Earbuds in sight of pax?

BobDDuck said:
I'll back him on it. When I was commuting out of DTW and for a few months was taking Delta flights to CLT because of a better schedule, I saw two or three guys (with Delta wings, so you can't go blaming it on express pilots) with earphones in while wandering around the terminal. I also saw several backpacks, which I think are fine if they are attached to your rolling bag, but not so fine if they are on your back.
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Yup, next to the A gate that has the credit card people. I was waiting to board a flight to ICN, and some double breasted dude with white earphones and a backpack walked by.
 
Speaking of headphones, does anybody remember that lesbian love scene between Demi Moore and Rob Lowe from "About Last Night" where they both were both wearing headphones listening to the same song?
 
BobDDuck said:
I know he has a "pretty" face, but Rob Lowe is a dude.
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Rob Lowe is a guy?
(I was hoping somebody would recognize my reference to an 80's Bobcat Goldthwait routine where he says he'd like to bang Rob Lowe then acts conflicted after finding out Rob Lowe's a guy.)
 
Pilot Fighter said:
Rob Lowe is a guy?
(I was hoping somebody would recognize my reference to an 80's Bobcat Goldthwait routine where he says he'd like to bang Rob Lowe then acts conflicted after finding out Rob Lowe's a guy.)
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Ah. I'm going to show my age and say I probably wasn't going to understand that reference because I was 9 years old when the 80s ended.
 
ZapBrannigan said:
The ones that prompted this post were not discrete. Bright orange. (Although even the white ones stand out on a black blazer).

Hey do what you want. I'm not your mom. I'm just one of those old guys who used to wear his hat. Guess the uniform should still mean something to me. It's been watered down so much by the retirement of the hat, the introduction of the leather coat, backpacks as crew bags, etc... the ear buds surprised me.

Then I realized I might be prejudiced against young pilots because I thought "what's the matter with these kids and their iPods?!"
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I think if you wear the trinity of the backpack, spiky hair, and earbuds, you are good to go. Any deviation from this magic formula is faux pas.
 
Adler said:
Just searched through all of my iMessages for proof, can't find it anymore, but I did sedt the picture to @bronco21016 like two years ago.
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"Back him on that" all you want, but:

Find it.

Send it to me.

Confirm which year it was (because we did have a short 'adult slap fight' about uniform expectations early on)

Crow I shall eat.

But in the meantime… (assume)
 
LG Tone+...

Low profile, inconspicuous, not as FratBro as iPhone ear buds, Bluetooth, dual-ear plugs, spectacular audio and call quality.

And yup, I wear it at work, walking around the terminal. Sometimes with only one bud in, sometimes both. Sometimes none. Depends on my mood.

My company doesn't have it's own publicly recognized brand. Plus, wearing them makes me no less a professional pilot. Additionally, I would rather have folks who can't take the time to iron their shirt, have their stripes on the correct way, or their shoes shined receive more attention than crew members using their phones for business during their breaks. Sorry, it's easier for me to speak with a client while changing planes with a Bluetooth headset like the LG Tone(+) so that I can carry my coffee in one hand and pull my ridiculous roller board and flight kit with the other.

Prosecute me.
 
BobDDuck said:
I'll back him on it. When I was commuting out of DTW and for a few months was taking Delta flights to CLT because of a better schedule, I saw two or three guys (with Delta wings, so you can't go blaming it on express pilots) with earphones in while wandering around the terminal. I also saw several backpacks, which I think are fine if they are attached to your rolling bag, but not so fine if they are on your back.
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And don't get started on Bluetooth earpieces
 
surreal1221 said:
LG Tone+...

Low profile, inconspicuous, not as FratBro as iPhone ear buds, Bluetooth, dual-ear plugs, spectacular audio and call quality.

And yup, I wear it at work, walking around the terminal. Sometimes with only one bud in, sometimes both. Sometimes none. Depends on my mood.

My company doesn't have it's own publicly recognized brand. Plus, wearing them makes me no less a professional pilot. Additionally, I would rather have folks who can't take the time to iron their shirt, have their stripes on the correct way, or their shoes shined receive more attention than crew members using their phones for business during their breaks. Sorry, it's easier for me to speak with a client while changing planes with a Bluetooth headset like the LG Tone(+) so that I can carry my coffee in one hand and pull my ridiculous roller board and flight kit with the other.

