You’ll encounter many different personality types when traveling by airplane. From the moment you enter the airport, it’s a countless number of interactions. From the overly happy employee to the one who’s the poster child for passive indifference, you’ll run the gamut within a matter of a few hours.
When you reach the plane, it’s often easy to discern the demeanor of the flight crew. Authentic grins can be distinguished from those manufactured for the airline’s subsequent survey. The pilots’ personalities generally fall into two categories – amiable, or strictly professional – which makes sense, as their primary duty is to ensure a secure flight. Sure, the pilot might smile or say “Welcome” but I’m not expecting much else.
When receiving updates from the pilot or first officer, they often provide valuable information to passengers. This may include informing us about the flight itself, such as any potential turbulence we may encounter, or simply letting us know the estimated time of arrival at our destination. However, there are also instances where the pilot must inform passengers about a delay. It’s important to note that these delays are often caused by factors outside of their control, such as mechanical issues, congested air traffic, or unfavorable weather conditions, so although necessary, it’s got to be one of the least favorite parts of a pilot’s job.
Some pilots make these messages as short as possible, such as when they’ll say “We’re waiting for clearance from ATC and will update you when we hear any news.” Occasionally you’ll get someone with a sense of humor. When we were delayed from Orlando to New York and didn’t leave until 11 PM, the pilot got on the PA system and announced that it was late, we had a full tank of gas and there was not much traffic this time of day so it should be a short trip.
But I’ve never seen what I experienced on our most recent flight. You could just hear that our pilot was extremely annoyed by our delay.
Setting the scene, we were planning to leave San Antonio airport. The plane started to board around the scheduled time and all the passengers were seated on the A321, sweltering in the 100+ degree afternoon heat. However, the door was not closing.
After about 10 minutes of sitting there, the pilot got on the PA. He said something to the effect of, “We’re all ready to go but we just need to finish up some paperwork.” Part of air travel is making sure all of the paperwork is filed correctly so no one onboard is complaining.
Another 10 minutes went by and there was another announcement. This one had a little more force behind it. He told us there was a repair done to the plane and a mechanic needed to sign off on the job and that person had been called. (Pregnant pause} Several times. But we’re still waiting.
Then another update. This one was apologizing for the delay with a bit more info. We were informed that there was a piece of tape placed on the plane while on the ground and there is only one person at San Antonio airport who can come to the plane, look at the tape and sign the form saying the plane is safe to fly. So, that’s why we’ve all been stuck at the gate for 30 minutes. (Ah-ha, we were being held up by the speed tape inspector. :-))
Then he went back to professional mode saying that the flight crew was monitoring all of the flight connections for passengers onboard and it didn’t look like anyone would miss their ongoing flight due to this delay.
The final update was that the plane passed and we were finally clear to leave the gate. From here on out, it was a typical flight.
Final Thought
We’ve all been there. Sitting around, waiting for someone to do a task so we can get on with our day. It even happens to pilots. Which do you prefer, knowing the whole truth about a delay or getting just enough information?
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1 comment
My plane for a flight from Houston to BA arrived from Frankfurt with a little over an hour to service the plane and turn it around for our flight. It was on time arriving. Everyone boarded and we all just sat there. And sat there. And the pilot came on the first time and said we were still waiting for them to service the plane. 25 minutes later he came on and said more forcefully that we were STILL waiting for them to empty the bathroom holding containers (the toilet waste essentially) and that as soon as that happened and finished we could leave. It was crazy to me that they forgot? Couldn’t? hook that pipe up while we were boarding. The pilot was not happy and recognized we weren’t either bc its a flight that leaves in the evening and everyone wants to eat and go to bed.