Answer:

Yes it can be normal. Weight and balance is a tricky task at best….. aggravating at worst.

This is really good timing on your question as I’ve had 3 flights with fuel issues in the last 4 days. I’ll write those blogs in the coming days. For now…I’ll stick to the question.

The ground crew could have legitimately loaded the correct amount of fuel, but then conditions changed. Most fuelers are good so I will assume that’s what happened. I will attempt to explain a flight where the “right” amount of fuel can be the “wrong” amount of fuel.

I will use the following numbers:

Empty weight:

Max Ramp Weight: 61000

Max Takeoff Weight:60750

Max Zero Fuel Weight: 51610

Max Landing Weight:54578

Empty Weight: 38500

Those are the easy weights. Issues come up with short runways or airports near terrain. Just because a plane can takeoff weight 60750 pounds doesn’t mean it will be able to every time.

So in the original question “why on earth didn’t he simply fly lower or climb at a slower rate instead of making us sit there”….here ya go.

Let’s take a look at LGA….an airport with short runways and terrain (buildings). This flight will take place in the winter.

Winter operations cause performance penalties just like summer operations. The reason? Ice……and the need to get rid of it.

I will use the following weather:

KLGA 240051Z 17012G18KT 1/2SM R04/6000VP6000FT -RA BR OVC020 03/01 A2956 RMK AO2 SFC VIS 2

Low vis…rain and windy.

I’m going to keep it really simple (even though it gets incredibly complex when taking into account wind, pressure and temp). Runway 22 is in use for takeoff.

The flight has 58 passengers. Their weight is assumed to be 10324 (178 pounds each). Before boarding begins all are assumed to be an adult.

The 2 hour flight is expected to burn 6500 pounds of fuel

The FAA required 45 minute reserve fuel weights 1500 pounds

The destination weather is marginal. The alternate requires 2300 pounds of fuel. Total of 10,300 pounds of fuel.

So lets add it up….20624 pounds of fuel and people…add in the empty plane weight of 38500 equals 59124….leaving 1626 pounds to spare. We haven’t looked at the runway performance data. My airline has big fancy computer program for this. The engineers look at accelerate and stop distances along with terrain avoidance (and all the other FAR required performance data). For runway 22 runway we are limited by the climb performance to avoid terrain. Max takeoff weight is 59800. Not a big hit….950 pounds.

Now for you fellow airline pilots I’m fully aware credit (thus more weight can be carried) by taking into account headwind, temp and pressure. But….let’s keep it simple.

As of now everyone can go.

Boarding completes…the plane pushes back and heads to runway 22. Then it happened. Snow. New performance penalty. A hefty 900 pounds.

New max takeoff weight is 58700. The plane left the gate weighing 59800. The dispatcher reworks the alternate. A new one is found that only requires 1300 pounds of fuel. The flight is legal…as soon as they shed 900 pounds. At this point fuel is the easiest thing to shed.

Offloading fuel is expensive. The fuel can’t go back into the ground (for airports with ground refueling) or just any fuel truck. The fuel must be offloaded into a separate container to avoid contamination. Often cheaper to burn it.

Thus the plane will sit somewhere on the airport property with both engines running and the APU burning….to shed that 900 pounds. Taking off and flying lower isn’t an option as they are too heavy to takeoff.

If the snow had started before they left the gate they would have likely left behind people or bags.

Believe it or not people are often cheaper than bags. People can be bought off at the gate. Their bags goes on to their destination. If the person goes but the bag stays the airline pays a very hefty fee to have the bag hand delivered to the person.

Hope this answered your question. I truly hate math so I tried to keep it easy. That’s all for now…more blogs over the next few days.

V speeds are specific defined speeds for certain segments of flight.

The first speed that comes up on takeoff is V1 followed by either V2 or VR depending on the plane.

V1 is the speed at which the takeoff should not be aborted. Aborting after V1 will likely be more dangerous (even with a shredded tire for example or an engine on fire) than continuing the takeoff and returning for landing.

Losing an engine on most multi-engine aircraft will cause the plane yaw and have a loss of performance. Losing an engine at V1 means the pilot has to quickly identify the engine that has failed and correct for it. The plane will likely yaw into the dead engine. The yaw is corrected by applying opposite rudder force. So if the left engine failed the plane would yaw left. Right rudder would be applied with the right foot. The term “dead foot, dead engine” helps. Left foot isn’t doing anything…that’s the side of the dead engine.

