Pilot and F/A load bags at DCA

PHL

Veteran
Aug 20, 2002
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Interesting post over on flyertalk.com about a DCA-CMH flight (E170) sitting waiting for bags to be loaded with no handlers in site. So one of the pilots and an F/A allegedly get off the plane and start doing it!

Any truth to this story?
 
Doubt they are trained in weight and balance of loading an airplane.

And if they did do it they are scabs.

Worry about flying the planes and serving passengers.
 
Doubt they are trained in weight and balance of loading an airplane.

And if they did do it they are scabs.

Worry about flying the planes and serving passengers.
Another one of your dumber posts....a scab is someone who does "struck" work(crosses a picket line), not someone who does work that someone is too lazy to do. And that comment does not apply to the vast majority who do their jobs admirably on a daily basis with the shortage of equipment and man-power.
If you are a pilot, you are trained on Wt. & Balance., and on the 170, the bags all go in the forward bin 99.9% of the time unless they don't all fit. If the flight is full, no problem with the "balance", if it's not full, no problem again, just move some people around in the cabin. They would rather move and leave on time with their bags, than arrive late without.
Oh, and "serving the passengers" is what it is ALL about, they are the ones paying the bills.
 
While I'm sure they didn't want to do another groups job they probably wanted to get on with their already long day. Maybe they wanted to get to their overnight or better yet HOME. While it isn't the rampers fault that they are short is certainly isn't the passengers sitting in the cabin either. It wouldn't be the first time it was done. If I needed to get home you better believe I'd load a bag. If your not a flight attendant but an employee feel free to grab your cup of ice and soda in the back galley too. I wouldn't care. :lol:
 
QUOTE(700UW @ Apr 16 2007, 11:23 AM) *

Doubt they are trained in weight and balance of loading an airplane.

And if they did do it they are scabs.

Worry about flying the planes and serving passengers.
[/quote]

In any other non-union business, it's called 'going the extra mile' to 'provide customer service' for the 'team' while the 'entire team' supports each other.

I've been sitting on the fence until I saw this gobbledygook. I'm with the conservatives on this one - unions are past their day.
 
Doubt they are trained in weight and balance of loading an airplane.

And if they did do it they are scabs.

Worry about flying the planes and serving passengers.

Scabs or not - at least they were interested in getting the customers on their way on the flight. If this really happened - I commend them - at least they appear to be interested in contributing to making US successful - unlike you seem to be, based upon your post.
 
Doubt they are trained in weight and balance of loading an airplane.
I didn't realize the baggage handlers actually could do a W&B calculation. Do they know the fuel weight as well as how many pax and where they are sitting for each flight they load? Do they have the W&B chart and actually sit there and calculate the weights and moments to get the proper CG and verify the aircraft is within the envelope? I guess I didn't give those folks enough credit in the past.....
 
Doubt they are trained in weight and balance of loading an airplane.

And if they did do it they are scabs.

Worry about flying the planes and serving passengers.
You said it, that's what they did. They Served the customers by putting their bags on the plane. And that was a Republic Crew? Stick to watching "Sponge Bob". You may actually learn something.
 
Interesting post over on flyertalk.com about a DCA-CMH flight (E170) sitting waiting for bags to be loaded with no handlers in site. So one of the pilots and an F/A allegedly get off the plane and start doing it!

Any truth to this story?

I hope this is not true.

And this has nothing to do with customer service or "going the extra mile".

Under extraordinary circumstances, sure, go the extra mile. If there was a forced landing in Gander, and the nearest living thing is a moose, go ahead load, unload, whatever, do the best for your passengers. But to do it just because you can't find any bag smashers, then that crew should find itself doing all the ground handling anytime it passes through PHL and any number of other stations.

Airline employees in all classifications have had their positions devalued and degraded time and again over the past few years. Pilots and FAs are Crewmembers. They are highly qualified, highly trained, and are there to operate the Aircraft and ensure pax get from A to B safely. Crew chucking bags is not going the extra mile for customer service - it represents only aother degradation of the trade. Of course, the fact that it's a Republic Airways crew means they've likely only been in the airline business for a couple of months, so they wouldn't remember a time when crew members earned a living wage and performed their duties with dignity. Oh, well.

If the company doesn't have personnel to load bags, then customers need to choose an airline that does?
 
I hope this is not true.

And this has nothing to do with customer service or "going the extra mile".

If the company doesn't have personnel to load bags, then customers need to choose an airline that does?
So you are saying that the passengers would just have to wait there till some lazy ass rampworker gets off their fat rear and loads it. I guess making the CUSTOMER wait is dignified by the fact that they have to wait. I understand the fact that it wasn't their job, but are they getting paid to sit there? But then again, the way Tempe is running things, YOU won't have that problem for much longer.
 
QUOTE(700UW @ Apr 16 2007, 11:23 AM) *

Doubt they are trained in weight and balance of loading an airplane.

And if they did do it they are scabs.

Worry about flying the planes and serving passengers.
In any other non-union business, it's called 'going the extra mile' to 'provide customer service' for the 'team' while the 'entire team' supports each other.

I've been sitting on the fence until I saw this gobbledygook. I'm with the conservatives on this one - unions are past their day.


No they're not.....just 700UW is. ;)
 
Interesting post over on flyertalk.com about a DCA-CMH flight (E170) sitting waiting for bags to be loaded with no handlers in site. So one of the pilots and an F/A allegedly get off the plane and start doing it!

Any truth to this story?

Saw something like this happen at FLL, recently. There was a smasher in the bin and a smasher at the bottom of the beltloader. The gate agents came down and started loading mail. Worst of all, they were putting the mail on the beltloader in stacks of three and no spacing. If I was one of the bag smashers, I would have told them get the f off my ramp. This was mainline, not express. IAM members but I guess they don't mind gate agents doing their job at FLL. :down:
 
So you are saying that the passengers would just have to wait there till some lazy ass rampworker gets off their fat rear and loads it. I guess making the CUSTOMER wait is dignified by the fact that they have to wait. I understand the fact that it wasn't their job, but are they getting paid to sit there? But then again, the way Tempe is running things, YOU won't have that problem for much longer.

Let me preface by saying that I am completely on the side of good customer service as our passengers are the whole reason for an airline.

Before throwing around accusations and the word "scab", I'd be checking to see if the zone was adequately staffed to start with.
No, crewmembers should not load bags except in the above Gander-like situation.
I have to clean airplanes, cater and do security checks. Weren't these jobs done by other personnel before the airline decided that our job responsibilities would be cheaper by blurring the lines?

These issues will not be corrected until you all (passengers and employees) hold management accountable for their staffing and level of service offered.
Contact the DOT. Contact the DOT. Contact the DOT.