Give a nod program
 

I stole this idea from another site.
Basically its this:
EVERYONE wearing the pilot uniform went
through his/her hell to get there.
Some went military some went civ.

Either way you went ........you made it here.

So lets give this a try....

1) respect the uniform and the person wearing it.
2) give notice to the other aviation professional
walking the other way.

Forget about who they are employed by or their
other differences.

Just give a little notice to ALL the AVIATION PILOTS you see.

It's funny noticing other pilot reactions as you're about to pass them in the terminals. They're thinking, Is he looking at me? If he does, do I nod, smile, or tip my head? Then, some act like they don't even see you and look straight ahead without a blink. But, oh, they know you're there alright ;)

In the past Delta pilots were the ones with their noses in the air, but I've noticed recently they're no diff from our Southwest friends. The shared difficulties these past years have leveled a lot of high ego's.

good idea Pabs!

You should steal more great ideas like this.

give a nod
 

Not taking sides, dude, but the Delta guys always treated me the best whenever I rode with them. I've jump seated on just about everyone except jet blue and UPS. I've had some pretty BAD experiences. You can't pigeon hole Delta guys into the "noses in the air" crowd. If you do, thats YOUR experience, not mine.

I'm not going to sling snot, but ALL AIRLINES have those guys and SOME airlines have them more than others. I'm all for the give a nod program. Will it work? Hell no. I'll omit the company and tell you what one instructor told me about our Parent company: They just assume look at the paint peeling on the wall as they pass you then to look at you and say good morning. He was 60 ish and he was right. Novel idea, though.

Tom

I've been flying for Delta for 20 years. I've never looked down on any other pilot, and I've seen very, very few other Delta pilots do that. Maybe your insecurity over your own status caused you to perceive something that wasn't there.

I've always found Delta guys friendly.

I used to do an experiment with my crews when passing through Houston (we are Newark). We would make a point to make eye contact and say hi to every pilot we saw. The only ones who responded were other Newark guys passing through like us! This was at Continental Express, but it did apply to the few Continental guys we saw.

Doing this in Newark got a mixed response. I'd say about 50%+ responded back to us. I don't know what this means, but it was interesting.

I've rarely been ignored by another pilot of any airline. To get a nod, a smile, or a hello from one of our own F/As, however, is a different story.

I flew for Delta for almost 30 years and can`t remember ever being ignored by any other pilots from any airline. I will say this however..American Air Lines flight attendants kept their collective noses in the air. I`ve not a clue as to what they were taught at their "stew schools", but quite a few had that attitude. Don`t know if it was every pilot from every airline or not.

I'm all for the nod idea even though I'm rarely in the terminal.

One of the most impressive things I have ever seen is one of our MD11 Capts carry the bags of a brand-spanking-new hire from Pinnacle who had just completed training and was jumpseating home.

They have to keep their noses in the air... If they didn't, their pea-sized brains would fall out through their nostrils...










it's a joke... I keed!

Eye contact with a simple greeting goes a long way.

I know of only a few pilots who put only one application out there when they were looking for a job. Most of us could easily be working for a different carrier - it's just that our current carrier called first.

My point is that we all do the same job - just wearing a different uniform.

I'm amazed when I hear pilots take an us against them attitude towards other pilot groups. Maybe I don't understand why a pilot group is vilified based on airline management actions. Corporate cultures aside, we're not that different - think about how your life would be different if you worked for another carrier. There might be some pay and lifestyle differences but you'd be the same person.

I think the adage that you have to give respect to get respect. So next time you see a pilot that you don't know in uniform, any uniform, give 'em the nod. With what most of us have endured in our careers during the last five years - a gesture of kindness at work would be a surprise!

I've got something to give B6 pilots, but it isn't a nod.

On second thought its probably better to just shun them. Stony silence works wonders.

Agreed. However, it is a bit disillusioning when you see even green, newly-licensed commercial pilots that seem to have a crappy attitude. There are many arrogant seasoned pilots out there as well, and it takes extra effort to continue to try to be friendly to all fellow pilots. The majority, though, make up for the holier-than-thou types.

I'd save that treatment for SCABS. Very clearly B6 pilots, as a group, don't fall into that category. B6 has their own forum here because I wanted to give them an anonymous venue to discuss work rule problems, and potential solutions, without fear of retribution. My feeling is that as upgrades slow, route expansion stagnates, and pay plateaus that there will be increased interest by B6 pilots to organize to achieve their collective goals.

That said, I think the point of this thread is recognizing individual pilots and NOT stereotyping a single pilot because of group affiliation.

I don't think there is a working pilot on the forum who hasn't gone to work with a sour attitude at one time or another. We all have bad days, and I'm sure it's not just pilots who experience this. However, you're right about meeting brand new [working] pilots who rattle-on about the grave injustices of the industry. It's annoying, but they may be emulating the more experienced pilots they've been trained by, or flown with.

I don't think this tread is about "how to be best friends with everyone you fly with" or "fixing a union - one pilot at a time". To me, the idea of give a nod is about basic respect for our profession and showing that respect to the men and women who fill the pilot ranks.

Much has been said on these forums about how despicable lawyers are, but even we acknowledge each other as professionals. We may get nasty inside a courtroom, but once the judge has called a recess or the trial is over, we are civil and show the proper respect as worthy adversaries. Like all other professions, there will always be some who are just jerks and can't seem to change. Life is like that.

If you read the definition of SCAB in the Merriam-Webster online dictionary, the fit the description perfectly.

So true. Some folks just don't know how to be civil.

Have YOU ever been on strike and watched real scabs cross your picket line in an attempt to take your job away? Many here have, and I can tell you from personal experience that it causes one to "narrow" the definition of a scab to only the truly despicable.

Have you ever walked a picket line and watch scabs trty to take your job away?

I can remember when people had similiar feelings about SWA. They sure don't say that today, do they?

Save the use of the word for real scum.

Yes. Twice. And the definition fits both catagories of scum.