Just love Aussie pilots - keeps me loving Qantas

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juddles

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Hello all,

This is not a thread for debate, more just me wishing to express why I keep going with QF.

Due to work I am based overseas, South America to be exact. Love the lifestyle, but I still miss Australia. Because I miss Aussies and all the good things that they can be.

Qantas is such a good example.

Despite my own need for frequent solo travel, I have just brought my wife and kids back for the first time in a year. All the usual excitement of them getting to see friends, etc, but the best part is getting the taste again of what it is to be Australian.

After doing some LAN flights to get to Santiago, we boarded QF28 to do the main SCL-SYD leg. And it was such a spectacularly nice flight!! Great food, good IFE, nice seats (managed to park my family of four across aisle 1), but above all, GREAT staff! Cared for my family with skill, dedication, and most importanttly, that truly Aussie thing of genuineness.

But the thing that most struck us during the flight was the pilot´s speech. After takeoff and climb he did the usual pilot´s spiel, (I cannot remember the exact words), after he said the basics he said that he now had to get back to doing all the ¨pilot stuff¨ and politely signed off. You just dont hear this from other airline pilots. That simple phrase encaptured the Aussie spirit of getting important things done but also the lack of being pompous. My wife laughed out loud. And she then commented to me (she is not comfie flying) that she felt more reassured by this pilot´s manner than any other flight.

And it was just so Australian!! Loved it. Made me feel like I had got home the second I boarded the flight, way before seeing the mother-country.

Thank you Pilot, and thank you Qantas.


Cheers!! :)
 
Haha there was an awesome pilot on the 747 from SYD-PER last time I flew it, and his 2 best jokes were:

"We'll be flying over the Great Australian Bight, which was named after the Australian Tax System"

and

"So if everyone can make sure their arms and legs are inside the windows, we're about to take off"
 
I do love getting on a QF plane with Aussie crew when i have been away for a few months. Really nice.
 
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I had a champion in the 738 on Monday BNE-MEL when we were waiting for a delayed CSM to join us.

"Folks just waiting for a CSM to join us who I'm told will be with us any second and then we will be on our way. But don't worry folks I'm going to burn some of the company profits and put the pedal to metal and make up some time on route to hopefully have us arriving on time."

And as we approached Melbourne after leaving a 25 degree BNE night...

"Folks good news we are actually running early now and should have you disembarking about five minutes early into Melbourne where it is a beautiful clear night and an....invigorating...11 degrees."

Absolute champ.
 
Coming back BNE-SYD a few months ago on a Sunday afternoon, we boarded, then sat. Pilot finally came over the mike and advised that "there had just been an upgrade to something (forgotten what) and the engineers were still checking it out. Signed off.

Came back about 10 minutes later, and said that "as soon as I've finished signing my life away on reams of paperwork, we'll be off" or something similar. The plane cracked up.

And, yes he did put the pedal to the metal and we landed on time.

Aussie humour gets you through so many difficult situations.
 
Agree. Stepping onto a QF plane after a long trip overseas does evoke a great feeling. Especially if I'm heading for a seat in the A380 J cabin!

I do love getting on a QF plane with Aussie crew when i have been away for a few months. Really nice.
 
Coming back BNE-SYD a few months ago on a Sunday afternoon, we boarded, then sat. Pilot finally came over the mike and advised that "there had just been an upgrade to something (forgotten what) and the engineers were still checking it out. Signed off.

Came back about 10 minutes later, and said that "as soon as I've finished signing my life away on reams of paperwork, we'll be off" or something similar. The plane cracked up.

And, yes he did put the pedal to the metal and we landed on time.

Aussie humour gets you through so many difficult situations.

Funny, if this were a VA flight the QF fanbois would be screaming of how amateur and unprofessional this is and really "LCC".

Each to their own! Personally I hate announcements of ANY kind but I can see how heart warming it would be to an Aussie returning home!
 
Funny, if this were a VA flight the QF fanbois would be screaming of how amateur and unprofessional this is and really "LCC".

Each to their own! Personally I hate announcements of ANY kind but I can see how heart warming it would be to an Aussie returning home!

I had the same reservations when I read some of the comments made by QF crew on this thread.

That said, there's a greater than subtle difference between a pilot off-hand saying he's just going to sign away his life, versus a FA who says they'll be dimming the cabin lights because it makes them look better. I did cringe at the pilot that said, "keep your arms and legs inside and we'll be ready for take off"; that's just as bad as the FA saying, "the only place to smoke is outside the aircraft". Even the "doing the 'pilot stuff'" remark is a bit cringe worthy.

Not to make an exception on the overall thought, though, that professionalism should always come first.
 
I remember flying to Buenos Aires a few years back during the Collingwood-St Kilda AFL Grand Final re-match and, after getting the odd update from one lovely (male) flight attendant during the game, the pilot added the final result to end of his spiel for those of us who wanted to know. It made me chuckle because I could see some passengers wondering what he was talking about.
 
Great to hear the humour from pilots.

There is a big difference to humour from pilots, like those mentioned, than cabin crew just trying to be smart alecs.
 
I remember flying to Buenos Aires a few years back during the Collingwood-St Kilda AFL Grand Final re-match and, after getting the odd update from one lovely (male) flight attendant during the game, the pilot added the final result to end of his spiel for those of us who wanted to know.
I flew out of Melbourne on Saturday morning and the pilot made a comment about how the Sydney Swans would win the grand final later that day. Most of the cabin laughed and a woman behind me told her kids, "The pilot thinks he's funny".
 
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