Back seat driver

Perspectives from when the shoe is on the other foot

From time to time aircrew have the opportunity to see the world from the other side of the cockpit door. Generally, it is dead-heading to another port, or less frequently as a holidaying passenger, albeit at the mercy of standby seats and staff travel. Even less frequently they sit to the rear as anonymous, full-fare paying passengers on another airline. And that’s when things can be very interesting.

For crew, there is something liberating about being ‘just another passenger’, entitled to no more and no less, with expectations of the everyday customer. Still, the fact that crew are educated in the world of airlines can give a further insight. An engineer loitering around the flightdeck can be a red flag for an impending delay and crew disembarking may be a signal for an even longer one. Inevitably, at times, there can also be cause for comparison.