conehead Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 CHEYENNE, Wyo. - Faced with potentially hungry and grumpy passengers, a Frontier Airlines pilot treated them to pizza when storms diverted a Denver-bound flight to Cheyenne, where the plane was stuck for a couple of hours.Cheyenne Domino's Pizza manager Andrew Ritchie told The Associated Press that he got a call about 10 p.m. Monday just as he was about to send employees home. Ritchie said the pilot told him he needed to feed 160 people fast.http://www.newsday.com/news/nation/pilot-buys-pizzas-for-passengers-grounded-by-storm-1.8736803 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Great story. Smart crew. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boney Posted July 9, 2014 Share Posted July 9, 2014 Nicely done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyBlazer Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 I was in HNL on a new years day 5-6 years ago -and had just taken over a -800 for the trip back to YVR when I looked out the window of the flight deck and saw a massive fuel spill was taking place. We had yet to board the aircraft but it was obvious this was going to cause a major delay ( cleanup etc) after calling ATC and CFR I advised the FAs of the delay and went up to the boarding lounge to make a PA to the guests ( many had young children and all of them were looking tired and wanted nothing more to board the flight and go home) I explained about the fuel spill and that we would have about two hours to wait before we could board - I advised them on a brighter note that I had a hankering for an ice cream and that it was only fair that they all got one too…. The FAs with my Amex happily led a lineup of guests - to the Ice cream shop in the terminal where we bought about 165 or so desserts -It was the best PR we could have done - it made the local paper there in HNL after one of the contract agents mentioned it to the local airport staff and it was the best 900 or so bucks I ever spent. When I land in HNL even now I am often referred to Capt Ice cream - although I'm not sure whether they are referring to that day or my waist size these days.Its nice when we can go "outside the box" with this stuff somedays without the fear of the legal stuff the lawyer involvement or even management concerns - at the end of the day treat people the way you would like to be treated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pivot Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 We had a flight planning computer problem one day so were sitting at the gate with no ETD at all. I called the YVR CSA's and had them buy all the timbits that were in stock at the two stores in the terminal. I think we ended up with around 400.... and there were none left by the end of the flight. With the winds that day we ended up only being ten minutes behind sched. anyway. Not sure if the lawyers would let me do that now, but it was nice to be able to do it at the time. I used my own VISA and never even got one "thanks". I guess timbits don't rank compared to pizza or ice cream. I'll have to remember to kick it up a notch for next time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 While these are all nice stories of generosity, the initial one (Frontier) was a diversion due to weather at their destination airport. I'm not sure if Cheyenne is a Frontier destination but perhaps that was the reason for the crew buying pizza's. I'm sure the flight's supply of peanuts had long run out by that time of the day and there was no other catering available.So with regards to the ice cream and timbits crews, were you not departing from a base which had regular ground support, such as a base or duty manager? I've had to get resourceful too from time to time but it was usually at an out station with nothing more than a contract ground handler. So why wouldn't your own airline's ground staff look after the delay needs of your passengers? Great thinking by these crews but I'd have a hard time explaining to blues deluxe about my $900 Amex bill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Not sure if the lawyers would let me do that now, Why would they have an objection? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seeker Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 I was part of one of these situations a few years ago too. We diverted to an off-line station and managed to get food delivered to the aircraft and feed our hungry passengers. I think we made everyone very happy by doing it but we never made the papers. It's funny because when I see the airline handing out meal vouchers, usually 10 bucks per passenger, nobody seems particularly pleased which seems odd to me. On the day we did it we managed to get a big box of assorted sandwiches, fruit and drinks delivered to the aircraft parked at an off-line station and we were off-gate to boot - that's quite an accomplishment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Why would they have an objection?Lawyers and HAACP food safety types tend to get uptight when the company purchases food for customers when the company hasn't done their due diligence to ensure the vendor is safely handling the food. Heaven forbid the ice cream was stored at 1/2 a degree higher than recommended and someone or everyone caught an illness. It's one thing if the customer purchases it for themselves, and another when the company purchases for them. It adds liability (or so I have been told). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fido Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 There is no difference than you landing at an offline airport (or online for that matter) and requesting the local catering company to supply the food. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 There is no difference than you landing at an offline airport (or online for that matter) and requesting the local catering company to supply the food. the experts will tell you there is a difference. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maverick Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 the experts will tell you there is a difference.Chance it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Maverick, completely agree. I've had to smile and nod a few times when being "coached" about this topic in the aftermath of some type of irregular operation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkyBlazer Posted July 11, 2014 Share Posted July 11, 2014 Exactly Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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