# A Funny Thing Happened on the way to the Gate



## B757Guy (Jun 1, 2018)

Ahh the joys of dealing with some of the traveling public....

Minding my own business, grabbing a quick bite before my next leg for the day, when a couple approach me, asking if I'm a pilot and who I fly for. While I was a bit hesitant to answer, as they seemed a bit off, my uniform and stripes kinda give it away. So I answer yes, and tell them who I fly for. They then procced to offer me all manner of compensation if I upgrade them to first class.I politely but firmly tell them I have no control over such things, and even if I did, the answer would be no. They begin to make some snide comments about how airplanes fly themselves, and that I must be a Trump supporter. Their behavior was erratic, and it was kinda clear they were either on something, or drunk. About 20 minutes later, I start making my way to the gate, and see them both arguing loudly with someone at one of the restaurants. They spot me as I walk by, and begin yelling at me. It's loud enough that a few folks look over at them, and me. I shrug, and forget about them, my mind on the flight ahead. I get to the airplane, begin my normal pre-flight stuff, brief the FA's on a few items, and get acquainted with my FO. As karma would have it, while outside in the gate area, talking to a few folks, I notice the couple is on my flight. It's pretty clear to me that these folks are a potential problem, and I speak with the gate agent, and have them denied boarding. The ensuing argument delayed us 35 minutes, and required the police, but in the end, it was the right thing to do....

I love my job, and while I don't interact much with my passengers, over the years I've had some wonderful experiences with them. But, some days I watch those FEDEX MD-11's blasting off with nothing put packages, and sigh...


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## Devil's Advocate (Jun 1, 2018)

I read all the way to the end but still didn't see how much it would cost me to get an upgrade.


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## B757Guy (Jun 1, 2018)

Devil's Advocate said:


> I read all the way to the end but still didn't see how much it would cost me to get an upgrade.


Lol!


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## railiner (Jun 1, 2018)

I felt similar sentiment many times thru the years driving buses, and feeling envious of the driver's of 18-wheeler's.....


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## cpotisch (Jun 1, 2018)

Ah, people. Sadly, I've seen crazy people yelling at airline staff to get upgrades all too many times. However, this case is probably the weirdest one I've seen yet - usually they harass a flight attendant or someone at check in, but not the pilot. Seems like those people were either intoxicated or have some kind of mental illness, but either way you definitely did the right thing by denying them boarding.


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## caravanman (Jun 1, 2018)

Yep, working as a taxi driver, I loved it when the job was a parcel delivery instead of a passenger.

Ed.


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## railiner (Jun 1, 2018)

Well, we may agree that at times, carrying freight, rather than "annoying" passenger's is preferred, I must admit that, had I had the chance to do it all over again, I would still rather be hauling passenger's than freight, and driving a Prevost, instead of a Kenworth...


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## Bob Dylan (Jun 1, 2018)

Fly the friendly skies indeed! LoL


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## jis (Jun 1, 2018)

B757Guy hope this wasn’t on a flight to BOM! BTW we never managed to meet up.


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## CCC1007 (Jun 1, 2018)

I absolutely agree with your assessment of the situation, and I have a story of my own to share.

One day, last summer, I agreed to come in to cover a shift for a co-worker. Of course, that shift, which was supposed to be a fairly short one, ended up being 11 hours long due to the scheduled aircraft not being legal to operate due to a computer failure onboard. The next available aircraft to replace it wouldn't be able to get to Montana until about 5 hours later. Right around when that replacement aircraft was supposed to leave Denver, I got cornered by an irate woman. I went ahead and let her vent on me, as I knew that the situation was causing tensions to rise.

An hour later, she came up to me and apologised. I told her that "I knew you were yelling at my hat, not me."

The funny thing is that three separate aircraft from the same regional airline had failures that day, and if the plane that eventually showed up had been 5 minutes later, the crew waiting to take it to Denver would have not had enough time to do so that night. My manager told me that he hadn't seen anything like that in all of the years that he had worked in the airline industry.


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## B757Guy (Jun 1, 2018)

jis said:


> B757Guy hope this wasn’t on a flight to BOM! BTW we never managed to meet up.


I know, I think our schedules were out of sync by a week or two. Hope your travels went well...


