Here’s a first for me…

I started a two-day trip: COS-LAX-PHX.  Our Auxiliary Power Unit, APU, was inop when we picked up the airplane in COS, which means we weren’t going to have any air conditioning (or electricity) while on the ground. Total inconvenience considering that the temperatures were getting into the low 70′s and was projected to be in the 80s when we got to LAX.

Well other than the normal non-APU start, the flight from COS to LAX was uneventful.  In LAX we picked up 49 passengers.  After the 49 passengers boarded, a lady come up and was complaining about the passenger next to her saying that he smelled.  So we sat her in an empty seat.  Unfortunately, a 50th passenger was about to board and now the “NEW” passenger was going to be asked to sit next to the smelly passenger. It took some doing but we eventually asked the smelly passenger to go and “freshen-up” and then return to the plane.  He was apologetic and the rest of the flight was uneventful.  Amazingly enough, most people seemed fairly happy when they got off the airplane even though we were about 20 minutes behind schedule.

It was a good lesson for me because I had never had to deal with such a situation. It seemed the right thing to do was to listen to the flight attendant and the complaint resolution officer (CRO) and work out an amiable solution for everyone…even if the flight was going to be late.

To Your Flying Success…

Jeffrey

Jeffrey is a captain at a regional airline and flies the CRJ200, CRJ700, and the CRJ900. He has over 4000 hrs of flying experience in many different airplanes and is a Gold Seal flight instructor to his credit. He has recently written “The CRJ200 Quicknote Study Guide” that simplifies the systems of the CRJ200 into a easy-to-understand, downloadable eBook. Click here to get your copy today!

PilotWorkshop IFR Proficiency Series

Yesterday I started a 3-day trip. 

It’s a good paying trip for a 3-day paying about 18 hours over the three days. The days are full though.  Four legs the first and second days and then two legs on the third day. The first day took us from COS to DEN to BHM to ORD to SDF. Today we start in SDF go to ORD to COS to ORD and back to SDF. Personally, I like the longer legs.

One of the things I like about flying for SkyWest is the chance to fly into and out of some of the busiest airports in the word. Flying into and out of ORD is always interesting and surprisingly easy unless weather or winds interrupt the flow of traffic. If you follow flying statistics, ATL and ORD are two of the busiest airports in the world. I think ATL edged out ORD this year though, both on arrivals and capacity. Anyway, ORD air traffic controllers (ATC) are some of the best.  It may take awhile to get airborne to ORD, you may be vectored and slowed down once you do get airborne, and occasionally you may hold, but they know how to do it and never get freaked out, that I’ve seen.  And the ground controllers are just a good.  Both controllers keep the flow of traffic moving.

One of the things that I find amazing is the ability of the ground controllers to identify who you are on the ground even if they have taken their eyes off you and worked one of the many other aircraft on the ground. ORD has two ground control frequencies.  One for those who have landed and one for those who are going to depart. These two controllers work well together controlling the flow of traffic. I don’t remember when they started this but aircraft must now have their transponders ON while taxing, which means that besides just being good at knowing where airplanes are, ground control have identifying radar images they can refer to to help coordinate traffic.

It’s fun and it’s part of the reason I enjoy flying so much. Still, as with any job, you have to find a way to make money outside of your chosen career. It’s too easy for it all to go bye-bye, and with what is happening still with the price of fuel, who knows what is going to happen in aviation in the near future.

To Your Flying Success…

Jeffrey

P.S. If you are going to fly, get a good traveling suitcase. Make sure it has wheels and a good handle and if you know you are going to be flying on a regional jet, which has smaller overhead bins, make sure that the height of the suitcase is small enough to fit in the overhead bin. 

At eBags.com, they can recommend some outstanding bags for traveling with really useful accessories.  One final note:  when you pack, after you pack, go back and start removing stuff, because you have probably overpacked.  Trust me you will make your life easier.

An FAA Safety Inspector in the Jumpseat

I only mentioned it briefly in the last blog, but Dan, an FAA Safety Inspector, was in the jumpseat from RAP to DEN.  It was a great four-day trip up until then.  I didn’t see it coming and surely didn’t expect the FAA to be riding along out of RAP. 

