Originally Posted by
block30
No! Parts of this article are crap and enough is enough! Write to this author!
By playing up the age and big plane vs. small plane issues Joe Brancatelli is just playing to the lowest, dumbest plublic common denominator.
Yeah, drive more America, because statisically, it's way more dangerous, but 20 to 25 year old children are one of the crewmembers! Oh no!
Instead of using his piece to use public leverage to improve regional ("commuter") pilots' relations to parent companies the article tramples the graves of two of our fellow aviators (in my opinion).
Further the piece insults anyone flying professionally who is
1) young in age
2) is/was regional affiliated
3) recently upgraded; "but he'd only been in command of a Q400 since last December"
4) or non military; "When I got out of the Navy, I had 1,800 hours of experience before I even got into commercial aviation" "a reality celebrated last month when 58-year-old Chesley Sullenberger, an Air Force vet with..."
5) fill in the blank
If you feel like I do, follow the link at the bottom of the Washington Post article, and contact Joe Brancatelli and tell him respectfully and briefly what the truth is.
Basura!! (garbage!)
Exactly what parts of this article are inaccurate? While I agree the lady at the end is pretty obsurd, the author does a good job explaining the relationship between mainline and regionals/code-shares. In fact he does more than any other reporter has done in debunking at least some of the myths surrounding "commuter" airlines. And while he somewhat glosses over the fact that we are trained to the same standards, he does have a point that experience counts. I know I would rather have a 30 year old drive me to the airport rather than a 16 year old. That doesn't necessarily mean the 30 year old driver is any better at driving, but the perception is there.
When I was driving the Beech, I felt it was one of my responsibilities calm the anxieties of some of the passengers that boarded the plane. To some its quite a shock as you get on. Lets be honest, these aircraft (RJ's included) are not exactly what people are expecting when they book the ticket. While the 1900 is much different than a RJ, some still have that perception when they see 2x2 or god forbid 2x1 seating. I heard an E-170 referred to as a puddle jumper once!
This is perhaps one of the greatest challenges of a regional pilot is to understand the fears and anxieties of our passengers. I always liked telling my passengers that they should feel much better about a "kid" driving a 1900 than a guy with silver hair (no offence to you late starters
). Dealing with their issues in a proffesional and frank manner will go much farther than any smart or snide comment. Even to your First Officer.