uncleowen

Where do you live?
Got any kids?
Laugh at Delta doing something Delta.
What's your church calling? (optional)
So you trying to get out?

That's the first leg.

Paid2fly

I guess it depends on where you're based... Crummy pairings have caused my W2 to decrease for the last 5 years.

word302

Yeah I’m highly sceptical of his math skills.

Turbosina

Are you serious? It's small talk. Besides "where do you live?", "Got kids?", "So how'd you get into flying?", "How long you been here", the next most commonly asked question is "Got your apps in?"

What the heck else do you talk about?

Turbosina

Hah, wrote my post and then saw yours

TogaParty

It's a pretty common topic of conversation among regional crew since it's something we can all relate to whether you have plans to leave or not. I've never gotten any resistance when the topic is brought up. It usually is either "Yes, I'm hoping to go X airline or No, I'm planning to stick around."
Of course if you're at a major, which would presumably your career airline this topic would have little relavance. For Regional crew however , it's something that's commonly discussed.

ImPilot I Fly

I try to talk about other subjects. Ask about kids. If your co worker has kids ask them about them. Hobbies, Sports, Band/Orchestra. Most proud parents love talking about their kids. If your colleague is short with the answers as it pertains to their children. Back off the subject. Things at home might not be going too well. Move on to sports. Favorite teams? Playoffs? Been to any live games lately? Talk stats. Memorable games and stadiums.

Then you can move on to music, movies, beer. My captain and I talked about The Grateful Dead for about an hour last night in cruise. I had no idea he was a deadhead. And he probably assumed the same of me. Until i brought it up. The majority of us aren't complete pilot stiffs. Some are. Those are challenging trips.

There is always something to talk about. Just dont make it akward and do the 20 minutes of silence and then click on the hot mic and utter "So.......do you like stuff?" Good conversation flows and segues from one subject to the next. The key to good conversation is asking questions. My favorite cruise talk is with someone of a completely different background and someone that has an entire different set of interests and hobbies. Ive learned a lot about cricket, sailing, cooking, carpentry. Everyone has a story. When in doubt, quote movies and living the dream. You're bound to have something in common or at least learn something new from anyone and everyone.

Jonneaux

My math skills tell me that the PPS check that I received last week amounted to an additional $8.80/hr for the quarter bringing my hourly rate up to about $121/hr. That's based on my rate at the time. Under the new agreement, add another $3/hr. What other regional pays near that, year 18?.

WesternSkies

If you don't have kids, don't ask about kiddos.

Creep me the hell out

Jonneaux

You're absolutely correct. That's why I said scheduling and work rules are more important than book rates. Horizon my have higher published rates, but knocking out six to eight legs per day in a Q400 doing short hops more than negates that.

Being senior will always pay better than being junior. If you're not in the top third of the Captains list, move on.