Trip Recap

Being that this is my blog and all, I've decided that perhaps a somewhat interesting thing to do is give an occasional recap of a recent trip. I don't want it to be more of the same ranting about long days, early show times and little sleep. I want it to be more of a little glimpse into some things people don't usually see and likely don't think about. Mostly, it will just be a collection of bits without much rhyme or reason.

My last trip was one that allowed me to commute to my base the morning of the first day and back home on the last day. It's a HUGE difference in terms of "quality of life." I like those trips just as any commuter. I was put in first class on my commute flight in. That was a very nice start to things. Sure, it's nice to get some breakfast, but this time I had already eaten a good breakfast. I just enjoyed having the extra space. It makes for decent napping or even just more space to be on the laptop.

It's not really wintertime right now, however, one one leg of the trip I did see an OAT (outside air temperature) of -60 deg C. That's -76 deg F. All I could think was... "Daaaaaamn..."

I don't think was a single smooth altitude to be found over the last few days. At all. We tried, we really did. Others did as well. Center frequencies were all a-buzz with people complaining about poor rides. *shrug*

We had a deadhead leg on another regional carrier during one portion of the trip. This carrier is one which I've had a few non-stellar experiences with. Mostly just poor treatment because of the company I am with. However, this crew was quite nice and they took great care of us. They even chatted with us, saved us some overhead space (since we're suppose to get on board last). It was a very pleasant surprise.

One thing is for sure: It's summertime and that means it's construction season. Holy crap. I think every damn airport has at least one runway closed along with a crap load of taxiways. Just more things to keep in mind and more things to cause delays.

On the last leg of the trip, I heard another pilot call the center controller and ask "Are you hearing the mayday call on guard?" ("Guard" is 121.5, and is another name for the emergency communication frequency. Most airline pilots will monitor this frequency in the background all the time.) Needless to say, that kind of statement on center frequency will get the attention of everyone listening. Center said that he wasn't hearing anything on guard. The pilot then stated the distress aircraft's tail number, and that the pilot of that aircraft had declared an engine failure and was going to try and make it back to the field he had taken off from. I was monitoring 121.5, like normal, but I also wasn't receiving anything. (Probably not close enough to pick up his transmission.) A couple of other carriers chimed in on freq with additional tidbits they had heard. After a couple of minutes, I heard an American Airlines flight trying to call the distress aircraft on 121.5 Then another called to American asking if he had hearing anything from the emergency aircraft. He said he had not, but was trying to see if he could get any kind of news or be of any assistance. From the sound of it this was a single engine piston aircraft with just the pilot aboard. Even so, some career pilots, flying the big iron, (the kind that usually make fun of the "Weekend warriors") were doing everything they could, collectively, to try and provide any help they could to the situation. Another nice feeling. You know, it didn't cost that crew anything to be nice to us on our deadhead and it didn't cost anything for those airliners to try and help this guy who lost his engine, but they were indeed trying. Passing along info to center, N number, situation, location, and trying to follow up with him as well. Sure, there are really cool things like fancy houses and sweet cars, but some of the most awesome things, are indeed only afforded at the small price of someone acting selflessly.

I managed to continue the streak of smooth touchdowns on the last leg and then walked quickly right from my aircraft onto my commuter flight. I was one of the last to get on board, and while I didn't get into first, I still got on. Aisle seat too! Whew! Homeward bound! Then, right as we were taxiing out, I looked up into first class just in time to see Mr. Fancy Business Man in 4C dig RIGHT into his left nostril. *sigh* Thanks for that. I'll pass on the peanuts this flight... Once at cruise altitude I headed to the back of the bus to take a leak. I walked into the lav, and BOY! I must have just followed someone that had a mega log. WOW. I'm actually hoping for an emergency depressurization right now to get this smell out.

On a flight attendant note, I paid special attention to the man sitting next to me on my commute flight home. It was nice to have the middle seat open between us, so we were not directly next to one another, but I still took note of him. Why? Well, it wasn't just that he looked like he was about 40, clean, sharp looking man, with a striped button down shirt with the white color, like that guy from Office Space. He was wearing very nice slacks and stylish shoes. His mostly grey hair looked very dashing and the sound of his South African accent added more to his dashingness. However, he was a damn slob! He left his snack wrappers on the floor and seat next to him, along with his napkins and cup on the floor. WTF dude? Something tells me your wife would whoop your ass if you tried to pull that at home! Why do you feel you need to act like a 3 year old when you're on an airplane??? I know the airlines don't give a crap about you and you're upset about how you feel the tickets are too expensive, not to mention bag check fees. However, being a dick and leaving such a mess does NOTHING except give the flight attendants more work to do to make the plane look decent for the next customer. I'd like to take this time now to openly admit that I would have the shortest flight attendant career in history. And, it would result from beating the crap out of at least one passenger on my very first flight.

As an aside, I had written down the tail number of the "distress aircraft" I talked about above. I just looked into it a bit and it turns out the pilot who made the mayday call I heard about was indeed able to land and not be hurt. THAT is what I call good news. http://www.woi-tv.com/Global/story.asp?S=11103708