Delta Crew Goes Beyond The Call Of Duty...

caleeiii · Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:28 am

Friday afternoon on a Delta flight from ATL to BHM, I snapped the following photo from my seat. The flight was delayed due to a late arriving aircraft. The pilot informed us we were ready to go once the ground crew loaded the bags and he was going to go out and check on why it was not progressing. The next thing we noticed from the plane was our Pilot, Co-Pilot, and Gate agent loading the bags onto the plane. In the 100-plus degree afternoon sun, they loaded the entire plane and we departed. I can't help but wonder was it 1) too hot for the ground crew or 2) time for their break? I certainly appreciated the strong dedication and initiative of some of Delta's BEST employees. In my opinion, they definitely went beyond the call of duty.

Big version: Width: 640 Height: 480 File size: 52kb

ryanrap1 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:33 am

Another GREAT Job, to the Wonderul Delta Employees!!! Awesome JOB DELTA CREW!

Lexy · Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:38 am

Quoting Ryanrap1 (Reply 1):
Another GREAT Job, to the Wonderul Delta Employees!!! Awesome JOB DELTA CREW!

Agree 100% with that remark. My hats of to ya Delta guys.

BNinMSY · Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:42 am

Wow, even I am impressed, didn't know Delta employees had it in them... this is wonderful.

I suspect something is foul with the DL ground staff in BHM .. wonder what's up in that station?

Maybe they were short staffed that day or at the time of this particular departure.

worldtraveler · Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:49 am

what gate was this at and was the flight on-time when it arrived?

611ATL · Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:50 am

Are you sure that's not in ATL? The gate agent looks awfully familiar to me. If it's who I think it is (in ATL), then she's amazing and it's no surprise to see her helping on the ramp. She's always on top of her game and goes out of her way to help passengers and crew!

okie73 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:51 am

This is a reflection of the leadership at Delta. Tilton or Parker do not get, nor do they deserve, employees like this.

SLCUT2777 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:51 am

Quoting CALeeIII (Thread starter):
I certainly appreciated the strong dedication and initiative of some of Delta's BEST employees. In my opinion, they definitely went beyond the call of duty.

That's just the Delta way of doing things. I see similar dedication from their crews here in SLC often. I highly doubt we'd ever see similar behavior from NW or HP+US pilots & f/a's.

JetBlueGuy2006 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 4:57 am

Wow, they definatly went above and beyond the call of duty. It is these kind of stories I wish we heard more. It is all too often that all we hear about are the negitives, which tend to sometimes give the whole company bad press.

Way to go Delta!!!!

S5FA170 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:09 am

Quoting SLCUT2777 (Reply 7):
US pilots & f/a's.

You'd be surprised. I've seen many pilots and gate agents unloading bags from the inbound and loading bags for the outbound.

Either way, hats off to the Delta crew.

lincoln · Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:17 am

Quoting CALeeIII (Thread starter):
1) too hot for the ground crew or 2) time for their break?

Or perhaps they were all in the bin stacking bags?

Anyway, way to lend a hand!

Lincoln

FlyDeltaJets87 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:27 am

Quoting 611ATL (Reply 5):
Are you sure that's not in ATL? The gate agent looks awfully familiar to me. If it's who I think it is (in ATL), then she's amazing and it's no surprise to see her helping on the ramp. She's always on top of her game and goes out of her way to help passengers and crew!

Says it's in ATL right here:

Quoting CALeeIII (Thread starter):
Friday afternoon on a Delta flight from ATL to BHM

So yes, it is in ATL.

Anyway, hats off and kudos to the crew. I wish the people at the restaurant I work at would learn this kind of teamwork.

On a side note, kinda reminds me of Ben Still yelling at the F/A in Meet the Parents. "Are you going to go down there with the guys wearing the earmuffs and actually place my bag in the plane?" (Exact wording may be off)

WNCrew · Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:30 am

Happens all the time here at WN though everyone still acts as if we're the crap of the skies.

Glad to see other carriers have such spirit and dedication!

727stretch · Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:39 am

Quoting Okie73 (Reply 6):
This is a reflection of the leadership at Delta. Tilton or Parker do not get, nor do they deserve, employees like this.

