Old 12-14-2007 | 01:02 PM
  #29  
RedBaron007's Avatar
RedBaron007
Gets Weekends Off
 
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 300
Likes: 0
From: E-190 Leftist
Default

Originally Posted by FlyerJosh
Some of the things that I've picked up along the way from people that I admire:

Take the time to learn the names of the people that affect your ability to succeed and say hello to them by name when you see them. (IE Rampers, agents, etc). By doing so, you're most likely to get assistance before other folks who haven't done so.

Do the best that you can at your own job and encourage others to do the same.

Don't get bent out of shape about the things you can't control (like staffing, lost bags, full gates).

Don't take out your frustration on the ramp staff- odds are they are 3 people short, working in ****ty conditions for marginal pay. Yelling at them sure isn't going to get things done any faster.

Life is too short to spend it screaming at operations over the radio.

Take a moment each workday to smile at a customer and thank them for flying.

Give cockpit tours. When you do, take a photo with your own camera and offer to email it to your passengers.

Always carry an updated resume and business card. You never know when something better might come along.

If it stops being fun, figure out why. If you can't, it's time to consider something new.

Invest in yourself and your family before all else.

Establish a good relationship with the CP and schedulers whenever possible. Doing so can make life easier down the road.

Be flexible.

There's a whole bunch more, but I don't want to bore you!
Originally Posted by ewrbasedpilot
I had one guy tell me when I was an FO on the 727 to close my eyes. He asked my what I saw and I said "nothing". He said, "that's what's yours in this cockpit", and we all laughed. What a great sense of humor...........and something that helps to keep the cockpit a fun place to be. When it's not fun, it's time to find something else to do. A few of the things I do to make the job more enjoyable:

1. I always recognize my entire crew by name on my welcome aboard announcement and tell the pax how honored I am to have such a fine crew flying with me today. The FO's and FA's appreciate being more than a face and it gives them a sense of pride.

2. Unless it's been a while since I've flown, I'll always offer the FO his choice of legs (WX withstanding), and let him make the PA's and fly the legs if he has friends or family aboard. I can choose any leg I want, but I always found it the mark of the best CA's I flew with who didn't hog the good legs. 16 EWR legs in a row as an FO was my record.........NOT very fun or interesting to say the least. If their's an odd number of legs, I'll offer it to the FO or we can "spin" the heading knob to see who gets it: even I fly, odd he flies. Works great.

3. I always tell the FA's they're welcome to come up and chat, take a powernap, or see what we do. Newhires are thrilled to come up and see what we do, and love the view we have.

4. On a longer pairing, I'll try to take everyone out for lunch or dinner at least once. I realize most FA's and FO's aren't making much money, and it does wonders for the backend crew to know their CA "cares". I also try to buy Starbucks for everyone during the trip.

But overall, I think just having a good time with everyone makes this job one of the best. Happy Holidays everyone!!
Each of these posts epitomizes the professionalism and humanism that should dominate every workplace. Nice posts gentlemen....these are exactly the kinds of Captains I like to fly with and the kind of Captain I hope to be when I get to that point.
Reply