If the chime is really for FAs, and provides a known amount of time, then it should be based on time to landing, not altitude. Consider flights that never get up to 10,000.
OAL use 10,000 MSL for the chime, just curious as to why we choose to be different. Haven’t really paid attention when on DL JS, but maybe it’s “the Delta way”.
Originally Posted by
mooney
Remember, we have a crew member or 2 in the back too. We have standard altitudes we as pilots do things at, this gives the FA's a standard altitude and thus known quantity of time to finish all the junk they need to do. The chime is their trigger, take a peek in the FAM all the stuff they are supposed to accomplish. Now they don't have to google the elevation of Denver, Boise or Casper to see how fast they have to work. Per FOM, sterile for cockpit is still 10k msl and 1000 feet to level off, the 10000 afe chime is simply for the flight attendant as far as I can see, so we can chat away between 10k afe and 10k Msl. The only place in a company manuals that states the 10k agl chime is the start of sterile is in the FAM, which obviously we don't have to follow.