RoshiniD wrote:

Is it true that the pilot and co-pilot are required to eat different meals? Is this also applicable for the cabin crew also?

Lots of ups and few downs.

jfklganyc wrote:

This is where aviation babies come from...

reltney wrote:

Everyone's is different.
As a pilot, I find the "bunks" too small. I am 5'6" and never was claustrophobic until I had to use the crew(pilot rest facilities ) on a long haul 767 flight. Never again! I just forfeited my rest or grab a seat in back if open. Our airline usually has a first class seat in the 767 for average long haul. Longer flights we have a bunk. No thanks. I moved th the 747 and that bunk is tollarable for pilot rest. Flight attendants have bigger rest facilities and have been reported to be" fun" .

It is a great career. Lots of ups and few downs. It's what you make of it. Non crewmwmbers don't understand how we are paid or any aspect of being a crew member and their opinion doesn't matter.
I am a pilot and envy no one.

longhauler wrote:

Maybe I am biased, but I can think of no better way to earn a living.

Air Crew health and well being is something that is carefully controlled at airlines. Not just medical health via yearly or bi-yearly checkups, but also things like fatigue, meals, hotel quality ... one would be surprised.

In answer to a few of your questions ...

Cabin crew meals are usually identical to pilot meals, but the restriction of eating the same meal is not required. While less of an "emgergency" should they all fall ill, also it would be a logistics nightmare to keep 15-20 meals separate and different.

Crew rest facilities exist in most long range aircraft. Pilot facilities are usually separate ... above the cabin in the nose, for two at a time, with two separate bunks, two seats and a lav ... with Flight Attandant facilites above (or below in some aircraft) the cabin with bunks for around 6.

Rest periods are scheduled on a rotational basis so that there is never less than minimum crew, for both Pilots and F/As on duty at any one time.

Fatigue is something that is well watched, and it goes to more levels than just on board crew rest. Committees also watch the quality of hotels, the length and quality of crew rest, circadium rhythms within a duty period, duty cycle and duty month, etc. It is not as haphasard as some think.

I see you are going to attend College. If you have the opportunity, consider being a pilot as well. I know in some countries and some cultures, female pilots are still a rarity so often not a consideration.

Good luck.

Viscount724 wrote:

longhauler wrote:

Maybe I am biased[...]

Not sure what you did in your reply, but the black text on blue background is very hard to read.

Viscount724 wrote:

longhauler wrote:

Maybe I am biased, but I can think of no better way to earn a living.

Air Crew health and well being is something that is carefully controlled at airlines. Not just medical health via yearly or bi-yearly checkups, but also things like fatigue, meals, hotel quality ... one would be surprised.

In answer to a few of your questions ...

Cabin crew meals are usually identical to pilot meals, but the restriction of eating the same meal is not required. While less of an "emgergency" should they all fall ill, also it would be a logistics nightmare to keep 15-20 meals separate and different.

Crew rest facilities exist in most long range aircraft. Pilot facilities are usually separate ... above the cabin in the nose, for two at a time, with two separate bunks, two seats and a lav ... with Flight Attandant facilites above (or below in some aircraft) the cabin with bunks for around 6.

Rest periods are scheduled on a rotational basis so that there is never less than minimum crew, for both Pilots and F/As on duty at any one time.

Fatigue is something that is well watched, and it goes to more levels than just on board crew rest. Committees also watch the quality of hotels, the length and quality of crew rest, circadium rhythms within a duty period, duty cycle and duty month, etc. It is not as haphasard as some think.

I see you are going to attend College. If you have the opportunity, consider being a pilot as well. I know in some countries and some cultures, female pilots are still a rarity so often not a consideration.

Good luck.

Not sure what you did in your reply, but the black text on blue background is very hard to read.

Viscount724 wrote:

Not sure what you did in your reply, but the black text on blue background is very hard to read.

777PHX wrote:

reltney wrote:

Everyone's is different.
As a pilot, I find the "bunks" too small. I am 5'6" and never was claustrophobic until I had to use the crew(pilot rest facilities ) on a long haul 767 flight. Never again! I just forfeited my rest or grab a seat in back if open. Our airline usually has a first class seat in the 767 for average long haul. Longer flights we have a bunk. No thanks. I moved th the 747 and that bunk is tollarable for pilot rest. Flight attendants have bigger rest facilities and have been reported to be" fun" .

