Pilotpip

As the title suggests. After holding for about 35 minutes yesterday, and deciding it was time to divert, I asked the captain if he was going to tell the people in the back. His response, "why?"

I took it upon myself, made a PA announcement. When we got on the ground the FA was getting a ton of questions, and some people were getting mad. This captain sat there and didn't say anything. Again, I took it upon myself to make an announcement every 10 minutes or so and keep the pax informed of what was going on. Do you guys think it was right to take this upon myself?

What do you do about this? It's not my job to make the announcements unless I'm PNF. However much I don't like working here I can't let that affect the passengers. They bought a ticket from a mainline carrier, don't know (or care) who they're flying on as long as they get there. There's been enough press about situations like this recently and I don't want to contribute to it and realize that without them, I don't have a job. However this captain, in my mind, wasn't doing his job. Should I go to professional standards? Should I keep my mouth shut? I'm not going to the company because that's a losing situation no matter what.

DrPepper

you did a good job of keep the Passengers and the FA informed. They are paying for a service and even if you guys are having a bad trip, the passengers have nothing to do with that. Keep doing what you are doing. You will make a good captain one day...

plasticpi

I've flown with a couple guys like this, and I don't know if your guy is the same type, but both of the captains I flew with that were like this just didn't care about the job. It wasn't just PAs, it was everything.

If that's the case, then they can't be fixed. They have to fix themselves, or they will eventually quit. Just take it upon yourself to make sure things get done, and hope you don't have to fly with him/her again. If you get stuck with him for more than one trip, talk to him about it, and see if that does anything. If not, perhaps a call to pro standards is in order.

ToiletDuck

I've been in that situation. Every CA has their own way of doing things. I'd have done what you did and if he had any comments I'd talk to him why I did it. They always want you to do things their way and not your own. I have some that toss the seatbelt sign off through 10k and others who hate to touch the thing.

You did good. Anytime something out of the norm is going to happen the pax need to know. It's pretty easy for them to get freaked when the plane starts turning in random directions and they were suppose to land 20 min ago and don't know why they haven't.

III Corps

What does your Ops Manual say? Most state that the flight crew must keep the cabin crew and pax advised when things change. The best course of action is to ask, "What is the plan?" If he says nothing, ask if he is going to abide by the Ops Manual and if not, why not? If he persists, ask him if he minds if you abide by the Ops Manual.

TonyMontana

Ask him if he was just having a bad day or what the deal was, and that you thought both of you guys needed to talk about some differences that you'd like to get worked out. I was a F.O. for a LONG time before I finally upgraded, so I have reference for what you are talking about.

If he doesn't jive with that, then you should call pro standards and let them have a discussion with him/her.

Pilotpip

This captain has a reputation already. It wasn't a bad day.

Thanks everyone, I appreciate the advice.

maxfli5o

When I was flying for that company, I flew with him. Not a whole lot of fun to deal with. I can imagine how bad that must of been...

flynavyj

i'd say take it to him before pro standards, if he makes a big deal out of the situation, then yeh, might have to go past him. Typically, keeping the people informed of the situation will make them more acceptable of the problems that are associated with it.

naley70b

I don't know what it is whith guys like that. Perhaps cause i actually care about the people in the back, i love interacting with the PAX and making announcements. If they hate their jobs so much then quit for god's sake.

I guess there will always be negative people in the world, no matter what job you're in.