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## B757Guy (Jun 1, 2018)

CCC1007 said:


> I absolutely agree with your assessment of the situation, and I have a story of my own to share.
> 
> One day, last summer, I agreed to come in to cover a shift for a co-worker. Of course, that shift, which was supposed to be a fairly short one, ended up being 11 hours long due to the scheduled aircraft not being legal to operate due to a computer failure onboard. The next available aircraft to replace it wouldn't be able to get to Montana until about 5 hours later. Right around when that replacement aircraft was supposed to leave Denver, I got cornered by an irate woman. I went ahead and let her vent on me, as I knew that the situation was causing tensions to rise.
> 
> ...


That's a very bad operational day! But, it happens! I've had similar craziness at my airline, too.


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## Trogdor (Jun 1, 2018)

Funny. I read this exact same thread on FlyerTalk.


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## railiner (Jun 1, 2018)

Trogdor said:


> Funny. I read this exact same thread on FlyerTalk.


Shouldn't be, really...many of us on AU visit other transportation related websites, that have similar threads, but usually with fresh and different viewpoints in each....


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## B757Guy (Jun 2, 2018)

Trogdor said:


> Funny. I read this exact same thread on FlyerTalk.


That's because I posted it there.


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## Thirdrail7 (Jun 3, 2018)

You mean they were removed and they didn't write in, say you were rude and ignored them which means you'll be brought in for discipline and watch as they receive a voucher, even though the whole entire was caught on camera?

Ohhh! I get it. The voucher is forthcoming.


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## XHRTSP (Jun 7, 2018)

If you're still interested in hauling boxes, we're still hiring like mad on the 74...

Interestingly, I got upgraded to first on my commute home today. Never had to bribe anyone and didn't even find out until I scanned my boarding pass at the gate.


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## railiner (Jun 7, 2018)

XHRTSP said:


> If you're still interested in hauling boxes, we're still hiring like mad on the 74...
> 
> Interestingly, I got upgraded to first on my commute home today. Never had to bribe anyone and didn't even find out until I scanned my boarding pass at the gate.


Very nice!

On my own carrier, they let us into first free, if available, but when I have traveled on other carrier's, they restrict us to coach....


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## B757Guy (Jun 7, 2018)

XHRTSP said:


> If you're still interested in hauling boxes, we're still hiring like mad on the 74...
> 
> Interestingly, I got upgraded to first on my commute home today. Never had to bribe anyone and didn't even find out until I scanned my boarding pass at the gate.


Thanks, love the 74, but can bid and hold a pretty decent line on the 777 at this point, so I can't complain!


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## railiner (Jun 7, 2018)

B757Guy said:


> XHRTSP said:
> 
> 
> > If you're still interested in hauling boxes, we're still hiring like mad on the 74...
> ...


I imagine the 777 will be around a bit longer than the 74, as well....


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## jis (Jun 8, 2018)

railiner said:


> B757Guy said:
> 
> 
> > XHRTSP said:
> ...


Now *that* is a little understatement


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## cpotisch (Jun 8, 2018)

railiner said:


> I imagine the 777 will be around a bit longer than the 74, as well....


I could see the freighters staying in service for a while, but the passenger jumbos are definitely dead. I'd be shocked if there are any 747s left in regular passenger service by 2025.


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## Blackwolf (Jun 8, 2018)

cpotisch said:


> railiner said:
> 
> 
> > I imagine the 777 will be around a bit longer than the 74, as well....
> ...


I'd be a little surprised if there are many, if any, 380's around by the later half of next decade as well.


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## cpotisch (Jun 8, 2018)

Blackwolf said:


> cpotisch said:
> 
> 
> > railiner said:
> ...


I actually think that the A380s are going to stay in the skies longer than the 747s, since there are certain incredibly high demand routes that the A380 works well on. It's also much more efficient than the 744s (not sure about the 748s).


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## jis (Jun 8, 2018)

747s have had a good ~50 year run. I would be surprised if 380s do that well and are built in such large numbers as the 747s.


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## Trogdor (Jun 8, 2018)

cpotisch said:


> railiner said:
> 
> 
> > I imagine the 777 will be around a bit longer than the 74, as well....
> ...


Given that Lufthansa, Korean Air and Air China all have new-ish 747-8s, I think 2025 is a bit early, barring any unforeseen disruptive event in air travel. Definitely the -400s will be gone from regular carriers by 2025, and the -8s could conceivably be gone by 2030 depending on how much it costs to maintain a tiny subfleet of planes without significant global presence/support.


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## cpotisch (Jun 8, 2018)

jis said:


> 747s have had a good ~50 year run. I would be surprised if 380s do that well and are built in such large numbers as the 747s.