Prosecute me.
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Well aren't WE important.

Actually that brings up something that is a pet peve to me. It's cool that some people have their own outside businesses. But it's pretty irritating when for almost the entirety of every turn the other guy is taking business calls whine sitting in the flight deck.
 
Screaming_Emu said:
Well aren't WE important.

Actually that brings up something that is a pet peve to me. It's cool that some people have their own outside businesses. But it's pretty irritating when for almost the entirety of every turn the other guy is taking business calls whine sitting in the flight deck.
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Even if it's not business calls, just sitting in the cockpit making personal calls for the entirety of every turn is annoying as hell. Can that phone call really not wait until the overnight? I'm trying to get the ATIS here.
 
In the UK, we see no connection between the words "uniform" and "uniformity"

My employers don't gave a particularly strong uniform culture (we don't even have hats!) and plenty of leeway on coats, from leather jackets to North Face.

The spray-on trousers are what really gets me - no idea how you manage six sectors in those things without chafing.

Oh, and I don't even wear shirts with pockets...
 
Screaming_Emu said:
Well aren't WE important.

Actually that brings up something that is a pet peve to me. It's cool that some people have their own outside businesses. But it's pretty irritating when for almost the entirety of every turn the other guy is taking business calls whine sitting in the flight deck.
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Well thank the baby Lord Jesus that you haven't ever shared a cockpit with me to make such an implied connection, amirite?

It takes me six and a half minutes to pre-flight the aircraft and program the FMS, get the PDC, ATIS and be in a position to brief my leg when the el Capo is ready to hear me give him my pre-packaged script with the important bits altered for the relevent flight segment. (And yes, considering how ridiculously vanilla my job flying has become, I figured I would time myself and see just how much time it takes for me to do it right...surprise...not that much time - what the hell is wrong with all these new FOs [you see, that's a joke]).

Oh, and I also will venture off and get my crew(s) coffee, even as an FO. Maybe, if they are really nice, I'll bring back donuts cause I'm not a cheap bastard and I really believe in building a work environment that is friendly and cordial.

So yeah, HEAVEN forbid when we are forced to swap aircraft with a 50 minute turn time I take the time to follow-up on my outside relationship(s), whether as a consultant speaking with a client or giving my family a phone call to see how they are doing during the day and how I would much rather be home - but instead I am swaping planes because the one we just left has to be flown back to base for maintenance tonight so we couldn't enjoy it all day.

@ATN_Pilot For the record, you won't have to ever worry about me taking up your precious peace in the cockpit with a personal or business related phone call. I just don't make them in the cockpit, because yup, I don't care to hear the Captain chat with his wife or girlfriend and I am certain he doesn't care to hear me jabber on the phone either. Take it out of the flight deck and away from recording devices for christ sakes.

I suppose, at the bare minimum, just be a professional. Do your job, protect the safety of your crew and passengers, be respectful when a passenger is looking for assistance, and then go about your day. Me having a phone conversation and accomplishing the tasks my company asks of me is not going to hurt any one. Just don't look like a bag of potatoes when you're doing it.
 
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For me, a professional mindset promotes professional behavior. I'll fire up Spotify during my morning shave and leave it off until my afternoon run. If I'm squared away in appearance and conduct, I'm more likely to do a good job in the flight deck. That begins when I step out of my car or my hotel room. If I'm having a particularly trying day I can escape to a mental "happy place" or watch a cat video out of the view of the public. When in public, I'm not some guy at work. I'm a professional aviator and I will conduct myself accordingly. When passengers see me approach the gate with release in hand, I want there to be no doubt in their minds that they're in good hands. My version of professionalism works for me, and I've yet to receive complaints from anyone about it. Until it's my job to police the conduct and appearance of others, I'll just let them be.

If you're going to wear headphones please pay attention to where you're walking! Last week, some dude in the crew room turned a corner and walked right into me with his head down and earbuds in. I wished him a good morning and asked how he was, but apparently his music was too loud for him to hear me.
 
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