VIRotate

FAs being rude to our mechanics? That’s incredible unacceptable. I haven’t seen it at all. If anything, I’m super nice and very polite to our mechanics. I know they are under a lot of pressure and believe me, I want them to do a good job. So the airplane is fixed or at least properly deferred and the last thing I want is a rush job that results in an emergency. Plus they can be the difference on go home day, quickly getting out to the plane and fixing the problem. I am sure to always greet them and thank them when I see them. When they finish the job, I’m always one of the first to thank them for their work.

When things break on this plane, (valves, so many valves) I get mad at Embraer. Those bleed valves, APU valves, etc are a weak part of the plane. They seem to break so frequently. Don’t get me wrong the 175 is a fantastic airplane but sometimes I wish it was made by a different company is all. Embraer just makes quirky products. I mean the yoke is a great example. It’s fine and all but just why did they have to go flipping it upside down?

PanchoBarnes

Bobby Lee you are spot on.

One of the biggest takeaways from what BLS said is that you set the tone for your crew. It starts from the top down, so FOs your tone is important too. It works its way all the way to the passengers. Some common courtesy will go a long way!
Be friendly to your gate agents, cleaners, caterers, passengers, mechanics, dispatchers and crew members etc. It will go a long way in helping you accomplish what needs to be done when everyone is on your team.
I’m sure most people are good about all of that, but bad apples stick out.

Thanks for all your hard work!

TillerTemptress

Yeah, the bleeds and APU valves aren't Embraer. Ask anybody at Republic.

Anderair

Hearing about FA's mouthing off to mechanics really grinds my gears. I'm an A&P and I have worked at previous shops with people who are mechanics at compass today. I'm a pretty laid back lurker type but you guys have great points and are striking a nerve. I have experienced a rash of mouthy FAs lately. Even met one who bragged about writing up a mechanic because in her expert opinion he wasn't knowledgeable enough. We all want good mx right? Let's set the tone and treat our mechs right. Offer them some water or snacks, thank them, and most of all shut down the attitude.

ThePlaneSaidSo

As always, BLS is on point . Setting the tone is everything and although we have a pretty outstanding group of crew-members at CP, there are some who are still a little immature and jump at drama, so watch the tone you set.....uh hum.......captains . Here’s my crew-brief on lengthy maintenance delays: “hey team, it’s broke, it sucks, they’re working on it, we’re pay protected, lets go get coffee” done.


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ShooterMcGavin

The problem is definitely at the top,you have brand new techs basically learning on the job from other brand new techs. Most of our senior techs that were in SDF are now "Rover" mechanics who work 7 on 7 off so the experience level may vary day to day. A good chunk of them aren't run/taxi qualified either just due to lack of trainers and turnover which leads to the requests for crew assisted engine runs/bring planes from the hangar. MXC is also running pre AA bird staffing so be patient with them and understand they are doing more with less when you call in with a write up. Lastly,with us basically being a staffing company we don't own many parts and most are pooled in MEM,so going AOG can pretty much guarantee a plane is down the entire day unless it's a tire or a wing.

BobbyLeeSwagger

This is all EXACTLY right, spot on. And, there is no such thing as a type rating on an A&P. Their training covers fabrics to pistons to transport cat jets, very wide and not very deep, so it is normal for an A&P to have to find their niche of expertise in the industry. Pilot progression is much more linear and sliced up with a buffet of pilot certs, endorsements. Cat and class ratings, and of course, type ratings. Not so with them, they just have one license and so everything has to get learned on the job.

Someone mentioned the shortage.. that's a big part of the problem too. We now get mx folks right of our school who have never touched a real airplane, literally. At their school they learned little projects set up at stations etc.. but they never had 15 min to diagnose a problem on a fully boarded airplane. So we get them as new as you can imagine to their job, then we get turn over of our most experienced people. We recently lost some of our most knowledgeable techs to AA, like 4 or 5 left. It just is what it is I guess. We dont pay them much either and have bases in SFO and SJC lol.. yeah right. Try making a living on 40k a year in the bay area. They are probably raiding our snack baskets to make it to the next day 😅, it's like the hangar becomes a soup kitchen lol.

ShooterMcGavin

Highlight from the TSA call "so will our callsign be Brickski or Wateryard?"

Fr8Thrust

This is our LAX Ops reputation. Good job guys!

poorflyer

I feel like that's more of a skywest thing that happens.