He was fine…a little disgruntled, but otherwise nice enough.  Didn’t really talk much but when he did he didn’t have anything nice to say about other airlines and his work.  I guess the FAA is working him a lot and it’s mostly because of the Southwest Airlines maintenance issues that have come up in the last couple weeks.  He was on his way to D.C. to evaluate what the FAA did wrong, i.e., where had their oversight failed.  Refreshing in a way.  It was nice to know that the FAA doesn’t consider itself infallible.

Anyway…it’s always stressful when the FAA rides along.  They can bust you and you may not even know why…

To Your Flying Success…

P.S. If you are in the airlines, whether a flight attendant or pilot, or even if you travel a lot, you need a bag that packs all your stuff, doesn’t cost a paycheck, and will last you a long, long time…check out eBags Pilot Plus 22″ Upright. A great bag and fits in those tiny regional overhead compartments!

Jeffrey is a captain at a regional airline and flies the CRJ200, CRJ700, and the CRJ900. He has over 4000 hrs of flying experience in many different airplanes and is a Gold Seal flight instructor to his credit. He has recently written “The CRJ200 Quicknote Study Guide” that simplifies the systems of the CRJ200 into a easy-to-understand, downloadable eBook. Click here to get your copy today!

I just finished a four-day trip yesterday. 

This one went very well and without a lot of drama.  We made excursions into Canada twice…Edmonton and Calgary.  The third night we were in Rapid City, S.D.  On the third day, went I met my crew in the morning, it turns out my flight attendant managed to give herself a black eye.  She said that she felt sick around 11:30 pm, went to the bathroom and passed out.  Upon waking, she said there was throw-up all around her and her eye/cheek hurt.  Hmmmm?  My order of events might be off but you get the jist of it.  She doesn’t really seem like the type to go out and party then lie to me about how she she got the shiner, so I basically ruled that out, but then again, you never know.  As for getting sick, passing out, throwing up, and giving yourself a shiner, well, that one is equally hard to swallow, and again who knows.  Obviously she knows but she’s not telling and what she did tell me is about all I have to go on.  So, I could have had her removed from the flight, because who wants a black eyed flight attendant?  They might think that the captain is betting up his crew though.  If she did get caught with the black eye by the FA police, she would have been pulled off the trip, but we made it through.  The only other notable event was that an FAA Safety Inspector rode up in the jumpseat with us from Rapid City.  I hate it when they do that.  I don’t think I broke any rules…

Till next time…

Jeffrey

Jeffrey is a captain at a regional airline and flies the CRJ200, CRJ700, and the CRJ900. He has over 4000 hrs of flying experience in many different airplanes and is a Gold Seal flight instructor to his credit. He has recently written “The CRJ200 Quicknote Study Guide” that simplifies the systems of the CRJ200 into a easy-to-understand, downloadable eBook. Click here to get your copy today!

Every Month Is Different

Well if you know anything about the airlines, you would know that typically pilots and flight attendants “bid” on their schedules for the month. 

As I’ve mentioned earlier, there are “lines” and there are “reserve lines.”  A “line” is a set schedule.  You know when you start, where you are going, and when you finish.  A “reserve line” is a set of days that you are available to the company to go fly.  You wake up in the morning, they call you, and two hours later you could be sitting up front on you way to anywhere and somewhere.  No matter who you talk to, a “line” beats a “reserve line” any day. OK, that’s not true.  Occasionally, there are times when a “reserve line” is more beneficial.  For instance, when you DON’T want to work; however, by putting yourself on reserve, depending on where your company is with staffing, you could either work A LOT or none at all.  It seems to be feast or famine and you have to be careful when you “bid” reserve.  In other words, if historically you are a line holder, but don’t want to work, bid reserve, but know whether or not they are flying the reserves or you could end up having a nasty schedule.

Another reason to bid “reserve” is because you have another job outside of flying that you want to focus on. For instance, I have a window cleaning business and when business is going well, I can bid reserve and work that job and essentially have two incomes.

With all this said, for May, I was awarded a “composite line” which is a mix of “line” and “reserve line.”  Kind of the best of both worlds.  I get all the great qualities of having a “line” but some “reserve” days thrown in there that I probably won’t have to work, so it is like having extra days off.

More later…by the way, I’m in SLC right now on my way to Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.  It’s snowing here and it’s May 1.  Welcome to summer!

To Your Flying Success…

Jeffrey

P.S. Very cool video of Airplane Flight Patterns over the USA…click here to see the videos!