Seattlecfi

Here is something I came across on the SkyWest message board.

For years regional/"commuter" pilots have been snubbed by the supposedly superior Capt. Sullys of the major air carriers.

Delta Airlines in days gone by was a premier carrier by whom you could set your watch. Their flight attendants were great, their pilots were very professional if unfriendly towards "commuter" pilots, and passengers would talk very warmly about their loyalty to good ole DAL.

Well my fellow SkyWest Pilots we have now surpassed Delta in at least passenger service and on time performance. My crew and I were on a DH back from MSP yesterday on a Delta MD-88, which after some issues with our "tickets" we got to board the flight to go home.

Passengers were not happy with DAL yesterday as this Mad Dog's APU was kaput, and there was no ground support for air conditioning available so there was ZERO airflow in the airplane. So there we sat for about 30-40 minutes while bags were loaded sweat dripping off everyone. Not one announcement from the cockpit about the situation. The Flight Attendants did explain and apologize, but with no airflow to abate the growing humidity the apologies fell flat when the FAs then announce the prices for food, and headsets to watch TV or to logon to the Wifi, $7.95 per flight. Oh and NO CASH, only credit cards.

Once the engines were started there was not much in the way of A/C either during a creep taxi for T/O. The airplane did cool down after we got airborne, although the odor of evaporating sweat hung heavy in the air for the entire flight.

The delay in MSP was not going to make us very late though and we in fact did reach the gate in SLC only 10 minutes late. This is were the cockpit really shined. The "Delta" Captain missed the stop at the jetway by 3 feet and we sat for about 10-15 while a ground crew could round up a tug to push the airplane back so deplaning could begin. Now folks were missing connections after being subjected to a miserable boarding in MSP, and a botched docking at the arrival gate.

So congratulations to SkyWest for putting out a better overall product than mainline. I know from experience that SkyWest pilots do a better job at operating flights that this crew did. I have yet to leave or arrive on time while on a DH on Delta for quite sometime, or for that matter on United either. So keep up the god work!

Pro Fessional

The 330 loses ACC in September. That is/was the only 330 Africa flying.

buzzpat

Disregard..............

satchip

Thanks for the wll wishes guys. I'm fine but I nearly busted a gut when I sw this...

FTB, your Photoshop skills are unsurpassed. You have to show that to KG!

satchip

Buzz or any other 73 guy, what's the difference between a 738 and an H and a W?

dragon

The W is the 700 (124 seats) and the H is with IFE.

Desperado

For anyone who has NOT done this already, look on the Capt.'s side at the position of the sunvisor holder. This position WILL get you hurt. The upside is, of course, that you will only need to bonk your head on that thing once...

Scoop

What he meant to say is that the W is the 700 and the H is the one with the IFE that is operative. The W is the one with IFE inoperative.

Scoop

80ktsClamp

One thing about the lack of air: (and I know some idiot that called me out on FI will hate this) if you dont hear a rush or air or dont look out and see the air connected to your plane when it's a hot day don't shut off the air. We always default to single engine taxi but will never burn more than is necessary...

If the company can't figure out that air is needed to cool the cabin....then run it! Not much thought process goes into that. DTW and SEA never hooked up air today on a very warm day. I can never forgive laziness...

Dc8co

Get ready for some A330 flying to Luanda(via Dkr) this fall...