Planes with wing mounted engines tend to yaw more than fuselage mounted engines due to the distance between the engines. There’s a better term for that…but right now it escapes me.

Now let’s prepare for takeoff.

When I brief my takeoff I include the following statement for MOST, but not all, runways.

“We will abort for any reason up to 80 knots. After 80 knots we will only abort for engine failure, fire, safety of flight item or if the plane won’t fly. After V1 we will take the plane into the air and come back for landing. I will fly the plane, you run the checklist. ”

Some shorter runways or runways with rain/snow/ice can cause aborts only to 80 knots and no aborts afterwards due to the inability to stop on the remaining pavement after 80 knots.

Assume the following speeds for my example:

V1 – 125

VR – 127

V2 – 132

VR is the speed at which rotation should begin….it’s not the speed at which the wheels should instantly lift off the ground.

V2 is the speed which should be flown after takeoff in the event on an engine failure.

Got it?

I advance the thrust levers to takeoff power.

The 80 knot call is made and all is well.

At 125 knots the Captain calls, “V1″

Simulaneously the plane begins a yaw to the left.

I begin correcting immediately.

The Captain calls , “VR – Rotate” while I am correcting.

I use the rudder to keep the plane’s nose on centerline. Done properly is takes just a few moments…seconds….it’s done precisely and quickly.

A quick glance at my speed tape shows 130 knots.

I smoothly rotate the nose into the air, keeping the rudder pressure, accelerate to V2 and fly the profile.

Profiles vary signifianctly between aircraft.

Really powerful planes can climb non-stop up to a safe altitude, typically 1500 feel above field level, and run the checklist. Other planes require and intermediate level off to accelerate before climbing above 1500 feet AFL to run checklist. In addition to the level off, terrain avoidance and specific airport engine out procedures may exist.

That’s the short and skinny. The V1 cut can be very difficult if the pilot doesn’t smoothly and correctly fly the plane. If the pilot tries to rotate before the plane is under control it will be MUCH more difficult to fly once airborne. While still rolling down the runway the tires on the ground help stabilize the plane. If the yaw is corrected properly a fairly stable plane is brought into the air.

If the yaw isn’t corrected and the plane is taken into the air, the moment the tires are off the ground the instability will only get worse. Things can get hairy fast as an unstable plane is just feet above the ground with less than optimal performance.

Hope that helps.

Pay after taxes won’t be useful as some states have state and federal taxes…some have federal only. I will include only federal taxes, since we all pay those. Last year I made $35,817.71 gross pay…over 10 months as I took the last two months off of work and received no pay (FMLA spent two amazing months with my daughter). Take out Union dues of $563.35 and Federal Taxes $4,067.21 (I take out at the SINGLE rate…never changed it…if I took out at the Married rate it would be less…will be less this year as I had a kid). Total money in my pocket before all other deductions $31, 187.71 or roughly $3118 per month. If I had worked a FULL 12 months I would have earned an estimated $42,980 based on the pervious 10 month earnings before taxes and Union Dues.

I am paid that rate to fly 50 passengers around.

Pilot pay is incredibly complex. Included in that above number is per diem, bonuses and overtime. Not included in deductions are items like insurance, extra insurance, 401K benefits and the like. Pilot pay per hour is a just a small piece of the overall pie. Airline A might pay pilots 10% more than Airline B, but Airline B might have health insurance 25% less than Airline A. Airline B might match 401K contributions to 7.5% of total pilot pay while Airline A might only match 5%. All adds up.  Overall I am very content with my pay and career. I am able to live a very nice life with my wife and child. My wife and I have traveled around the United States, Canada, Mexico, Japan and the Caribbean.

Next year I should clear $45,000 simply because I got a raise to year 4 pay.

I am taking November and December off to spend time with my daughter. I am taking time off under FMLA. FMLA allows up to 12 weeks of unpaid time off for a birth or other medical circumstances.

As of now I am taking less than 12 weeks. Once I start taking time off the clock starts. I have to be back at the end of 12 weeks. If I take just 8 weeks off then the other 4 weeks fade away. Kinda crappy. Would be nice if I would use the other 4 weeks later.

Beyond FMLA there are other ways of getting extended time off. My airline offers Leaves of Absences (LOAs). It’s all staffing based. If they are overstaffed LOAs are offered to prevent furloughs. If staffing is tight LOAs are unlikely.

