Ask The Pilot

[mjt57]

JB, any chance you'll be starring on stage and screen this time round?

Airdate: Ready for Take-Off | TV Tonight

Goes to air tomorrow night on Nine/WIN.

 

[Dmac6345]

Hi gents.
it appears there is some nasty weather in and around Melbourne at the moment.
JQ796 from MEL-MCY has taken a very strange route according to flight radar.
Can you elaborate on this?

 

[Melburnian1]

Our pilots are keen to avoid company specific questions so I'll ask this about long haul flights more generally.

If the tech crew turn up for a rostered duty from say east coast Oz to SIN, DXB, LAX or SFO and the flight is then - after a few hours waiting - cancelled at that time and rescheduled for say eight hours hence - when the staff will be 'out of time' - do the original pilots simply go home, with their rotations on that tour of duty being 'lost' and hence they work fewer hours that month?

Or do pilots by negotiation take on another almost equivalent 'tour of duty' in the next few days if the airline wants them to so do?

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Not so much an 'ask the pilot' but a 'heads up' to our resident pilots.

Some of us received a Qantas Advisory panel survey recently.

This time it's about how passengers view QF pilots, and what passengers expect from pilots.

The usual raking scale applied to all questions (from 1 'don't like/not helpful' to 10 'like/helpful')

Some of the questions were around:

• should pilots have a presence in Qantas clubs and lounges before flights
• should pilots be at the door to say good bye as pax disembark
• should pilots give an explanation and reassurance when the seatbelt sign is illuminated mid flight
• on international flights, is it important pilots circulate in First and business class cabins
• pilots should issue 'notes' from the flight deck, such as pax anniversaries and personalised happy birthday announcements
• face-to-face greeting at the cabin door during boarding
  
• should pilots (not cabin crew) give detailed information during descent regarding arrival gate and baggage reclaim carousels

(mods feel free to move - but I thought I'd put it here not for discussion, but just a 'heads up')

 

[alieninperth]

my answers to all of these would be no. Nice but not essential. In some cases I would also assume safety issues from carrying out those tasks, info during descent as an example.

 

[Quickstatus]

Not so much an 'ask the pilot' but a 'heads up' to our resident pilots.

Some of us received a Qantas Advisory panel survey recently.

This time it's about how passengers view QF pilots, and what passengers expect from pilots.

The usual raking scale applied to all questions (from 1 'don't like/not helpful' to 10 'like/helpful')

Some of the questions were around:

• should pilots have a presence in Qantas clubs and lounges before flights
• should pilots be at the door to say good bye as pax disembark
• should pilots give an explanation and reassurance when the seatbelt sign is illuminated mid flight
• on international flights, is it important pilots circulate in First and business class cabins
• pilots should issue 'notes' from the flight deck, such as pax anniversaries and personalised happy birthday announcements
• face-to-face greeting at the cabin door during boarding
  
• should pilots (not cabin crew) give detailed information during descent regarding arrival gate and baggage reclaim carousels

(mods feel free to move - but I thought I'd put it here not for discussion, but just a 'heads up')

I would rather the pilots concentrate on keeping the takeoff to landing ratio 1.00

Anything else is superfluous. Let's not create an expectation or another entitlement. If the pilot is having to do greetings he or she is not resting or preparing for the flight or flying the plane. That's not good.

 

[kermatu]

I would rather the pilots concentrate on keeping the takeoff to landing ratio 1.00

Anything else is superfluous. Let's not create an expectation or another entitlement. If the pilot is having to do greetings he or she is not resting or flying the plane. That's not good.

I answered these all as very low priority (other than communication from the coughpit). More important things to focus on.

Must admit as a kid, flying on TAA or Ansett to/from Tassie, used to get a real thrill when invited to the flight deck, given a signed postcard or greeted by the pilots at stairs. But the world has changed!

 

[MEL_Traveller]

Perhaps there should be a separate thread for discussion of this matter? I only wanted to put the survey here so AFF's pilots would see what's potentially brewing at QF HQ!

 

[jb747]

JB, any chance you'll be starring on stage and screen this time round?

Airdate: Ready for Take-Off | TV Tonight

Goes to air tomorrow night on Nine/WIN.

I'm sure they'll find someone younger, better looking, and most importantly, less grumpy, than me. Also I'd be running as fast as possible in the other direction.

 

[jb747]

Hi gents.
it appears there is some nasty weather in and around Melbourne at the moment.
JQ796 from MEL-MCY has taken a very strange route according to flight radar.
Can you elaborate on this?

Looking at some of the FR24 tracks, it's pretty obvious that some aircraft have gone appreciably out of their way to avoid cells. 50 nm isn't uncommon, but even twice that can be needed sometimes. I expect the various holding patterns tell us that Melbourne has been slowing arriving traffic, or has, perhaps, even had a period of not accepting arrivals. It becomes an interesting problem. ATC don't want you in the same space as another aircraft, but the holes in the weather tend to funnel the aircraft to the same points.

Have a look at VA556....

And have a look at ZL 677. My wife has been watching that one like a TV drama.

