Re: Can Do
Gerry Joering (Gerry_Joering_at_CompuServe.COM)
Fri, 17 Oct 1997 10:07:12 -0400
It is the nature of airline flying that most of the important decisions
have a negative impact on the operation. These range from ground delays
for maintenance, fuel, deicing, to airborn returns and diversions. The can
do attitude will come down on the wrong side of the equation unless there
is a strong culture supported by management to do the right thing. In
years past the new captains learned from years of watching the old hands
handle the tough decisions. Perhaps we need to talk a bit more about pilot
pushing and other maladies from the past. I don't fly for NW but I can
imagine the impact that the Japanese government had when it openly
criticized NW for it's rate of returns to Japan compared to the Japanese
airlines. You could argue all day whether NW crews were safer than JAL
crews on the return issue. But once the Japanese government made the
returns a bargaining chip it had to place an extra burden on the NW flight
crews. How do you train crews to deal with that?
Gerry