I know one pilot who took a 3 year LOA to go teach at a simulator facility. While he is gone his seniority keeps advancing. If he changes his mind and wants to come back earlier he only has to give a month notice. It can be a really good thing if there is another job you can do while waiting for things to improve.

There was a guy in my initial training class who is in the Air National Guard. He was hired back in 2004. Things weren’t moving very fast here so went back into duty with the ANG for 3 years. When he came back he was near the top of his status bidding wise. Not too shabby.

While I am out on FMLA I hope to travel a bit with my daughter. Sure she is too young to remember anything…but I have a camera!

Being a regularly used item, most flight crew members don’t take luggage choice lightly. Depending on if they are a pilot or cabin crew, the bags might differ.

Pilots, for the most part, need to carry along a huge bag called a flight kit. It weighs a good 20 pounds and is filled with maps, charts and reference books required for flight. The easiest way to carry it along is on a hook attached to the main luggage. Flight attendants don’t “need” a hook, but many buy bags with them to carry a smaller bag with their manuals and other small items.

The most common size of the main piece of luggage is 22 inches. Why? Because that’s the biggest size that will fit wheels first in most mainline aircraft. If you NEVER commute and rarely deadhead, then a 26 inch bag can be used. I use a 22 inch bag.

My first bag I bought was a 22 inch Delsey bag from JcPenny for like $90. It was great…except no hook. It had a strap. After my first flight I bought a hook and rigged it up with the existing latch. It worked decently.

After about a month I wanted something more substantial.

I stopped by the crew luggage store and bought a $149 Luggage Works 22 inch bag. It came with a hook. Very durable and a 3 year warranty. Lucky for me any repairs needed could be done on site.

The bag worked great for about a year. Then the telescoping handle broke off while out on a trip. I was pissed. Pain to carry it around the bag, flight kit and laptop bag…by hand.

The repair shop fixed it and a worn out leather handle. About six months later the telescoping handle broke again. Fast forward to last week when the entire back frame that supports the telescoping handle started to separate from the bag….while out on TDY! The root cause was the inner frame (plastic!) cracked…bad.

I dropped it off at the repair shop and picked up my back up Delsey bag from home. I’m not sure if the repair will be under warranty. Either way I’m likely going to invest in a heavy duty bag, a Luggage Works/ Purdy Neat Stealth ( click here for a description and photo).

The Stealth bag has an all metal frame and a non telescoping handle. The handle is a solid piece of metal. The bag looks like it can be a weapon. I’ve asked around and those that have the bag swear by them and that they last 5+ years. It’s pricey…..almost $300, but if it last 5 years then it’s only $60 or so a year…little more than a buck a week. Plus it’s tax deductible!

Beyond the luggage and flight kit, I carry a laptop bag or Ipad bag depending on how long I will be gone. For 2-4 day trips my Ipad works fine. For longer (such as this TDY) I carry my laptop. To keep the bags light I pack the chargers in my suitcase. I also have a set of chargers that live at home and a set that travel. After forgetting my laptop charger for the second time, it was worth the $70 for a spare. Since they all “live” in my luggage, it’s never forgotten. Even then I pack a spare cell phone charger…cause ya never know.

Crash N Burn Airlines…..CBA….catchy!

I don’t commute and so far never have. I do however have several friends that do so. Some commute for a lifestyle choice….some by force.

One great perk of working for an airline is that you can live anywhere in the world. There is one pilot at my airline that commutes from from Romania! That’s a 2 leg minimum International commute.

Now back to the question. Yes you can live in San Diego and commute to Seattle.  How easy is the commute? Well lets take a look.

Looking at today there are 7 flights a day between SAN and SEA. All on Alaska Airlines. The first flight leaves SAN at 7AM and gets you to Seattle at 9:20 AM. On the reverse trip the last flight BACK to SAN leaves at 8PM getting to SAN at 10:30PM.

I’m going to look at this as if I was a line holder at CBA airlines who lived in SAN and was based in SEA.

When bidding trips I would look at ” commutable” lines. The definition of commutable all depends on where you live. Some cities have 15 flights a day starting at 5AM ending at 11PM. Most have less.

At my airline I have to sign in 1 hour prior. So I would need a trip that started after 11:30AM. On the backside I need a trip that terminates before 7PM. The earlier the termination the better as 30 minutes late could mean I miss the last flight.

