Shined Shoes? Ironed Uniform?

[ QUOTE ]
John, you don't have any recent experience with ExpressJet nor the training program for rampers. Steve does. Let the voice of experience talk.

[/ QUOTE ]

John,

Steve and I are friends, ok? I stay in touch with the industry. There is no reason to farm me out to pasture just yet.
grin.gif


I think Steve would be amused at you calling him the "voice of experience: with regards to me
smile.gif


I still am highly doubtful that an airline will trust minimum wage rampers with a 20 million dollar piece of machinery without extensive (and somewhat expensive) training. They didn't then, and the insurance/lawyer/liability/sue yer ass off/bad press atmosphere of then has certainly not gotten any better, in fact it has worsened.
 
The only time I ever saw the inside of a cockpit as a ramper at SkyWest was when Omar gave me the tour. Never cleaned an interior, never started an APU, never saw anyone else do it either.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I still am highly doubtful that an airline will trust minimum wage rampers with a 20 million dollar piece of machinery without extensive (and somewhat expensive) training. They didn't then, and the insurance/lawyer/liability/sue yer ass off/bad press atmosphere of then has certainly not gotten any better, in fact it has worsened.

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah, I'm amused....b/c you're wrong. John has a point, I DO have more experience in XJT ground ops than you. First off, rampers make a tad bit more than minimum wage, but thanks for playing. Also, XJT DOES train them in cleaning the cockpit. Nothing like starting the APU, but they tell you what you can touch and what you can't. Doesn't really cost much since you just hop in a plane that's sitting on the ramp for about 15 minutes. It's not that hard to say "This is the battery switch. Make sure it's off. Don't touch anything else." As long as the rampers sign the paperwork saying they've been trained on "cockpit cleaning procedures," the lawyers are happy. As far as any other airlines, I can't really say what they do. That's why I'm just talking about XJT. Unless they've changed it since last November, that's the way it is. Now, if you snuck off and got hired as an agent at XJT when I wasn't looking, that's one heck of a feat.
 
On a related subject, I don't know how the airlines do it, but look at the Navy. You've got 18 and 19 year old carrier deck personnel that are moving, marshalling, and towing aircraft within literal feet (and sometimes inches) of each other on the deck and near the deck edge. That's a lot of trust put into some young individuals. And they likely make equal to minimum wage.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Now, if you snuck off and got hired as an agent at XJT when I wasn't looking, that's one heck of a feat.

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL No you don't have to worry about that. How long were you at XJT? It wasn' that long ago you were a SWA (or WN) ramp rat.

So, do they teach you to clean the panels, the screens, and what we were discussing all along - the controls?

And the kicker - did anyone really do it? Because I watched people clean airplanes at Eagle, Mesa, and Midway. I wouldn't actually call them "consummate cleaning professionals" if you know what I mean. The were more like "dab there, dab here, ok lets go get a beer."
 
[ QUOTE ]
LOL No you don't have to worry about that. How long were you at XJT? It wasn' that long ago you were a SWA (or WN) ramp rat.

[/ QUOTE ]

Wasn't too long ago. I got hired for the MEM station in Oct and wound up leaving in Feb to get back into flight training full time.

[ QUOTE ]
So, do they teach you to clean the panels, the screens, and what we were discussing all along - the controls?

[/ QUOTE ]

Use the wipes on the screens, pick up the big pieces of trash, vacuum what you can. Don't touch ANYTHING else. That was pretty much the training. Now, as far as does anyone do it, I highly doubt it. I always worked mornings, so I was never there that late. Given the condition the planes were in when we came in to open some days, I don't think the cabin area even got cleaned.....
 
That's why I like going to Canada and Mexico. They do the job right.

One very early morning in Ottawa, we rolled up and saw the logo light on the tail of our jet lit up. I commented "that can't be ours, can it?" since I didn't know who would have power on it. Well when we get down to the airplane, they cleaned it, fueled it, prepared it, started the APU (MX), and had the heat going. A nice clean, warm, well-lit airplane at 6:00am in the middle of winter. I was impressed! Then we gave the plane away for the next leg.
banghead.gif
 
Yeah, MX in MEM is contract, so no luck on that. We had the ground power hooked in and the air/heat cart hooked up (if it was working) for the RONs. They wouldn't let me touch any switches to start anything.....
 
[ QUOTE ]

Use the wipes on the screens, pick up the big pieces of trash, vacuum what you can. Don't touch ANYTHING else. That was pretty much the training. Now, as far as does anyone do it, I highly doubt it. I always worked mornings, so I was never there that late. Given the condition the planes were in when we came in to open some days, I don't think the cabin area even got cleaned.....

[/ QUOTE ]

Yeah that's pretty much what I was trying to say. There are certainly areas of the cockpit and cabin that will never get cleaned, unless someone gets the initiative to do it themselves.
 
[ QUOTE ]
Well pilots aren't allowed to clean the gear handles anymore.
shocked.gif


[/ QUOTE ]

I still feel like Lewis Black when I hear that. I just want to scream and hit something. You wonder what goes into people's mind sometimes. How damn anal-rententive are you if you have to clean a smudge off the gear handle in flight, TWICE!!!!!!?
banghead.gif
banghead.gif
banghead.gif
banghead.gif
banghead.gif
banghead.gif
 
Yeah, and what about in-range calls. Soon we'll have a 3-man cockpit. The extra pilot is there to ensure the other two aren't dumb •s.
 
Darn right ER...I cant believe that either, But seems people have to run a wet nap over every frickin thing.
 
Especially when the station is too lazy to put a gate in and it comes up as "Not Assigned Yet." I guess we'll just taxi in circles until someone comes out and finds us. I guess George thinks we're babies.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top