Top 5 Questions From Passengers

1. Is this your regular route?

Contrary to popular belief, flight crews do not have “routes”, truckers do.  I get asked so many times as we are departing a city if the crew flies back and forth all day.  That would be torture.  Although we may do some turns (roundtrip), its not 8 times a day! 

2. Are you sure my bag won’t fit in the overhead?

Ever since the airlines started to charge for bags, passengers have found a loop hole in carry on bags.  I have seen all kinds of bags of all sizes, but I assure you the Flight Attendant will know if your bag will fit in the overhead.  She knows that plane inside and out and isn’t trying to be mean to you or your big bag.  My advice is to Gate Valet your bag (leave it planeside).  Most airlines will have them waiting for you at the plane when you land.

3. Will I make my connection?

My usual response is we will do our best to get you to your next flight.  But, your connecting flight is out of my hands when we get on the ground.  The factors that could help get you there faster is when boarding the plane to find your seat and sit as quickly as possible.  The plane cannot leave until everyone is seated.  So, asking the flight attendant questions like these are holding her up from getting that door closed! Most of the time, its up to you and how fast you can high tail it to your connecting gate.  The biggest problem I am seeing lately is when passengers buy their tickets through an online discount site and not from the airline directly.  Those discounts sites DO NOT account for time between connections, especially if you connecting on a different airline.  Some airports require you to go back through security as the next airline could be on the other side of the airport.  I would suggest making sure you have at LEAST an hour between flights.  Don’t forget that the doors always close on flights ten minutes prior to the departure time.

4. Is this airplane safe?

I promise you, if the airplane wasn’t safe, the Flight Attendant would not be standing there having that conversation with you!  Your chances of being involved in a plane crash are around 1 in a million.  However, your chances of being involved in a car accident are 1 in 5000.  You’re at a greater risk of driving to the airport then you are stepping on that airplane.  So, take a deep breath and know that the pilots love their lives and wouldn’t do anything to harm themselves, let alone their passengers.  Also, the Flight Attendants are highly trained in emergency procedures should anything unexpected happen.  So, sit back and relax!

5. Does the Co-Pilot ever get to fly the plane?

YES! The co-pilot (known as the First Officer or FO) goes through the same training as the Captain does.  They usually fly every other leg, taking turns with the Captain.  The role of the Captain is to oversee the entire flight.  He or She is basically the boss of the entire crew and responsibility falls on the Captains shoulders.  They both have the same flying abilities and duties, and sometimes the FO has more hours in a particular aircraft than the Captain does.

Have any other questions about travel?   Email me at Lindsay_Durand@hotmail.com