I highly doubt that Airbus will sell anywhere remotely near as many A380s as there are 747s. But due to its tremendous passenger capacity and phenomenal efficiency, I think a few A380s will stay in the skies for a while, on the very high demand, long haul routes. OTOH, the 747s are less efficient and the design is a bit more suited for use as a freighter (that's why it got the hump), so even though the 747-8Is only entered service in 2012 or later, I doubt that they'll be suited for passenger service 10 more years from now. But I'm an Airbus fan, so it could just be wishful thinking.


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## Devil's Advocate (Jun 8, 2018)

The remaining 744's are running out of duty cycles and will eventually fail to survive another D-check. The 748 will remain viable in passenger, parcel, and heavy lift operations for many years to come. Later models of the A388 may survive longer than currently expected as a specialized passenger aircraft for use in uniquely constrained operations (LHR) and high volume short duration missions (military charter & Hajj pilgrimage). There is a possibility that it could also be modified to function in parcel service between the busiest freight hubs. That being said, it's the 777 which has the impressive operational flexibility, the substantially reduced maintenance costs, the exceptionally well proven safety record, and the high customer satisfaction (referring to airlines) to eventually meet or exceed the 747's historic longevity.


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## railiner (Jun 8, 2018)

The 748's in passenger service may be converted to freighter's after a relatively short time period...like what happened to the MD-11's....


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## XHRTSP (Jun 9, 2018)

B757Guy said:


> Thanks, love the 74, but can bid and hold a pretty decent line on the 777 at this point, so I can't complain!


What is this 'line' you speak of? Where I am you basically bid what days you want to work, and if you're lucky where you start your trip from. Now that I made captain and am at the bottom of the list again, I can barely manage even that.


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## XHRTSP (Jun 9, 2018)

railiner said:


> Very nice!
> 
> On my own carrier, they let us into first free, if available, but when I have traveled on other carrier's, they restrict us to coach....


I always get first on my carrier, but all we have are first class seats and bunks.

When deadheading international legs greater than three hours on passenger airlines we're contractually obligated to business class or better. This particular flight on Delta was LAX-SEA, so it was my status that got me the upgrade.

A few times when jumpseating I've managed to get first class. It's been more likely on RJs, but at least twice on mainline when the load was super light.


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## railiner (Jun 9, 2018)

XHRTSP said:


> railiner said:
> 
> 
> > Very nice!
> ...


I think the difference is, you are 'deadheading', and your carrier is paying the other carrier, so whatever the contract is between you, your carrier, and the other carrier, prevails.

In my case, it is 'pleasure' travel, so while I go 'D2R', or occasionally 'D1' on my carrier, and 'ID90' on other carrier's, that makes the difference...


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## Devil's Advocate (Jun 9, 2018)

railiner said:


> The 748's in passenger service may be converted to freighter's after a relatively short time period...like what happened to the MD-11's....


Possibly, but airlines that wanted a 748 freighter have presumably already purchased one, and could even order one today if they really wanted to, so where's the demand for P2F conversions expected to come from? With relatively few examples of standard configuration 748 passenger aircraft it's hard to imagine why Boeing (or anyone else) would want to start a major conversion program anytime soon. Without an official program who is going to certify it? How are the costs going to be economized and where will the sub-fleet support and maintenance services come from? The 748i is a weird mix of modern technology in an old package, and the large number of engines and small fleet sizes are likely to work against the long term economics for scheduled commercial service. However, the 748 would seem to be perfect for the specialized charter market and come at a lower risk and breakeven point than the A388's mentioned above. Maybe not at this very moment, but as charter configuration 744's are lost to cycles and accidents it's reasonable to assume they might be replaced with secondhand 748's. Charter operators don't have to worry as much about fleet optics or hard product service standards and the cost of fuel for four engines can simply be priced in as part of the charter contract.


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## railiner (Jun 9, 2018)

You bring up good points, and I really have no answer....I am just recalling when AA sold all their fairly new MD-11's to Fedex, and replaced them with the vastly superior 777's.


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## seat38a (Jun 10, 2018)

railiner said:


> You bring up good points, and I really have no answer....I am just recalling when AA sold all their fairly new MD-11's to Fedex, and replaced them with the vastly superior 777's.


Well I think in the case of the passenger MD11's worldwide, how many DID NOT end up at FedEx? If I remember correctly, the abundance of passenger MD11's really prevented MD from selling more new factory built freighters to FedEx. When I worked at FedEx, I remember when we ordered the A380 freighters and I left the company around the time the 777's were ordered.


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