My current airline does a decent job of creating a variety of commutable lines. Late starts and early finishes. If I were to be awarded a line that was only commutable on the front end (meaning it terminates after 8PM) then I would have to:

1) Plan on paying for a hotel each week

2) Hope to drop or trade the last flight/turn

Paying for a hotel week isn’t desirable. All hopes would be to trade the last flight or turn. Commutable on the back end only has the same issues.

Of course San Diego is a suburb of Los Angeles (I think everywhere in California is a Suburb of Los Angeles or San Francisco).

Driving to SNA would net another 6 flights to SEA. Driving all the way to LAX nets over 20 flights a day across 3 airlines. That would be my best bet.

There is another issue with commuting. Unless your airline has a base from your city….you will be paying for parking on your own. This could get very expensive. I know some pilots who park at hotels (with the hotel permission of course) and take the hotel shuttle to the airport. Others park near subway/rail stations and use public transportation. If you’re really lucky your spouse will be at your beck and call to drop you off and pick you up. That will last until your commute flight home is delayed and gets in at 3AM.

With that covered there is another “issue” with commuting. Time. From SAN to SEA isn’t too bad….same time zone. To catch the 7AM flight I would get up at 5:30AM. Once I started my trip at 11AM I could legally work until 1AM extendable until 3AM with weather/mechanical delays. Worst case scenario for sure, but it can happen. Commuting west to east is tough. If I were IAD based the first flight out of SAN is at 8AM arriving at IAD at 3:30PM. The last flight from IAD to SAN leaves at 4:55PM. I would be amazed if there was even one commutable line to fit that schedule.

East to West commuting is much easier. I will say I have a friend that commutes from PHX to ATL. She is able to hold lines that start late and finish early.

At the start of this post I said commuting is a lifestyle choice. Picking up and moving to the city where you are based may not make sense. If you have a family with kids, moving them out of school, selling a house and having your spouse get a new job is a lot to ask. Also many bases are in high priced cities (ORD, IAD, JFK, EWR, LGA, The Entire State of California). Moving might be financially prohibitive. I know many pilots who started off living in base, but due to airline management changes, they had to pick between commuting or quitting as their base closed/ shrunk. A Captain told me to never move your family for this job as it could be one move after another.

This covers line holders. What about reserve pilots? Simple. If you commute plan on spending $250-$600 on a crashpad…..each month. That’s several thousand dollars a year spent on an apartment with other airline employees. Don’t forget $9-$15 a day for parking!

Right now I am on reserve. I get 11 days off a month. Commuting to reserve could easily eat up 4 of my days off each month as I might not finish/be released from scheduling until late at night. Additionally I might have an early report. If I have to be available at 6AM, I would likely have to commute in the night before. It’s ugly. Doable….but ugly.

A lot of information. Hope it makes sense.

Does it includes free food or its up to the crew to pay for it?

Hotels…..some are awesome (Hyatt Place!)…some are not so awesome (Comfort Inn).

While on a trip all hotels are paid for by my airline. The union stipulates what level of hotels the airline is allowed to place crews in. The airline must try to select hotels with a gym for example. Some hotels have amazing work out facilities (Marriott’s and Hyatt Place) while others have old, worn out, rusty pieces of metal.

Depending on the length of the overnight the airline must attempt to select hotels with food/activities around. For short overnights the airline must attempt to select a hotel close to the airport to reduce drive time and increase rest time. For longer overnights the airline must attempt to select hotels located around places to eat and entertainment. Notice I use the words try and attempt. Yeah.

I will say 99% of the hotels I stay at are very nice. There are pilots and flight attendants that review hotels and work with the airline on which hotels to use in each city.

Staying in hotels used to be exciting for me. Now….not so much. I have gotten used to just leaving without having to sign or pay. When I travel with my wife it feels odd to “pay” for a hotel room…even though most of the time we use points…so we don’t really pay.

As far as meals, some hotels offer free breakfast, dinner or happy hour o’dourves. Many offer free Internet. As part of the contract every hotel I have stayed in while at my airline comps any Internet charge which is nice as it cost them next to nothing. I have noticed the “nicer” the hotel….the less they offer free. Holiday Inn Express gives free Internet, free hot breakfast (I love their cinnamon rolls) and has an awesome showerhead (my wife bought me the same model for Christmas a few years ago). The Marriott has none of those. The Marriott does offer nicer beds, fancier rooms and really nice smelling lotion (my skin gets really dry while flying).

