This illustrates precisely the problem. Lets accept that the captain had made the decision to disembark, as suggested by his order to have the luggage removed. Having made that decision, the right action was to notify the customers (it is a service you are providing) and set things in motion to minimize the impact of the inconvenience to them. This is simple and instead you highlight all the busy, operational things that are keeping you busy, filling out manifests, logging the faults, calling ops and whatever else you have to do. The flight was going nowhere, safety is not an issue, the priority now is customer comfort and convenience. The rest of the stuff... whether it be staff issues or operational matters comes second.
I am not a pilot, but I know you guys are very busy. I have flown in the cockpit jumpseat a number of times (admittedly prior to 9/11, so some time ago). I was shocked at how busy it was up there, before, during and after the flight. My perception before then was that the plane "flew itself". I was quickly disabused of that notion. However, this is not the issue. The issue is timing and communication and attempting to mitigate the effects of the problem.
The issue of pay arrangements is utterly bogus. You accepted the T&C's of the job you are doing.... we all have choices. I work in healthcare....I cannot count the number of hours I have put in unpaid. It goes with the job..... you think I could walk out of the emergency room after my shift has finished? Think again.
There is a disregard for passengers and the standards of service and even civility have declined dramatically in US based airlines.... it needs to change.
|