You are right. However, at those carriers, even if pilots, gate agents - whoever - wanted to help load the plane, they'd be looking at a union work rule violation. In my experience at UA, the union stuff is what prevented otherwise very dedicated & motivated pilots and others from doing good deeds like this. Delta is in a very unique position going forward in that they seem to have garnered the support of their employees and they don't have as many unions to deal with. Impressive pic.

EMBQA · Mon Aug 13, 2007 5:42 am

As a mechanic I can't tll you the number of times I've thrown bags when called out for a MX Gate Call. The reason is multi fold. 1) we where all in it together to get the passengers good service..... 2) the faster I get the bags off the plane, the faster I can have it and start working on the crews write up.... 3) the faster I can then get it back in service...4) we were all in it together, no one group more important then another. Oddly enough, we were a Delta Connection carrier......!!

[Edited 2007-08-12 22:44:46]

EBGflyer · Mon Aug 13, 2007 6:22 am

Not saying it is - just being a little skeptical - could be a clever PR stunt from Delta. It probably isn't in this case, but businesses find their way more and more often into discussion forums where they spread a positive word of their products.

I do think Delta is a good airline though. Just wanted to bring it up.

LHR777 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 6:26 am

Whilst I find the efforts of the flight-deck crew and gate agent admirable, I wonder - are fluorescent safety tabards not mandatory wear on the ramp in the US?

worldtraveler · Mon Aug 13, 2007 6:26 am

Quoting EBGflyer (Reply 15):
Not saying it is - just being a little skeptical - could be a clever PR stunt from Delta.

if it was a DL provided picture, you might have reason to believe it. The picture and story were provided by a customer.

And I'm not sure DL would have convinced too many people to volunteer for a PR stunt in 100 degree heat.

Osprey88 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 6:51 am

What a great thing to see! That is certainly above and beyond the call for those Delta pilots and gate agent. But more than that, I think it really symbolizes the current attitude at Delta which is genuine commitment to the customer. I would recommend you write a letter to DL commending their efforts.

DALelite · Mon Aug 13, 2007 6:54 am

That's my Delta!

DALelite

VonRichtofen · Mon Aug 13, 2007 6:54 am

My guess is the ramp crew was short handed. So the ramp guys are in the hold stacking the bags while the flight crew and gate agent load the bags on the belt.

Kris

Acey559 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 7:07 am

This makes me even more proud of my Delta. Even though I work for Comair, I still consider DL my airline, and the one I aspire to fly for when I graduate from college in a few years. I love Delta and have nothing but great things to say about the people I've dealt with. Believe it or not, I've had the privilege of loading bags with some ASA captains and F/Os. Some of the crews I've dealt with couldn't care less, but there are a few who are really willing to go above and beyond. I know I'm not talking about mainline Delta here, but as has been discussed before, ASA does have huge Delta logos on the plane and most passengers associate regionals with their respective mainline counterpart, so passengers would see it as a good overall Delta experience. GO DELTA! Big grin

Goldenshield · Mon Aug 13, 2007 7:14 am

And yet, not a peep is said when UA's rampers were to short staffed, leaving the many regional pilots to load the bags themselves (the non-union ones, that is.)

sanjet · Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:00 am

Good initiative but can cause problems in IMO. Apart from the union violations and all that...

Imagine this:

Situation #1: You (pilot) are at an airport where groundhandling is subcontracted. Flight is delayed as their is a shortage of groundhandlers today. Take a 30 minute delay because of this. File a delay report and management sees that this company is constantly delaying that flight. They have a little "talk" they the groundandling company and they respond by hiring extra ground handlers. On-time performance now improves and ground service, you are a happy employee...

Situation #2: You know flight is going to be delayed because of ground handling. You help now every time the flight is late and company doesn't (or maybe they do!) know the extra work you are doing. Little or no delays. You keep telling company that they should pressure to hire more groundhandlers. They say no need as there is little delay reported out of there. You get frustrated....

I dont want to sound like a lazy dude, but companies can take advantage of these kind of things.

tozairport · Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:10 am

While I understand the kudo's given to the Delta pilots, for a couple of reasons this was not really a good idea on there part.

- As a former ramper and now a pilot, I know just how dangerous a place the ramp can be. Loading bags without proper safety equipment (gloves, back brace if needed, safety training, etc.) is a recipe for injury. I don't know if their workman's comp insurance would cover them if they are doing a job they aren't qualified or trained to do.

