Recently hired I had an experience worth sharing , well often I have experiences worth sharing but it is usually my wife and maybe my daughters who get to hear about it. They are growing up! My oldest is 17 ½ and other daughters 13 ½, someday soon they will stop using ½ numbers, that will be a bittersweet moment.
I had a crew room conflict, and it wasn’t pretty. Our new crew room in our new base is small, much too small for the number of folks based there. They say they are working on a larger crew room but the ugly rumor part of that is we are waiting for another regional airline to vacate it for us. There are four computers used to check in for our trips and do various tasks, only two of them typically work at a time.
After verifying which two of the four machines were working, I verbally put my name in the hat, so to speak, to use a computer after a Flight Attendant was done. I turned my back and checked my V-File in the employee filing cabinet. I turned around and she was done, at the same time another Flight Attendant across the room asked if that computer was open. I’ll save you some suspense - the conflict wasn’t with her. I mentioned I had been waiting for it and would be quick. I was closer in any case. With just a little anxious self-conscience about it, I checked in for my trip, printed my trip sheet out, looked at the announcements quickly, and logged out.
I stood up, turned around and starting looking for the Flight Attendant, saw her, and told her I’m done, come on over. Simultaneously a First Officer was on short final for the chair and computer I’d just vacated, and it became clear he wasn’t going around. “I told this Flight Attendant she would be next.” He wasn’t going balked landing either. “What are you doing, she is next, she’s been waiting”. He had landed and was exiting the runway, no radio communication at all. He didn’t even acknowledge me, much less my request.
My temper rose up quickly and I muttered in defeat “I guess you don’t give a crap then”, as I walked away. He had been closer than she was, as a matter of fact, but I didn’t see him when I was looking for her. She wanted to hide at this point and not get involved. I shrugged my shoulders and told her “sorry, I tried.”
He was done even quicker than I was, got up, walked to nearby where I was, and took out his phone. It was then that I started to think “I’m think I’m scheduled to fly with this guy. I am scheduled to fly with this guy. Do I want to fly with this guy? Does he want to fly with me?”
“Hi, this is _______ ________, and I’m calling in sick”. He was calling in sick, right there in the crew room, which was a good decision under the circumstances. I shook his hand after he ended the call, and we talked it over, talked it out. He was on day six of flying, after being extended and junior manned over the weekend. Crew Scheduling had been abusing him, and as the most senior F.O. in base, he felt didn’t deserve that and had had enough. Enough that he mentioned that he had thought about quitting his job. There was some personal stuff going on too he mentioned, it had been an awful morning already.
I’d worked with him before on a simulator checkride a few years back, but had never flown with him on the line. I didn’t recognize him at first, less hair, more belly, although I’ve changed appearance some too. There may have been some extenuating circumstances contributing, but for his privacy and my some short measure of respect for him I won’t address it.
I felt a little sheepish about making the scene, so I asked him was it something I did to make him call in sick, the way I reacted at the computer? I mentioned I was trying to save the computer for the Flight Attendant, and he seemed to have a new sensitivity to that. I think he understood that I was trying to show her respect. He asked where she was; he suddenly wanted to apologize to her. She had left the crew room to escape the tension and breathe.
I agreed with him that if you’re not emotionally ready to fly then you’re not fit for duty and should call out sick. I assured him that we should fly together in the future, and agreed that he should get his rest. I tried to encourage him to hang in there, now was not a time to quit.
But should I have stood up to him like I did for the Flight Attendant, or let him be like a rude driver on a crazy freeway without any pushback?
It was time for me to head to the gate, with or without my First Officer, to get set up for our first flight, meet my Flight Attendant (the one involved was not her), let the gate agent know we would be delayed, and get in touch with Crew Scheduling to find out when our replacement F.O. would arrive. So I excused myself and headed out for less tense environs.
I saw the Flight Attendant in question in the hallway and mentioned he wanted to apologize to her, she found it difficult to believe. Turning around, he had followed me out in the hall, speaking to a Pilot Manger who wanted him to explain his sick call, a standard practice especially for a sudden sick call at show-time. I encouraged her to approach him, and wanting to give them privacy, moved on out of the way. I think he apologized, she accepted, and they resolved the conflict.
My emotions were dizzy all that first day of this recent trip going over what occurred in my mind and heart. Fortunately they did find a new copilot for me within 30 to 45 minutes, my replacement was a new line holder, and had the idealistic attitude of “commute in early and tell crew scheduling I’m here, do you have anything for me to do?” going. Well, they sure did! Two and a half days later I saw him in the hotel I was checking out of, he was still flying a rerouted trip, even though he is a line holder. But now he had a good story of above and beyond service he maybe shared at his upcoming interview with a Major Airline. He is a U.S. Air Force Veteran Pilot, and just might be a Regional Airline short timer by now, I imagine.
Respect for women is important, whether your status is higher or lower than them, whether you’re young or old, male or female, subordinate or superior.
One person who showed great respect for women was Jesus Christ of Nazareth. Stories abound in the New Testament Gospels where he held them in honor and respect, had them undertake important roles that weren’t in line with ancient attitudes about women, in a culture where men totally wrote the rules and enforced them.
Don’t take my word for it, take these Christian Writers and Bloggers words as well:
https://www.franciscanmedia.org/jesus-extraordinary-treatment-of-women/
https://bible.org/article/christianity-best-thing-ever-happened-women
https://www.gci.org/church/ministry/women6b
God bless you, and thanks for reading my blog.
No comments:
Post a Comment