For each hour I am away from base I get per diem. Over the course of a month a typical line holder gets $350-$550 a month in per diem. This can really help get by during the first few years at an airline. Back when I held a line, I spent at most $230 a month while eating on the road while taking $400 a month home in per diem. I could have spent WAY less if I watched my spending and brought along more snacks/food.

I haven’t flown Internationally yet for an overnight, just for turns. I do hear from the crews that do overnights in Mexico and Canada that most of the hotels are on par with Domestic. A few cities have the crews staying at very nice vacation resorts. Would be nice.

There is a lot of criteria involved in getting a FAA Medical. I am not…and will never be an authority on the subject. Every person has unique circumstances that could disqualify them from getting a medical. Additionally someone might have an issue which they think MIGHT disqualify them when in reality it doesn’t.

My airline requires pilots to be examined by an FAA approved medical examiner (AME):

• Captains – once each six months if over age 40 or once each 12 months if they are under 40
• First Officers – Once a year

As far as which class of medical is required; Captains must always have a First Class Medical. First Officers are required to have at least a Second Class Medical Certificate. It is my responsibility to have a current First Class Medical Certificate prior to the beginning of Captain training.

My first experience with an AME was horrible. I was getting ready to start training at ATP. I used FlightPhysical.com to find an AME. Just my “luck” there was one less than a mile from my house. I made an appointment for the next day. At the time I drank a lot of coffee, smoked and never exercised. ATP recommended me getting a First Class Medical to make sure I would qualify for one later down the road. I have qualified for one every time since.

When I arrived the Dr. seemed “off”. He had not done a flight physical in quite some time. After the eye test and getting my vitals, he told me my blood pressure was borderline high. At the time it was 140/95. Yeah…high. I explained that I had a really stressful day at work and had chugged down a bunch of coffee right before I came.

The next thing I knew I was laying on a table getting my chest shaved! I was 29 years old and he was getting ready to give me an EKG exam! The results were to be transmitted to Oklahoma, City and I would be notified if the medical would be denied. I paid the $195 for that exam!

I left there even more stressed out. All my life I wanted to be a pilot. Suddenly the door was closing. Saying I was a little depressed would be putting it lightly.

Everything turned out okay. My blood pressure was border line hypertension.

With diet, coffee, exercise, and quitting smoking, I am now down to 118/75. No drugs needed. Okay coffee wasn’t part of my lowering of blood pressure…but I refuse to give it up! Every other week there is a story on the news about the benefits of coffee!

Since then I found a better AME. My current AME is a no-nonsense doctor. He charges a flat $35 and is very efficient. Many pilots at my airline use him.

As far as my health. I wear contacts. That’s about it. I don’t take any medications. And with my blood pressure under control….I’m just an average guy.

A word of caution for those that think they might have a disqualifying condition. Don’t go to an AME to find out. If you get examined by an AME for purposes of getting a physical, they must report the results to the FAA. A better way to find out is to use the FAA.gov website…it’s way easy to find information. Okay so it’s no where near easy….but it’s better than it used to be. Another way is to anonymously ask an AME. How so? Well Jetcareers.com has a Ask A Flight Surgeon. Before asking a question, just browse what has already been asked. Chances are there is someone out there with the same issue.

One thing I don’t care about the FAA medical process is the piece of paper it’s printed on. I have a “Costanza” wallet (Seinfeld reference). My wallet at any one time has receipts dating back several years. No reason why. Ignorance really. My friends often make fun of my huge wallet….it’s painful to sit on. There isn’t much money in there…..just crap. Anyways keeping track of this little slip of paper is a challenge for me. I am going to look into laminating my next medical. I haven’t lost a medical slip yet…but I’ve gotten close.

My current medical expires on the 16th. I am going in on the 12th to get a new one.

One of the freedoms of working for an airline is that you don’t have to live where you are based. Living in base means being able to drive to work. Of course sometimes a pilot might live in base only to have the base close….and they become commuters.

I am currently toward the end of a book about the demise of Braniff airlines. Toward the end of the airline, employees were being moved all around the system due to furloughs and the closing of bases. There were employees who moved three times in three years.

Currently I don’t commute. I am pondering the idea though. I have yet to meet anyone who enjoys commuting or says it’s easy. Well there was one guy…but he is single, no pets and young.