- From the rampers perspective, why do they need pilots to help? Are they short staffed in ATL? If so, the pilots helping out are only masking a more serious problem of under staffing. When the ramp gets under staffed, the rampers get pushed to work faster, and when they work faster than their comfortable pace, injuries happen. This is especially true in a big hub, where there is a lot more action going on.

So while I applaud the pilots for their dedication to the customer, I think it showed poor judgment on their part to try and step in. I've seen people hurt real bad working on the ramp, and saving the extra 5-10 minutes just is not worth the risk.

jlbmedia · Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:27 am

I believe this is a huge statement for the quality and positive morale of employees at Delta. Although it could also be seen as these employees making up for the short fall of others (Ramp).

Quoting Goldenshield (Reply 22):
And yet, not a peep is said when UA's rampers were to short staffed, leaving the many regional pilots to load the bags themselves (the non-union ones, that is.)

Is Delta a Union work place? Are the Employees in the picture breaking work rules? I think other airline employees might do the same if it were not against the work rules.

Quoting EBGflyer (Reply 15):
Not saying it is - just being a little skeptical - could be a clever PR stunt from Delta. It probably isn't in this case, but businesses find their way more and more often into discussion forums where they spread a positive word of their products.

Are you saying that CALelll (the thread starter) is part of this. Or that Delta set this PR stunt up, hoping that
someone from Anet, or another PR type company might be on board?

Either way, Good job Delta!

[Edited 2007-08-13 01:37:10]

AA737-823 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:32 am

I sent you an instant message, but just in case you don't get it, I'll rewrite most of it here.
PLEASE send Delta a letter, with your photo attached.
In hardcopy.
Those employees deserve some praise, and I am very impressed that they were out there doing that in the heat.
For most of us, it would have been, "That's not in MY union contract!!!"
And, in fairness, it isn't.

access-air · Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:34 am

I think its a good thing that they helped out no matter what motives anyone alleges....Its very rare that we even see anythig on the positive side "reported" in the forums here...Like mainstream media, it seems like we only focus on the Negative crap...Frankly I get a bit tired of it....It would be alot nicer if there were more positive threads started....

Access-Air

delta7004 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 8:45 am

That's the above and beyond performance that is truly impressive and shows great dedication to trying to serve the best interest of the customer. My praise towards the DL staff!

dl021 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:06 am

That's the mark of a group of people dedicated to succeeding....

Quoting Jlbmedia (Reply 25):
Is Delta a Union work place? Are the Employees in the picture breaking work rules? I think other airline employees might do the same if it were not against the work rules.

DL is not unionized outside of the pilots. And we saw union-affiliated Delta pilots pitching in.

I wonder what happened to the ground crew.

Quoting Tozairport (Reply 24):
and saving the extra 5-10 minutes just is not worth the risk.

except that you don't know for sure that the pilots were loading improperly or unsafely....you don't know how long they'd been waiting or how long they'd been told they'd have to wait.....and you don't know the situation on the ground.

I think that taking the initiative and helping out was displaying team spirit and an exellent example of gung-ho...in the actual definition sense of the words....
(it roughly translates into "strive for harmony")

28thguy · Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:25 am

This reminds me of a recent flight that I took (1667, JFK-MCO, 6/25/07).

There was a ground service pickup truck blocking the catering truck from servicing the forward door at JFK. We waited for a while (>30 minutes)... nothing happened. Then I saw the co-pilot on the ramp, getting in the truck and trying to find the keys. When he discovered that the keys weren't in the ignition, he then started walking to adjacent aircraft on the tarmac, trying to find somebody who could find the keys. I was very impressed at the initiative taken. Eventually, somebody was found with keys to move the truck.

EWRCabincrew · Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:26 am

Teamwork is essential for any operation. Glad to see it at DL, too.

