Yeti coolers fad

[MikeD]

Watched one Capt maneuvering his roller bag that had a medium sized yeti cooler on top of it, while carrying another larger size yeti cooler slung over his shoulder and carrying another bag in his other hand. He boarded as flight crew on his narrowbody domestic flight. Besides the lack of storage room in the cockpit, I can’t imagine he’s going anyplace so remote where there’s no food at all. I’d hate to be dragging some slowly rotting chuck wagon of regular food around, especially if it’s just to try to save a few $. Not worth the hassle.

 

[bike21]

Watched one Capt maneuvering his roller bag that had a medium sized yeti cooler on top of it, while carrying another larger size yeti cooler slung over his shoulder and carrying another bag in his other hand. He boarded as flight crew on his narrowbody domestic flight. Besides the lack of storage room in the cockpit, I can’t imagine he’s going anyplace so remote where there’s no food at all. I’d hate to be dragging some slowly rotting chuck wagon of regular food around, especially if it’s just to try to save a few $. Not worth the hassle.

I did the small cooler bag and packets of tuna (never consumed in cockpit) when I made $19 an hour, wife was between jobs, had to pay for uniform/Jepps, walked uphill both ways, etc. Even that was brief though.

With regional salaries these days, I don't understand the drive to bring so much food along. Yes, I get health reasons but c'mon, does someone really need to bring that much crap? I still bring some fresh fruit for day 1, some nuts and bars for emergency snacks but that's it.

 

[killbilly]

There are two opposing forces in play:

First, it’s hard to carry adequate volume of food in a small package when you’re trying to stick to a diet that requires four meals a day and certain macro nutrient balances. I’ve gotten pretty good at it, but it takes work and planning. And I still can’t totally carry everything I would like to.

if you want to make up that volume by purchasing along the way things get a lot harder. Unless you have access to a decent grocery store on the layover - you are limited to what you can get in the airport. And a lot of the food in the airport is simply inadequate for particular diets.

I vowed a long time ago never to be a three bag pilot and I am having to break that vow because I simply cannot carry all of the food that I want to in one cooler bag and still have the other things I need for a Flight bag.

Four bags is over the top, but if that guy is maybe a power lifter and he’s in training or something, maybe he needs that much food? I don’t know.

 

[bike21]

There are two opposing forces in play:

First, it’s hard to carry adequate volume of food in a small package when you’re trying to stick to a diet that requires four meals a day and certain macro nutrient balances. I’ve gotten pretty good at it, but it takes work and planning. And I still can’t totally carry everything I would like to.

if you want to make up that volume by purchasing along the way things get a lot harder. Unless you have access to a decent grocery store on the layover - you are limited to what you can get in the airport. And a lot of the food in the airport is simply inadequate for particular diets.

I vowed a long time ago never to be a three bag pilot and I am having to break that vow because I simply cannot carry all of the food that I want to in one cooler bag and still have the other things I need for a Flight bag.

Four bags is over the top, but if that guy is maybe a power lifter and he’s in training or something, maybe he needs that much food? I don’t know.

In those cases it makes sense, but yeah the 4 bagger is kinda dumb. I mean, at some point someone is being selfish bogarting all the storage space with their own needs. Saw an FA recently on a commute with...


Five.

5 bags!


That was a first. And she was only working a domestic trip and jumpseating, she of course she's on last with me as the other jumpseater stuffing all her crap everywhere.

 

[MikeD]

One of the guys I flew with told me he once had an FO who was a year and a half senior to him, four years older than him, and had spent 25 years at an associated regional. This FO brought a food cooler with a peanut butter and jelly sandwich to eat at the ETP of each leg of the flight. When my buddy asked WTF are you doing that for? The FO said “this is how I lived when I flew the SAAB.” Buddy was like well what part of the 200,000 lb jet or what we are doing now at a well paying major, compares to the SAAB. He was unable to answer that question.

Guess if one is in prison long enough, they only know one way to live life.

 

[MikeD]

Retired UAL guy i know told me once: “Started at UAL in 1987. Flew with some real characters. Had a DC10 Captain that would smoke a pack or more of cigarettes LAX-HNL. He would always buy a bottle of Dewars and 2 cartons of duty free Luckys on each leg. He never left his room. His layover entertainment was to continually update the time on his Rolex, pound the scotch and smoke the Luckys. At the NRT View hotel you could tell his room by the smoke rolling out of the open window. Never had a meal,outside the cockpit, with him. He would eat 2 or more meals on most legs. Rail thin. Face looked like weathered leather.”

 

[DropTank]

Y'all are WAY to concerned what other people do with their bags and food.
Ya need to mind yo bidness...

Wanna show up with a big Barbie Lunch box?
If it isn't against company policy, enjoy!

And what they bring is absolutely NONE of my concern
PBJ, don't care, Lunchables, great!

(unless it's rotten fish or hard boiled eggs)
((no one wants to smell that))
(((during OR after)))

 

[bike21]

Y'all are WAY to concerned what other people do with their bags and food.
Ya need to mind yo bidness...

Wanna show up with a big Barbie Lunch box?
If it isn't against company policy, enjoy!

And what they bring is absolutely NONE of my concern
PBJ, don't care, Lunchables, great!

(unless it's rotten fish or hard boiled eggs)
((no one wants to smell that))
(((during OR after)))

It is our bidness if your bidness takes up all the room.

 

[Hiboglossi]

Y'all are WAY to concerned what other people do with their bags and food.
Ya need to mind yo bidness...

Yes, the complaints about other pilots packing food have always seemed rather pathetic to me. Though I suppose they're reasonable if pilots have so many or so large bags that they hog cockpit/ closet space away from other crew members.

Sure, if you're at a major you can easily afford restaurant food, even airport terminal food, but we also always hear about how statistically, pilots who retire at age 65 die at age 67 on average, and while I personally have never packed food (except the odd apple, pear, orange or a few slices of bread or pie in my flight kit), my cholesterol is so bad I had to start taking statins at age 30, so perhaps the pilots who pack healthier food are on to something.

I've always been too lazy to pack any significant amount of food myself though. I seemed to be quite common at C5 when I was there, especially back in the Dash days, presumably because C5 was one of the lowest paying regionals. But they also still used paper charts the first few years I was there, so the last thing I needed was an additional bag on top of the 40lbs of charts and manuals. So then I was already in the habit of not packing food when EFBs were finally approved there. Plus I've always been paranoid about foodborne illness so worrying about if the packed food was staying cold enough would be stressful.

Ironically, a few years ago when most people on here took it as a personal insult that someone quit the regionals to go back to instructing, they said he should have packed food:

Thread 'An interesting take on "quitting"'

Sep 17, 2018

Although it kind of strikes me as funny, as hiring at mainline has progressed to the point where someone only has to "pay dues" at the regional level for a few years. He talks about it being easy to "just go back"- but bridges are hard to cross once they're burned. In any case, food for thought for those entering the industry.

• sorrygottarunway
• Replies: 140
• Forum: Airline Pilots

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