Airline commuting policies vary. Most of the “good” airlines allow flight crew members to miss 2 to 3 assignments per year due to commuting problems. At my airline a flight crew member must list on at least 2 flights (on a regularly scheduled air carrier)in order to qualify under the rule. If they list on two flights and can’t get on (and will miss their assignment), they must call crew scheduling and let them know they will not make the assignment and that they wish to use the commuter policy. The flight crew member will not be paid for the flights that they miss. If the assignment is a multi-day trip they can still attempt to commute to base and pick up the rest of the trip. The flight crew member will be paid for the remainder of the trip. Additionally if the flight crew member misses an assignment due to a late flight (the flight they commuted on would have allowed them to be on time, but ended up arriving too late) they can still use the commuter policy.

Commuting experiences vary. I know quite a few Flight Attendants and Pilots who live in one outstation that has an unusually high number of daily flights to base. The flights typically have plenty of open seats. One Flight Attendant in particular has only used the commuting policy once in the 6 years she has been here. There are many more cities where commuting is very tough even with a large number of flights. Don’t assume just because the city you live in has a lot of air service that it will be easy to commute.

One really senior Captain I have flown with has a two leg commute to get to work. He lives in a pretty small town in the upper Mid-west not served by our airline and has no mainline service. He commutes/jumpseats on one airline to a city where he can then catch a ride on mainline to base.

I have quite a few friends who commute to work on Fedex/UPS. There is an obscure policy which allows shipping of people in boxes as long as they have sufficient air space. With the employee discount we get as pilots, FEDEX/UPS shipping of ourselves is really affordable. Hmmm…okay not really. Fedex/UPS have several jumpseats available for travel. After their own pilots are taken care of, pilots from other airlines are welcome to catch a ride.

The stories I have heard from those that have used Fedex/UPS are all positive. The companies make it easy to list, give instructions on where to be and when, and typically order a meal free of charge for the jumpseater! The downsides of using Fedex/UPS are that they typically involves overnight flights (which could be a positive) and they normally park quite a distance from the main passenger terminal. Getting a ride from the cargo ramp to the passenger terminal can be tricky.

If a Flight Crew member misses more than the allowed flight assignments due to commuting they could cease to be a Flight Crew member.

Also, are the headsets worn during all phases of flight, or are they just required during certain phases?

Thanks!

When I first started flying I bought a David Clark headset (a h10-13.4). It was very high quality, but squeezed the heck out of my head. There is a reason why they are nicknamed David Clamps. I quickly bought a Telex Stratus 30XT headset. It was ANR and I loved it. I wanted to use it at my airline, but it wasn’t TSO approved.

When shopping for a headset I would go ahead and buy one TSO approved. I didn’t know what the heck TSO was when I started flying. TSO stands for Technical Standard Order. A TSO’d  headset  has met minimum performance standards issued by the FAA for specified materials, parts, processes, and appliances used on civil aircraft. Not all headsets are TSO’d. The FAA requires airline pilots to use TSO’d headsets. Some pilots use non TSO’d headsets thinking they will never get caught. True the risk are low, but are still too high for me.

My current headset is a Telex 500 ANR headset (TSO approved!). The headset retails for $500! I bought it for $100. How ? Well the eBay seller misspelled Telex (he spelled it Tellex) so I was the only bidder. I search for misspellings.

I am pretty happy with the Telex 500 ANR. My two biggest gripes are it uses 9-volt batteries and the ear muffs aren’t easily replaced. For $100 I am happy….if I spent the full $500 I would be upset.

My airline (and maybe the FAA) requires that I (along with the Captain) wear a headset while taxiing and under FL180. I normally wear it the entire flight. The CRJ is very quiet once up at cruise altitude. I still wear my headset. Hearing is important. The extreme majority of my Captains don’t hear nearly as well as they should. This comes from years of flying loud airplanes with crappy or no headsets. Many of them take off their headsets whenever they aren’t required. No thanks. Once hearing is lost, you can’t get it back. The ERJ’s (135,140 and 145s) are MUCH louder than the CRJ. This is due to Embraer using the exact same cockpit as the Embraer Brasillia (a turboprop). The Brasillia cockpit is quiet for a turboprop. The Brasillia flies at turboprop speeds. The ERJ flies at jet speeds. High speeds in a cockpit designed for low speeds equals a very loud ride. I have only jumpseated in the ERJ once….I was glad I had my headset!

The airline supplies 3 David Clark headsets in each cockpit. One for each pilot and one for a jump seater. I have used them maybe twice, but only after a very intense cleaning with alcohol wipes.

The choice for ANR vs NON-ANR is a personal one. Remember, once you lose a part of your hearing you will never get it back!