Comments on: Great couple of days away from work http://geekinthecockpit.com/archives/317 From the cubicle to the cockpit Sat, 11 Feb 2012 14:35:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Dave Starr http://geekinthecockpit.com/archives/317/comment-page-1#comment-198 Dave Starr Sun, 19 Apr 2009 06:45:15 +0000 http://byrdinthesky.com/?p=317#comment-198 Thanks for your wonderful reports on what being an airline pilot are all about. I enjoy every post. I'm glad you and your wife got to see Mall of America. My wife, who is from the Philippines, and I got to visit MOA not long after she came to the US. She was struck by the courtesy of the city bus operator who drove us to the Mall from MSP. We wanted to buy two RT tickets but we were short a buck or two of the exact change price, and the operator didn't carry change. The driver just took what we had and said, "Here's your passes back to the airport, we want you to have a nice visit to out city". I don't know if the driver made up the difference from her own pocket or what, but it was a gesture that will not soon be forgotten. I guess I'm surprised that you were surprised by the honor system. Maybe it's becuase I'm an older guy, but I seem to remeber lots of things on the honor system. Has our country deteriorated to the pont where honor is that rare a commodity? Much of European public transport, also Japan and some other places I have been operate in whole or part on the honor system ... thank goodness there is at least a little bit left at home. It shouldn't be a surprise to you, given your chosen career. In spite of all the frequent checks, to a very significant degree, the difference between a successful airline flight and a sad newspaper headline is the honor, or integrity, of the crew ... they have to do things the correct way, even when no one is looking ... and we who sit in hte back appreciate it. Thanks for your wonderful reports on what being an airline pilot are all about. I enjoy every post. I’m glad you and your wife got to see Mall of America. My wife, who is from the Philippines, and I got to visit MOA not long after she came to the US. She was struck by the courtesy of the city bus operator who drove us to the Mall from MSP. We wanted to buy two RT tickets but we were short a buck or two of the exact change price, and the operator didn’t carry change. The driver just took what we had and said, “Here’s your passes back to the airport, we want you to have a nice visit to out city”. I don’t know if the driver made up the difference from her own pocket or what, but it was a gesture that will not soon be forgotten.

I guess I’m surprised that you were surprised by the honor system. Maybe it’s becuase I’m an older guy, but I seem to remeber lots of things on the honor system. Has our country deteriorated to the pont where honor is that rare a commodity? Much of European public transport, also Japan and some other places I have been operate in whole or part on the honor system … thank goodness there is at least a little bit left at home.

It shouldn’t be a surprise to you, given your chosen career. In spite of all the frequent checks, to a very significant degree, the difference between a successful airline flight and a sad newspaper headline is the honor, or integrity, of the crew … they have to do things the correct way, even when no one is looking … and we who sit in hte back appreciate it.

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