It is a great career. Lots of ups and few downs. It's what you make of it. Non crewmwmbers don't understand how we are paid or any aspect of being a crew member and their opinion doesn't matter.
I am a pilot and envy no one.

You're a pilot and envy no one, yet you can barely string a sentence together.

I'm a pilot too and guys like you give the rest of us a bad name. C'mon man, get over yourself.

DTWPurserBoy wrote:

The 744 and 777 are located above the cabin and are locked off to keep passengers out. The A330 has a lower lobe module which is claustrophobic and you hear the slamming of the lav doors while you are trying to sleep. The 763ER has them below the rear galley for the f/a's (you could kill yourself getting in and out of it!) and a BC seat curtained off for the pilot off duty. We have an overhead bin in which we lock their blankets and pillows because time has show us that passengers tend to snitch them.

Pilots cannot have the same entrée or set up. Two to four different ones are boarded and (naturally) the captains choose first although very often I hear "I don't care, you choose" being said to the first officer. The only problem with feeding the cockpit crew is that they all tend to want to eat at different times so it takes a little organization and a LOT of good memory to keep them straight. Woe betide the purser who did like a friend of mine. When she was one entrée choice short she fed the passenger the captain's meal. I think she is still bleeding from the ears from the chewing out she got.AS

Cadet985 wrote:

I would guess that someone who served on submarines might be a great flight attendant...the sleeping quarters are nearly identical.

AirlineCritic wrote:

Heh, funny

But I have a serious question. Is there a warm bed policy, or do you get your own bed, bed clothes set up by the ground crew?

reltney wrote:

Well, you caught me. I graduated with a C- from high school English and they were being nice to me.

Now...
Get over yourself ha! Your 777PHX, I bet your plates on your car have av8r and a "rather be flying" frame.

I truly envy no one who doesn't achieve a goal set by wants and desires in this day. I at least made something of myself.

You make this website useless as you are critical to anything that upsets your goals instead of going out and achieving them.. Good humor and fun are projected and ground pounders with PPLs like you, slam, flame, critique and add insults to achieve what you could not in life.

I use to write as a contributing editor for 2 aviation magazines because I have been successful in bumping up my writing skills to make up for reading aviation magazines in school. Was not the class English geek no doubt. I write bullet statements to make communication simple as other than US English speakers read this forum. Hold over from military writing. I fly on the average 20 young eagles a year and just had a copilot who I gave his first young eagle ride 8 years ago.

I apologize if I insult you by being positive but, I achieved lots and want others to have a positive attitude and let nothing stand in their way.

coolian2 wrote:

That's a quality take-down. I kinda wish you'd kept going for a bit longer.

I am being serious.

reggiet wrote:

Thanks 777PHX for the reality check to (Capt we presume) reltney's post of hubris. So true that a few God-complexed pilots ruin the rep for you good guys. My girlfriend is an Atlanta based Delta FA and is the A position when she flies, running the plane with the Capt each flight (as you in-flight guys/gals already know). Sharp but humble flight deck folks like yourself are at times far and few between in the business. Gracias senor.

Reggie Tait
Delta ramp AUS
Austin Fire Dept Driver-Engineer/19 years

DTWPurserBoy wrote:

Seafood is generally not an option for the pilots although occasionally one will make a quiet request. I have looked at this food for nearly 40 years and none of it appeals to me. I usually pick at a salad or leftover fruit and cheese. I eat when I get to the hotel or at home.

The bunks are not great for serious rest. I had to laugh at the fart comment--it does happen. The first crew on rest will go to the bunks, make up their bed with paper sheets and pillow cases and a clean blanket (a relatively recent change. Blankets used to ride around for months before they were cleaned). Then when you are ready to sleep you chuck off your uniform, try to hang it up neatly and crawl into your favorite sleep attire. For many of the ladies it is a granny nightgown or pajamas. For us guys it usually underwear. I have a well-worn pair of scrub pants that I slip on. And yes, we are all men and women together up there but there is no fooling around because there are about six other people up there in very close quarters and we all smell about the same at that point in the flight. When you awaken, you strip your bed, put the dirty sheets and cases in a plastic bag and put 2 cleans sheets, a pillow case and a clean blanket on the bunk for the next group. By the time we get downstairs (or up) they are ready for bed and have made a couple of pots of fresh coffee for us to help acclimate while we do a quick "refresh" in a lavatory.

Even if you don't sleep it is nice just to stretch out for a while away from the bustle of the cabin.