Originally Posted by Pilot4000

You're flying a Des Moines turn, not launching the space shuttle, what is there to talk about?

Originally Posted by JackReacher

Exactly. We’re not going to Mars, not going to the Moon, in fact we’re not even going into orbit. We’re just going to Des Moines. Don’t make it more complicated than it needs to be.

Originally Posted by Turbosina

This.

Although, I don't mind the background question, I often asked it myself when I was a CA..."So, whatcha do before you came here?" Just kinda helps get a conversation going and helps you learn about the person.

To answer the OP...

A few classic red flags (all of which I have experienced personally) are as follows. I will say: all but one of these happened while I was at my former employer, and not UAL.

• First words out of his mouth are something along the lines of "Since I'm a check airman / management pilot / former squadron commander/ ..."
• "I'm not racist, but..."
• "I'm real laid back"
• Wears the hat IN the flight deck. Extra bonus points if the headset is worn over the hat (actually saw this happen once)
• "I just talked to the CEO the other day and he told me in confidence..." / and so forth
• Custom bag tag with bird col. insignia
• Brief takes longer than the flight
• Asks to inspect your pilot cert and medical (no, not while you're jumpseating....I mean when you show up to operate the flight)
• Rude to the FAs, ground crew, cleaners, etc
• Refuses to tip the van driver. "I don't get tips for doing my job, why should he?"
• Tells you your SOP-dictated technique is all wrong and insists you do it his way because that's how they did it at his previous airline
• Expects you to do the entire preflight (walkaround, box, clearance, flows, literally everything) and absolutely refuses to do anything aside from sitting there scrolling through pics of his boat / lake house / 'Vette / fourth wife/ etc
• Conversation is essentially a monologue about himself. For four days.
• Makes PAs that bear any kind of resemblance to the Servant Leader's spiel


And then the green flags:

• "Let's meet at the gate"
• Keeps the briefs....brief
• Consciously looks out for his/her crew's well-being (did we have time to get food? Hit the restroom? Is anyone fatigued?)
• Lets you do your thing without unnecessary interference
• When offering technique suggestions, actually helps you learn something and walk away from the flight as a better aviator
• Is perfectly okay with times of silence on a 5-hour leg
• Admits their own mistakes
• (At my old airline where we did postflight walkarounds) "Hey man, I know you gotta catch that commute flight, I'll get the walkaround for ya"
• Is a genuine, approachable, relatable human being

Originally Posted by JoePatroni

I like the guys who give a fifteen minute gate PA about a thirty minute flight. Of course, the first five minutes of their PA is their resumé.

Originally Posted by Pilot4000

You're flying a Des Moines turn, not launching the space shuttle, what is there to talk about?

Originally Posted by JurgenKlopp

Unfortunately with the draconian crud coming out of our enlighted managers on "normalization of deviance" you are hanging yourself out there if you don't make the effort on FPA meet. 100% wish it wasn't this way, but right now "meet at the jet" isn't the brightest idea.

Originally Posted by El Guapo

I’d rather meet a captain in Ops and have him show yacht pics and give financial advice vs a wannabe influencer/youtuber FO who’s got more gel in his hair than ink in his logbook

Originally Posted by JurgenKlopp

Unfortunately with the draconian crud coming out of our enlighted managers on "normalization of deviance" you are hanging yourself out there if you don't make the effort on FPA meet. 100% wish it wasn't this way, but right now "meet at the jet" isn't the brightest idea.