Boeing727flyer · Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:48 am

Thats the way to do it - well done DELTA

Acey559 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 9:51 am

Ironically enough, just after I posted my original comment, one of the ASA pilots did the exact same thing! Flight 4559 from MLI-ATL (hence my screen name) was delayed by almost two hours today, and on the F/Os walkaround he helped us offload all the bags. It was a simple gesture, but one that helped a great deal, especially in the near-100 degree heat and humidity we've been having here recently. Hats off to the crew for a fine job, I only wish I had more time to thank them other than running up in the cockpit for a minute to say thanks. I was especially grateful because I'd been at work since 4:00 AM and punched out at 7:30. A long day, but of course, it was well worth it.

platinumfoota · Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:04 am

Ive seen this happend on a friday night on UA's LAX-BWI flight. It was due to short manpower on the ramp and delays. If i recall that was one of the worst summers for UA but nothing like seeing everyone in the company work together!!

delta fly boy · Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:08 am

Great job to those employees! They could have very easily not cared, sat in their air conditioned terminal/aircraft and waited out the delay. Moments like this make me very proud to call delta my airline!

And as a side note: To those who had any negative things to say about this post? ARE you kidding???? Really... find something better and more positive to do with your time. And to those who make the obnoxious remarks about UA, or any other airline... that do this all the time... If the picture was of UA pilots, and a UA agent, on a UA flight... the SAME praise would have been made... WITHOUT the need for some comment saying how airline XYZ does this all the time and bla bla bla. Are we 5 years old? C'mon!

Again, great job Delta! (And to the many airline employees and many other airlines that do this on a daily basis... without being recognized).

[Edited 2007-08-13 03:10:11]

jetjeanes · Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:16 am

except that you don't know for sure that the pilots were loading improperly or unsafely

Bags in the cargo hold is not rocket science,just a matter of weight and balance and they will know for sure anyway. If their was any haz mat the crew has been trained to do many things on their aircraft. They probably could make minor repairs as well and im sure some have, but hey they were union,.

We had some cargo door pins sheered on a freighter one night and he had an hour flight to the hub., The capt grabbed two ratchet staps clipped them in the door and ran the other to the floor tracks...and ratched the door tight, and said
Lets roll..... Hey if he was happy with it i sure as hell wasnt saying anything. gave him his ppwk and off the went.

warreng24 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:27 am

Quoting CALeeIII (Thread starter):
The next thing we noticed from the plane was our Pilot, Co-Pilot, and Gate agent loading the bags onto the plane. I

Can they get in trouble for doing this? Could the Ramper's Union file a greviance against the Pilots and GA's for this?

tozairport · Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:36 am

Quoting DL021 (Reply 29):
except that you don't know for sure that the pilots were loading improperly or unsafely....you don't know how long they'd been waiting or how long they'd been told they'd have to wait.....and you don't know the situation on the ground.

Of course I don't know those things. I was actually making a statement about why I think, IMHO, that it is a bad idea to do this. Have I ever done this? Sure, back in the UA Shuttle days I would do this all the time. Nowadays, though, with everything short staffed and with no occupational sick leave, it would be foolhardy to put my career at risk by doing somebody else's job. Like I said, the ramp is a dangerous place. I'm seen backs hurt, fingers nearly lost, bumps, bruises, etc. Would these pilots be getting the same kudos if one of them had hurt their back and caused the flight to cancel? Again, I appreciate the fact that the pilots were motivated to help, I just don't think it was a very wise decision. twocents

GQfluffy · Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:58 am

Always good to see pilots/crew/gate agents out helping us rampers. I'm sure this happens at every major airline from time to time, especially when they're short on the ramp. Some pilots are decent folk, and some are snotty jackasses. Good job DL!

DTWAGENT · Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:00 am

And this is why I fly Delta all the time. Great job to the three of them......Keep it up DL.

Chuck

xjramper · Mon Aug 13, 2007 11:36 am

Quoting Warreng24 (Reply 37):
Can they get in trouble for doing this? Could the Ramper's Union file a greviance against the Pilots and GA's for this?

AFAIK...the Pilots are the only group that have a union at delta.

Personally this is what I see as the New Delta. We are one team, one mission, one Delta. I am glad I hopped on board (pardon the pun) at this point with Delta!

XJR

JewPilot · Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:26 pm

Quoting SLCUT2777 (Reply 7):
I highly doubt we'd ever see similar behavior from NW or HP+US pilots & f/a's.

