Message to management.....

A contract is a covenant between people who have agreed on a way to work together. Trust is maintained between the parties if both sides maintain the covenant and abide by the contract. This applies between the business and the customer but also between the owners/managers and the employees. We -the employees- will do our best for the company when our contract, our covenant, is adhered to by the management. When this covenant is broken or even abused we become resentful of the other who has entered into this covenant with us and we inevitably perform less than our best. When anyone from the CEO of a company to the lowest person in a company wears their beliefs on their sleeve for all to see they have an obligation to abide by those beliefs to an excess and demand those working for them to do so as well. Saying one thing but even allowing those who work for you to do another is hypocrisy and is evident to all destroying what you have said to believe in. I understand that this is a business but we will flourish if we can believe in what you say, if we see that your actions match your words, and if you maintain the covenant you have agreed to. Playing "hardball" with employee groups, looking for loopholes to exploit, or delaying and avoiding contractual obligations will destroy what could be great. While the customer is very important, your employees are your biggest asset and we will take care of the customer if you take care of us. Honor the covenant so we can as well.

Stay out of my cockpit!

If you don't like the FAA to eavesdrop/spy on you in the cockpit here's a link for you to follow and a sample letter for all pilots to write before big brother enters our cockpits!

http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm

As a professional air line pilot, your constituent, and a member of the (whatever pilot union you are), I urge you to oppose S. 3048, a bill by Sen. Jim DeMint (R-SC) to mandate the use of cockpit voice recorder (CVR) and flight data recorder (FDR) information for discipline, rather than its intended use for safety investigation.

This bill seeks to use CVR and FDR information to punish individual pilots, rather than to promote and support the proactive safety culture that our industry needs to protect passengers, crews, and cargo. This bill will threaten aviation safety, compromise the accident investigation process, and squander financial resources that could make established and proven aviation safety programs even more effective.

Every airline flight is unique due to weather, equipment, distance and other operational factors. Pilots are expected to work as a team, communicate effectively, and supplement one another’s skills and experience to continuously evaluate and adapt to the changing operational environment of each individual flight. The chilling effect of having conversations and flight data monitored and evaluated out of context for possible disciplinary action by corporate managers who may have motivations other than safety would be substantial.

Pilot performance is currently monitored randomly through the Line Oriented Safety Audit (LOSA) program which uses trained observers in the cockpit. As a commercial pilot, I must also pass at least two annual check rides. Existing safety programs such as LOSA, Flight Operations Quality Assurance (FOQA) and Aviation Safety Action Programs (ASAP) are voluntary, non-punitive initiatives that use data and pilot reports to detect safety issues. These programs are critical to aviation safety and misusing recorder data will jeopardize these proven programs.

I urge you to oppose S. 3048 and any legislative attempts to use CVRs and FDRs for anything other than their intended safety investigative purposes.

Sincerely,

Your John Hancock

Feel free to put in a ps about maybe we will agree when they put recorders in all their private meetings so we can see how they screw us and we can hold them accountable!

Common sense gets left at home.

So one day we're flying along and the flight attendants call us (the pilots) to pass along a question from a passenger. The passenger wants to know if we know if her car is okay. That's right-we're at 37000' flying away from Houston and she thinks we might know if her car in the parking lot back in Houston is okay or not because she saw on the in-flight tv that a big hail storm hit Houston right after we left. Wait for it....wait for it.... This is one of those moments when i can't even respond to the flight attendant because the question is so ludicrous i don't have any words. What does her car look like? Where is it parked? Was it damaged before the hail storm or was it in good condition? Should we fly back to Houston to find out? Does she expect me to call someone from the airline to go out and find her car in the parking lot and report back to me about its conditions? Am i supposed to keep a straight face and how did the flight attendant keep a straight face when asked this question? Maybe the passenger really does think the Captain knows everything...

Many times flight attendants won't bother us with stupid questions but she had fun sharing that doozy with us and fun listening to our reaction/ answer to it. If i remember right we told herthat her car was okay-lets hope it was so she doesn't sue our airline!

I am that Pilot!

I've decided to blog about all the funny, weird, stupid, strange stuff I see out in the pilot world. Sit back, tighten your seat belt, ignore the announcements(everybody does) and hold on for the ride - i sense turbulence ahead.........

One morning I was in Nashville and at 445am after going thru security and heading to our gate I see this guy in a suit that I recognize. I stopped, pointed at him and said " you're John......that wrestled dude!". John Cena (couldn't think of his name that early in the am) looks sideways at me and says" you're that pilot dude" and walks away. We keep walking and laugh a bit and I was left w/ 2 impressions. First John Cena isn't as big in real life as on tv and second he's not as cool as the Rock. Celebrity wrestler wanna be actor needs to be nice to people who obviously recognize him but forget his last name in the heat of the moment. One thing he did get right though- I am that pilot!