tallpilot

Heat transfer is a function of temperature delta and volume of air moved. They can buy bigger units and get the air a couple degrees cooler but the pipe coming into the jet is the same size. It's a joke. Those huge units did great in IAH when I flew 145s. Even the 170 was too big for them, no way are they cooling down a 321. If only it had two inputs like a widebody then maybe.

An awning that shades the jet from the sun would be far more useful.

WiFly

Very true. My point still stands though. I'm tired of hearing "not my job".

FlyyGuyy

I'm a fairly recent captain less than a year. The number of times I have heard a first officer tell me that something was not their job has been astonishing. Never once did I say that to a captain when asked to do something. But in 8 months I've heard it three or four times now. If I tell you to call ops because I'm on the phone with maintenance just to do it. I'm not being a dick I managing the tasks at hand. Also I'm under 40, and all of those first officers have been under 30. Didn't think there was that big of a disparity between the generations. Apparently I don't hang out with enough under 30-year-olds to realize that. 🤣.

CaseTractor

that's astonishing.

have these 3 or 4 folks never been captains, or what was their background?

a good FO should be doing everything in their power to take (administrative in this case) load off the captain so they can focus on the big picture operation and make the strategic decisions. And it certainly means helping when asked, but one should be proactive enough not to be asked all the time.

joepilot50

Here I am feeling bad for FO's for those who fly with CA's that don't feel like helping out themselves when workload permits to help set up the plane for departure!

If my workload permits, I usually set up the inside of the plane while they are doing the walk around.

Flew with plenty of CA's that either do one of three things when things are operating smoothly 1) do nothing after briefing the FA's 2) Do maybe half the setup and tell me when I got back from the walk saying it's all done, but when I double check they forgot a lot of stuff 3) On the phone dealing with their side hustle.

I view ourselves as a team. If I can help out on a smooth day, I will. Obviously if bigger things are happening( MX, wx issues, etc) then I will tend to those issues and delegate other tasks to the FO.

Thankfully I haven't dealt with an FO like that yet even the young ones. I've only had an issue with one of the new hires when it comes to work ethic, but he was from an older generation than me. The ones I haven't enjoyed flying with tended to be the ones senior to me that have gone through the lost decade and the Envoy-PSA drama in 2014.

JulesWinfield

That's pretty wild. I've seen some guys like that while in the jumpseat. Busted APU, FO is on his phone the whole time while the CA is getting everything going. They get ready to start the engine on the huffer cart, and the FO doesn't even have the AOM pulled up. He's searching frantically through the FOM, while the CA is just sitting there with the implied facepalm look from No Country for Old Men. After a few seconds of this, I speak up and tell the FO that the checklist is in the AOM, and it still takes him a minute to find it.

I try to be proactive when I can, but some CAs make it pretty clear that they don't like their FO to be proactive, so I just do what I can and wait for them to tell me what to do. A lot of what you get from your FO depends on how you set the tone initially, so you might have some growing pains in that regard.

BitterAAhole

haHaHa you have got to be kidding me.
No I will never ever ever do that. It ISNT my job and never will be to make PAs at the gate. Heck there is only on PA required in fom to be made in the plane. Any clown that stands up by the gate to make a PA rightfully deserves to be made fun of. This thankfully isn't delta where that stuff is encouraged. Shame on you for even making that suggestion.

Pilots are not in customer service.

BitterAAhole

Good maybe the next generation of people won't be full of hat wearing boy scouts making pa's at the gate or ordering pizza for a long delay.

SonicBoom

Well, then you clearly lied to American when you applied to work here. It IS part of our job to provide customer service to our passangers, perhaps not a REQUIREMENT, but read the job description on the website. I personally wouldn't go to the gate do PAs like Delta pilots do, but calling someone that does that a clown is ridiculous. This attitude baffles me, as if we are doing the passangers a favor flying them around like we are gods. They pay our freaking bills, and then you come here throw stones at the company's problems when you are clearly part of it. Heaven forbid someone making a half million dollars a year go a little above and beyond doing their jobs. I say, the shame is on you. But then again, your handle says it all about you as a professional.

Margaritaville

Is it true that at your air line FD Pro doesn't work off the cockpit wifi? It does here. I thought you guys had some homemade app for weather and flight tracking?