blues deville Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Reciprocal jumpseat agreements between airlines is nothing new. Most carriers have an approved list. Anyone who has worked for an airline in any capacity will tell you their outfit is the best and this is certainly the case between pilots. I have found maintenance staff to be a better band of brothers and I don't know why that is other than a common goal to solve mechanical or logistical problems. And also they know what goes around comes around. Anything can break and it's always the part not on your shelf. But somehow this deal for airline pilots exists in our industry and for many including Sully, it is the only way to keep a job. The more I read or hear about the now legendary "pizza pilot", the more I get annoyed. As a frequent jumpseater on other than your own airline it's understand you are a guest and this is priviledge not shared with other airline employees. Perhaps the pizza day was a simple act of generosity but it has turned into a Westjet PR coup and AC looks like the grinch. So I have some issues with the result. It was a weather diversion, not mechanical or some other reason which could be blamed on Air Canada. No compensation is provided for weather and Westjet knows this policy all too well. I would not be surprised to see the WS pilot on a TV Ad for some Canadian pizza company soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boney Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Is it possible that he did this act for his fellow travellers, while at the same time acknowledging his company, without looking for publicity, even though it backfired on his intention? Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Very possible and if he is a born and bred Newfoundlander, probably. But as a deadheader I believe you should maintain a low profile, "yes I'll take the chicken" and if requested, assist or help the working crew. In this case I don't think his actions were required especially while clearly not part of AC. This wasn't an extended delay in some Cuban airport. Not sure why I'm taking AC's side of this but had he acted annonymously, not an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kip Powick Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 23 hours ago, blues deville said: My post was a just a general "what" and not directed solely at you. But I see from your link that "Pizza Pilot" is now being refered to as a legend. I hope every delayed Westjet flight now comes with unlimited slices. I really don't know how many pax he was serving but it looks like he is a typical Captain...((frugal)).....here is a photo of one of the pizza's.......help yourself to a "slice" .......about 2 inches x 2 inches !!!! PS.....I once flew with a Captain who actually bought a local newspaper upon arrival at destination....but he only bought it to find out where we were. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boestar Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 As anyone who has dealt with an irop, especially in a small station, you know all to well that the few people available are scrambling trying to answer questions, rebook passengers, book hotels and any number of a thousand other tasks that need doing to get the passengers taken care of. Food is NOT at the top of the list. Generally for the first while it is not even known what the fianl resolution to the irop will be. I do not think that this is a case of AC being a grinch, although it may be misconstrued that way. I think they were otherwise occupied and too busy to deal with the "Feed me" crowd. So one of the also stranded passengers, who happens to work for westjet, took some initiative and ordered some pizza. Anyone of the passengers could have done it but expected the airline to jump to it and feed them but this Westjetter likely knew all to well that this was not gonna happen anytime soon if at all. After all he works for an airline and has likely seen this scenario play out more than once. Should he get praise? Absolutely. Should WestJet get praise? NOPE. The individual acted of his own accord and not for the airline. He did the right thing in a crappy situation and kept everyone happy. Good Job Sir. As for animosity between competing airlines. It only exists on airline forums and between petty individuals. Generally those on the front line will assist other airlines when needed. When you scratch one back you get yours scratched in return. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blues deville Posted February 17, 2017 Share Posted February 17, 2017 I hope for his sake there are no glitches in his deadheading future. There may be a few individuals who don't appreciate seeing their airline involved in unnecessary negative publicity. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.