parking BRAKE

 

......you may compare yourself to a Doctor or Attorney......but if you've been playin ball since 1990....śħìț.....your mortgage officer was definitely comparing you to the janitor or nurse.

 

you've hit on professionalism ... some people just don't get it, they fly the plane and as soon as they set the BRAKE, they run for the hotel like the plane was on fire

then they whine about professionals who make them feel/look bad because we actually act, well, professionally ... we care about our pax, coworkers and fellow pilots, are conscientious, and try to improve things

if everyone read and conducted themselves per the alpa code of ethics things would improve but I suspect the whiners haven't heard of it much less abide by it

in many other industries a lack of professionalism is punished directly by lost customers, revenue and jobs...there is not as direct a connection in aviation

so inconsiderate jerks can get by as long as they're safe and competent pilots...only those who fly with them (and read apc) have to deal with them directly

the good thing is they call themselves out (cue one doing just that in three, two, one...)

 

Here is the conundrum of our profession. Comparison to other professions - doctor, lawyer... - is in dollars only. In routine, I feel we're much more akin to blue collar professions. You sometimes hear, "but I have 300 pax, oh the responsibility". So the DL CA has more responsibility than the UPS CA, or the RJ CA for that matter? We up front have a vested interest in a safe flight - we suffer the same consequences as the pax. Thats self-preservation, not necessarily professionalism. What about the burnt out defense attorney who's client is wrongly found guilty? As joker said, eventually doing the minimum may have professional consequences to their livelihood - that's motivation to do more than the bare minimum.

If the guy on the assembly line at Boeing doesn't give a crap about the e-door installation, it's only his problem way down the road when there are major issues and large economic issues for his employer, or if the QC guys routinely trap the errors. If he doesn't care about wearing the proper PPE, that could pose immediate personal penalties. Is he more professional because he's always wearing all PPE (visible) but isn't so fastidious about his technical acumen (not so visible)?

I'm really torn on the issue - we've all seen (or been) the "professional" who has just had enough for the day and bolts for the van or the commute. Where is the line? When is it enough just to do what's required and no more? Do I want my responsibilities to begin to creep towards soft skills? Who is evaluating? The VP in the back who sends emails about the CA making a PA from the cockpit? The new hire who is super gung ho and wants to help sling bags? My union seems to think we've started drifting too far towards one end of the spectrum.

 

Very well said...I'm torn on the issue as well. I think this is a problem of today's society, and the aviation indisutry exists within "Today's society"..... we all like to see the local politician with the hard hat on "helping repair our roads", or "helping build our schools".....but really their responsibility lies in making sure there is a budget for that, not thier skills of using a drill or hammer.

Most major airlines today want you to answer a customer service TMAAT where your response likely involves temporarily doing someone elses job.........saving the day by substituting for someone who probably makes very very very little money. Is it the act itself or the humility?.....if the act was so dmn herioic.......then they ought to pay the people pushing the wheel chairs a little more.................. NO?

 

I don't think anyone is advocating that we go help the cleaners, or help the FAs pass out headphones while deadheading.

We're talking about doing just a little bit extra when it's warranted. Imagine a divert to Guayaquil Ecuador. A passenger is waiting for their wheelchair. It might be hours. There's no station ops, no support. You have to choose between grabbing the wheelchair yourself, or dropping smoke immediately and self-helping to the nearest Hilton.

Most of the mouth-breathers here have already self-identified and made it clear that "tHe COmPanY sHoULd haVE pLaNNEd beTTeR GOBLESS!!!1!" but this is the kind of thing most of us are talking about when we mean "going the extra mile."
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Let’s be honest, how much a pilot does or doesn’t do, or how much they complain or don’t complain. How much they lead or don’t lead, and how much they care or don’t care. Is directly related to their personality. Not so much the job. And all of the generosity and kindness can be done while also being a good union pilot.