 

[jb747]

Our pilots are keen to avoid company specific questions so I'll ask this about long haul flights more generally.

If the tech crew turn up for a rostered duty from say east coast Oz to SIN, DXB, LAX or SFO and the flight is then - after a few hours waiting - cancelled at that time and rescheduled for say eight hours hence - when the staff will be 'out of time' - do the original pilots simply go home, with their rotations on that tour of duty being 'lost' and hence they work fewer hours that month?

Systems (and awards) vary across airlines. In some cases you've just lost the value of the trip, and too bad. If you can find something else available then you might be able to replace it, but generally you'll end up out of pocket. Other awards "protect" your basic pay (but not anything else) for the lost trip, but the company has a dramatically increased ability to disrupt the rest of your line (and perhaps other trips) to recover that work.

 

[jb747]

Not so much an 'ask the pilot' but a 'heads up' to our resident pilots.

Some of us received a Qantas Advisory panel survey recently.

This time it's about how passengers view QF pilots, and what passengers expect from pilots.

The usual raking scale applied to all questions (from 1 'don't like/not helpful' to 10 'like/helpful')

Some of the questions were around:

• should pilots have a presence in Qantas clubs and lounges before flights
• should pilots be at the door to say good bye as pax disembark
• should pilots give an explanation and reassurance when the seatbelt sign is illuminated mid flight
• on international flights, is it important pilots circulate in First and business class cabins
• pilots should issue 'notes' from the flight deck, such as pax anniversaries and personalised happy birthday announcements
• face-to-face greeting at the cabin door during boarding
  
• should pilots (not cabin crew) give detailed information during descent regarding arrival gate and baggage reclaim carousels

(mods feel free to move - but I thought I'd put it here not for discussion, but just a 'heads up')

Thanks for that, best laugh I've had all day.

 

[petercr]

JB, just catching up on Ultimate Airport Dubai (S2E10 in case anyone was interested) and there was a young-ish guy who was taking his first 'for real' flight commanding an Emirates A388 after having finished his training and sims. In the footage he said a couple of times that he was stepping up to a plane ten times bigger than what he'd flown before.

Poetic licence aside would this be a common occurrence?

All I can think that he would be coming from would be a B717 or similar - seems to be an awfully big leap...

 

[VMEX]

Question: Do pilots ever watch air crash investigations?

i tend to love the show but if i have a flight book within like 2 months theres no way i can watch it on the lead up lol

 

[jb747]

JB, just catching up on Ultimate Airport Dubai (S2E10 in case anyone was interested) and there was a young-ish guy who was taking his first 'for real' flight commanding an Emirates A388 after having finished his training and sims. In the footage he said a couple of times that he was stepping up to a plane ten times bigger than what he'd flown before.

Poetic licence aside would this be a common occurrence?

All I can think that he would be coming from would be a B717 or similar - seems to be an awfully big leap...

He wasn't "commanding" anything. Emirates 380 Captains would be trained from the ranks of their 777 or 380 FOs... He's almost certainly a cadet, becoming an instant FO. Of course if he were already an FO on the big fella, he'd just want those old guys out of his way.

 

[jb747]

Question: Do pilots ever watch air crash investigations?

i tend to love the show but if i have a flight book within like 2 months theres no way i can watch it on the lead up lol

Sometimes they are interesting...and perhaps the only thing worth watching on Netflix. I think their accuracy is slightly better than the normal media..but not particularly accurate.

 

[Milboo]

Not sure if this is the usual departure pattern for Sydney but curious.

I am under the flight path for the main North - South runway for Sydney. Well used to the planes going overhead on their path out of Sydney.

Today I watched QF1 (pretty sure of that) taking a left hand turn over Leichhardt and head west.

Maybe to do with the incoming storm?

As I said, am curious about it as I have never seen it before.

 

[mjt57]

I'm sure they'll find someone younger, better looking, and most importantly, less grumpy, than me. Also I'd be running as fast as possible in the other direction.

Can't comment on how "well presented" that the pilot(s) should be but they did a story on a B737 captain who's 64. Does acrobatic flying on his days off. Just a bit about having time off then back into the sim before going back to work.

 

[jb747]

Not sure if this is the usual departure pattern for Sydney but curious.

I am under the flight path for the main North - South runway for Sydney. Well used to the planes going overhead on their path out of Sydney.

Today I watched QF1 (pretty sure of that) taking a left hand turn over Leichhardt and head west.

Maybe to do with the incoming storm?

As I said, am curious about it as I have never seen it before.

There is a standard arrival that brings aircraft from the north straight down the reciprocal track of the runway. So, if you want the departures to be able to climb, they have to get off that track. Could be weather, but I think it's just a Richmond departure, with the radar transition.

 

[jb747]

Can't comment on how "well presented" that the pilot(s) should be but they did a story on a B737 captain who's 64. Does acrobatic flying on his days off. Just a bit about having time off then back into the sim before going back to work.

It's not a show I'm likely to watch...just not into reality TV of any sort. Actually, broadcast TV of any sort.