Originally Posted by TheProfessor

Just so we avoid the implication to the contrary, I genuinely appreciate the negotiation efforts, pain, and suffering the pilot group went through before I got to Delta to produce the nice contract we have today. Seriously.

The killing them with kindness routine is not to get flight ops to be nice to us. I completely agree that will have no effect and it’s not the intention. And I agree that hats off or bright colored lanyards will annoy them and more importantly shows unity.

But being nice to passengers while the operation is continually a dumpster fire isn’t going to “produce nice results” for flight ops. Non-cancelled and on time trips are infinitely more important than a tiny NPS boost from me saying bye to a passenger. Continuing to be a decent person reduces the credibility of a narrative that says pilots are greedy, difficult people. So we win by not being viewed unnecessarily in a negative light without giving up any significant negotiating position.

I do not see how being difficult with passengers and other employees is going to get us anything. Other employees do have power to make our lives more or less pleasant in small ways (no matter how much the captain is in charge or has the parking brake). Why increase animosity with them when we aren’t negotiating with them and they have no ability to influence the outcome? It’s pretty obvious flight ops is going to continue trying to malign us as a group and I’m simply advocating to improve—or at least not worsen—things outside of the section 6 battlefield. I may be new here, but I’m not new at being a human being or dealing with people.