Publics Perception of Pilots

People are generally stupid and draw conclusions/form opinions based on zero evidence and from snippets of news stories and old stereotypes about "highly paid" pilots and "modern computerized airplanes".

As a result, I make an effort not to tell anyone I randomly meet and have a convo with that I'm a pilot. If jobs come up in a conversation, I'll say I work for "the airline." If they dig, I say in flight ops. Doug had a decent list of questions that usually come up. "What route do you fly" is the most common.

Others I get:

1. Are you old enough? (Um. Apparently, yes)..
2. Where are you going this week? (Want a list?)
3. You're the copilot not the pilot, right? (usually i respond with a kind of look that says you are a complete idiot and I'm trying to get past that fact while simultaneously trying to figure out a way to explain this to you in idiot-terms).
4. Why didn't you go to the military to learn to fly? (Because, idiot, I didn't want to...not to mention I would not qualify wearing contact lenses).

My all time favorite:

5. "Hey you should fly for Delta Airlines/Northwest/etc." (Gee, thanks, I never thought of that).

:)
 
You know, I think it's interesting that we have discussions here where people get worked up over those who "lower the bar" by taking low wages, then we have other threads where folks advocate acting like jerks to potential customers.

Face it folks--we're in a SERVICE industry. That means we make our money not by flying planes, but by serving PEOPLE. You may think that your job is as some highly skilled technician, but in reality, you're there "for the people." Sure that person isn't your customer now, while you're "off the clock", but she sure won't be in the future if you cop an attitude.

Someone said it well the other day--if you want to be treated like a professional (including being paid that way), then by all means act like one--continually improve your professional knowledge, wear the uniform proudly, and treat folks nicely (even the rude/ignorant/arrogant/obnoxious ones). That goes for off-duty time, too. If someone knows you are a pilot for XYZ airline and sees you acting like a jerk off-duty, do you think that will make him/her more or less likely to fly on XYZ? Guess what--even off-duty, you're on-duty. Your actions, appearance, and attitude reflect on your employer 24/7.

Like it or not, the job of a pilot is as much perception as reality. As I've said before, our job is to not only to fly people somewhere safely, but to convince them that they can relax and enjoy the flight because they are in the hands of professionals.
 
BRAVO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
You know, I often tell people that a trained circus animal can do my job. It's basically just a series of steps that need to be done in a certain order at a certain time. The hard part is the interaction and handling of the pax. It still amazes me that I get at least one pax a flight admitting they're frightened and looking to me for "cues" that everything is fine and that we're safe. Dealing with unruly, rude and obnoxious pax or pax who don't speak English----MUCH harder...but it can be done!
 
MikeOH58 said:
I think most peoples list would go something like this...

Doctor
Lawyer
Dentist
Police Officer
Fire Fighter
Stock Broker
Accountant
Secretary
Therapist
Clerk
Click to expand...

You put Police Officer as 4th trusted profession? They wouldn't even make my list!

edit: sorry I thought you were ranking them... read that one again!
 
I think too that professional piloting is such a small group and is kind of "mysterious" in the qualifications and training that you need as well as duty responsibilities (to the outsider) that many people don't think much about it let alone know much about, kind of like how the nautical trades are perceived.
 
Fly4Pay said:
You know, I think it's interesting that we have discussions here where people get worked up over those who "lower the bar" by taking low wages, then we have other threads where folks advocate acting like jerks to potential customers.

Face it folks--we're in a SERVICE industry. That means we make our money not by flying planes, but by serving PEOPLE....
Click to expand...

That's the ticket!

You know, I've realized that if you want respect from your passengers, look sharp, wear your uniform correctly and work the crowd. They'll be behind you 100% and will understand when things go a little cattywumpus.

Flying the airplane, at least in my opinion, is only a small part of the job.

It's a competitive environment and if you look like you have your crap together, act like you have your crap together, even if you don't, people will support you.
 
YUP! I've got a special place in my heart for the pilots I work with who keep the passengers informed, use a sense of humor and act like they give a crap what goes on in the cabin. ;) You have no idea (OK, maybe you do, how much easier it makes our job)! :rawk:
 
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