I was onboard NWA130 (MSP-ORD), and a part of the leading edge of the wing needed repairs. The ground crew decided to take a loooonnnggg break from loading the plane, incase we would need to switch equipment. The fix for the problem was resolved in about 20 minutes, and I restarted to watch the ground crew continue to load the plane. We were already a half an hour late, and it took them an additional twenty minutes to load the DC-9. I even saw two ramp guys playing with a puppy that was being put in the cargo hold for about 3 minutes!! Oh well.

greg3322 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:27 pm

Quoting EBGflyer (Reply 15):
Not saying it is - just being a little skeptical - could be a clever PR stunt from Delta.

Quoting LHR777 (Reply 16):
I wonder - are fluorescent safety tabards not mandatory wear on the ramp in the US?

Quoting Sanjet (Reply 23):
dont want to sound like a lazy dude, but companies can take advantage of these kind of things.

Quoting Tozairport (Reply 24):
So while I applaud the pilots for their dedication to the customer, I think it showed poor judgment on their part to try and step in. I've seen people hurt real bad working on the ramp, and saving the extra 5-10 minutes just is not worth the risk.

First, congrats to these Delta employees for going above and beyond. I have to laugh at all the negativity and suspicion, though. This goes to show how accustomed we have become with the poor level of customer service in the air travel industry. If somebody goes above and beyond, there must be a catch! These employees were doing what needed to be done to provide good customer service. I know I would never see this on UA, who I fly the most with. Most of that is for union reasons, I am sure, but I still wonder. I'm sure there is a lot of good people out there. Sometimes it isn't that obvious, I guess.

Greg

acvitale · Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:48 pm

I have been negative on DL at many times. But with employees like this WOW! Kudos to an awesome crew and gate agent.

I suggest you write a complimentary letter and include a photo with all details. They deserve serious KUDOS!

WhiteBirdFlyer · Mon Aug 13, 2007 12:58 pm

I'd like to offer my congratulations to the Delta crew as well. I've flown DL more than a few times this year and have had very good to excellent experiences with all the DL crew and ground staff I've encountered.

The commendable actions by the cockpit crew and gate agent are not too surprising to me as this is the sort of stuff I've seen on the "new" Delta: a real and sincere effort to improve customer service and put some confidence back in their customers that they know that they will be taken care of in a manner better than the competition.

Sometimes it really is the "little details" that make all the difference and having the crew pitch in to leave as close to on-time as possible is great to see.

And anyone volunteering to go load bags on a ramp at "HOTLanta" airport in 100+ weather while not getting paid extra for it deserves at least a round of cold drinks!

Cordially,
WFB

B777ER · Mon Aug 13, 2007 1:00 pm

Quoting CALeeIII (Thread starter):
The next thing we noticed from the plane was our Pilot, Co-Pilot, and Gate agent loading the bags onto the plane. In the 100-plus degree afternoon sun, they loaded the entire plane and we departed. I can't help but wonder was it 1) too hot for the ground crew

Thats the difference between professionals and barely above minimum wage workers.

Quoting WNCrew (Reply 12):
Happens all the time here at WN though everyone still acts as if we're the crap of the skies.

Your not the crap of the skies but most of your pax are the crap of the skies.

Quoting Tozairport (Reply 24):
From the rampers perspective, why do they need pilots to help?

Inefficent? Lazy? Not caring? Take your pick. Like I said, big difference between those in the cockpit and those throwing the bags up in ATL.

Quoting Warreng24 (Reply 37):
Could the Ramper's Union file a greviance against the Pilots and GA's for this?

DL's rampers dont have a union and even if they did, what would the grievance be? Making them look bad?

Caspian27 · Mon Aug 13, 2007 1:08 pm

Working for ZV, YV and OO I have seen this many times. Kudos to this crew for going beyond!

Mir · Mon Aug 13, 2007 1:26 pm

Quoting LHR777 (Reply 16):
Whilst I find the efforts of the flight-deck crew and gate agent admirable, I wonder - are fluorescent safety tabards not mandatory wear on the ramp in the US?

No, they are not.

-Mir

whoopwhoop · Mon Aug 13, 2007 2:05 pm

Eh..they are just looking for their dead heading bags Wink

Ive helped out like that a few times. Ground crews are EXTREMELY short staffed these days. I draw the line at manning the "Turd Hurst" however. Big grin

Who is online

Popular Searches On Airliners.net