers and the airline.

Moments like that made the difference!

I also remeber the Spanish Omlette brought out to us on the turn around in Kavala, of all places, in Eastern Greece throughout the summer season. The agent would never accept a drachma, as it was in those days, for the quite substantial meal.

I also well remember a pretty young Spaninsh agent in Ibiza who went above and beyond the call of duty one summer in the early 90s, but that is not really a suitable anecdote for a public forum!

I hope this stays in R&N for a while, we need some light relief!

Eating Caviar everyday :E

Amen to that! I wonder if it's an internet forum thing that breeds such gloom? If it's any consolation, the same factors are at work in every profession I know anyone in.

Makes me think twice about taking this flying thing any further than the current training stage! More happy thoughts please :)

Whilst not a pilot yet, I like to think that when I am a pilot what I will like about the job is:

1. 75K+ salary
2. Looks of admiration as I walk through the airport
3. A different air hostess every night

Sadly, it seems what I will in reality get is

1. 25K salary
2. Dirty Looks on par with what a white-van driver gets when he cuts you up
3. Nagging from mum every night as I'm living back with her

:ok:

Good thread
 

After a particularly smooth (ie lucky) landing on the A321 a few years ago, a passenger disembarking stuck head in and said, "that was so smooth I'm not sure we're on the ground yet!"

Of course that happened only once in seven years :} ...

What I like about being retired from this job -
xxx
Knowing that next Xmas, or Easter, or other holidays, I will be home.
And that I can make any plans I want about going places or see friends.
Knowing that I can say YES to a dental appointment on next 16 June.
That I can enjoy a glass of wine anytime.
Scheduling department does not call "as I am the only pilot available" on a day OFF.
That I can be in F class, still travel free, and enjoy lobster dinner and cognac thereafter.
And still get a crew rate in hotels.
And have extra/oversize carry-on with no objections.
And make a long conversation with good looking flight attendants in the cabin.
No need to offer a round of beers/drink to 2 cockpit crews and 12 flight attendants after landing.
(They now offer me one... "Long time no see"... "How is retirement")
I no longer have to carry my bags and carry-on to the airplane.
I can be first out of the airplane on arrival.
No need to show-up 90 minutes before ETD for departure.
And at my age, learning to fly an aeroplane (???) called Airbus.
I dont miss my colleagues - They visit me at home for parties.
Sure - Just retirement pay - But I only spend one/half of what I used to spend on the road.
xxx
:D
Happy contrails

I still enjoy the job despite of all the crap.

So many things one could say. I think it says it all that whenever my holidays are coming to an end and no matter how good they have been, I'm still quite pleased to be going flying when I get back home.

Comradeship! Working with the most cheerful, dedicated, hard working, "can-do" and professional colleagues to be found anywhere! (I include cabin crew and engineers in this!)

The feeling of satisfaction when you have had a really challenging day and/or when the weather is as rough as old boots and you beat the elements and manage to grease it on at the right point on the runway at the right speed etc!

The bit between take off and landing is generally extremely enjoyable : THAT feeling when you first got airborne on your own , Gazing at the loire castles without queuing for hours , the awe when staring at a developping CB in the southern states , changing world in twenty minutes while hoping between tropical caribbean islands , chasing wilderbeests in the serengeti , dreaming of faraway worlds at night over Europe when everything is quiet , battling gales in the irish sea , getting unstuck from the muddiest excuse for a runway in bahr-el-ghazl with 50ft to spare .........Ah , as I always tell my non-flying friends It's the best Job in the world from lift off to wheels down , the rest of the time , it's just another job (especially today , I guess a C -Class Flying boat captain might have had a different opinion at the time ) . Still worth it though .................................anytime

I agree with fireflybob.

The BEST days by far are the ones in crap weather, with slots, delays, discretion, diversions, passenger faff, bad ATC, tech aeroplanes, etc etc. but with a really fantastic crew so the whole thing still feels like it's running on rails.

The WORST days are the days when it DOES actually run on rails....but you have to fly with a complete and total kn0bber in the seat next to you....just like today.... :mad:

As a Maintenance Rep.
 

Waking up on a Freighter after a great 8 hours of sleep to a hint of sunlight, heating up and eating my own breakfast in my undershirt in the cockpit enjoying a sunrise from the best vantage point possible (and getting paid for it).

I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched c-beams ... glitter in the dark near Tanhauser Gate. All those ... moments will be lost ... in time, like tears ... in rain. Then I'll have to pay to see them myself when the buggers retire me.

