Originally Posted by
Blackhawk
You know, I've never heard a pax or gate agent say they didn't appreciate it. But I have often heard them say they did.
Example. There's bad weather causing a ground delay at LGA. People pull up the weather and see that weather is fine in NYC and start getting ****ed because they think they're being lied to. You ask the agent if they would like you to make an announcement about it. They are more than happy to give you the mike. You tell the pax that, while the weather is nice in NYC, it stinks in DC area. Your arrival corridor goes through DC. Thus your flight, along with a bunch of other flights are rerouted and there's a traffic backup. People aren't happy about the delay, but they are no longer POed at the airline.
Again, it's called customer service. But you go ahead and hide in your cockpit and keep wondering why you don't get a call to a major.
Um OK, way to pick the most basic answer. Yes, if you are sitting on a ground delay due to weather, it is expected to make an announcement. If there is a passenger dispute, well you are not always expected to get up and deal with it, that's why the company hires professional managers to do that. You know, the ones you call when there is an actual problem.
The point still stands to my original post and just because you are trying to derail it by making it seem like top level execs track how often you come out of the cockpit doest make it any less true.