I echo fireflybob and aerostudent

It definetly is the person who you share the flightdeck with who can make your day. It's a good feeling to walk in to the crewroom, look at the sign in and see someone who you respect and get on with. Makes all the other sh1t go smoothly and even if it doesn't, it won't spoil the day..you deal with it together.

Unfortunately, on the other hand, there is always some **** that is intent to drag you down to their level of negativity. Thankfully they aren't that plentiful.

Don't you just love that transition from months of crap, cold,windy and wet weather and then suddenly you find yourself bathing in warm sunlight with the the flightdeck window fully open.

Picture this. You're in a beautifull 5* hotel. Just had a wonderfull nights sleep, stunning leasurly breakfast, leaving around 10ish for a 4 sector day with a very nice crew. All runs like clockwork, full load down the back and the best thing; being home again tonight, in your own bed with the misses.

Plus the first bit AERO_STUDENT mentioned as well.

It's simply the best job in the world! :ok:

Rainboe! While we're quoting Bladerunner, well, like to get this job. I mean, did... did you do, or... or were you asked to do anything lewd... or unsavory, or... or, otherwise repulsive to your... your person, huh?

Where are we anyway?
Terms and flippin endearment!?
Aww, its dark here, nobody ever visits this place..
I wanna go back to R+N!

Thanks for your replies, chaps. It's good to know there is still lots of enthusiasm for the strange job we do. Sunshine on a dull day, and a decent guy/girl to be locked in the cupboard with.

I love....
 

the smell of Jet A1 mixed with the one of my dark coffee in early morning with an amazing view of the Mont Blanc....

Do androids dream of electric sheep?
 

Show me a pilot and despite his/her technical bent I'll show you an optimist and a romantic..

The fact that the curmudgeonly Rainboe references the superb film version of Philip K Dick's novel just goes to prove it.:ok:.

DutchbirdCorr, how many miss-es do you get to sleep with when you get home?
I do recall I had to sleep around a bit before getting this job. Once I got the job, I was too bloody tired! Why? Are you after pointers? It's the skirts with long hair you aim for.

You really should be more specific - you should have said "It's the ones who wear skirts as part of the uniform when at work with long hair you aim for!":hmm:

Time to yourself downroute and having the chance to explore new places and doing new things is what I enjoy most. Getting paid to be a tourist can't be bad...

Fireflybob,
Albeit that I'm a new F/O I find that sport on. It is fascinating the bonds that a difficult day at work can forge, a world apart from my previous career.

Sunrise over the Mourne Mountains. Absolutely beautiful...and to get paid to have the best seat for seeing it is crazy.

What I like about this job....



PAY DAY!!! :ok:

The view is superb

I really like going anywhere in scandinavia,overflying the North Sea is nice at night with the oil rigs lit up below

The alps are always nice,once you have climbed above them :}

Going into work on a bright sunny day like today. I'm off now. Could it get any better:ok:

Just my two cents...

Is it for all of the above reasons that the average new pilot nowadays is willing to pay to fly?
Is it for all of the above reasons that our profession has been degraded and that the average new pilot is willing to work 24 days a month at any time of the day?
If this is the case, then by all means I would rather not see a standard new pilot any more...but guys with b...lls that no longer accept paying 100000 Euros+ to see all of the above....and spent the first ten years of their career paying of for the beautifull sightseeing they had on their first flight....

Enjoy the skies...

B-767:

While I appreciate your concern for pay-to-fly schemes, come on! You are blowing this way out of proportions. 100.000 €? WTF? Granted, if you include an expensive integrated ATPL, cost of living, jet rating and pay-to-fly line sectors, you might look at that figure but far from all have laid out those sums!

I don't know how it was back in the "old" days -- i assume no one ever paid a single penny for their flight training? They were all military? Or is really the only difference that SSTRs weren't the norm?

:ugh:


Here's what I like about flying:
Seeing the sunrise over Finnmark at around 70N 25E at 0130 local time over a beautiful overcast layer
Helping out the people that need our service as I fly medical transport/EMS and sometimes we make a life/death difference.
Meeting amazing individuals that are my colleagues
Enjoying close to 3 weeks off a month (7-7-7-14 roster) with friends
Flying in to 800m fields in the fjords with mountains on every side in the middle of the night in a snow storm, and doing so in a professional environment.
etc :)

Edit: deleted last rant.