I used to love getting on a plane and hearing the captain list the cities, states, and landmarks we’d be flying over. It still happens sometimes, but it’s often a rarity. On a recent Delta award flight from Athens – JFK, not only did the captain come out and personally greet all Delta One passengers, but he told each of us what we would be flying over and then went seat by seat to see if we had any questions before he went back up front. WOW! Anyway, this week’s “Ask the Captain” by USA Today actually provides the logical explanation for why we no longer hear these types of announcements.
A: Many modern airplanes have position displays within the entertainment system, making the route-of-flight announcement obsolete. Many passengers do not want to hear much more from the pilots because they’re watching movies, working or doing other attention-consuming tasks. Most of the pilots I know were glad to provide route information, but now that there are new technologies, they do not feel it is wanted.
Be sure to check out the other answers in this week’s “Ask the Captain” here.
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8 comments
I wish all pilots realized that most passengers prefer a peaceful cabin. Captain Chatty always seems to wake me up from a nap when trying to play tour guide.
I might be old school but I love hearing from the pilots and know which landmarks we are passing.
What a bogus post.
Many aircraft have had video displays since the late 1990s. Nothing is new.
At the beginning of a flight would be very welcome. It gets me excited and let’s get visualize what’s going to happen. I agree that during flight though, it isn’t as necessary anymore with the in flight moving maps… Something that may disappear with all the byod and streaming options that are popular.
I like hearing the general route at the beginning. And I still do hear it from time to time, for instance on ATL-DCA recently the pilot mentioned following I-85 through Greenville, Charlotte, and then turning at Richmond into the descent. On many flights I like when you also hear “we’re just passing Richmond and about 95 miles from the airfield” when the captain asks F/As to prep the cabin for landing.
The general public used to have a much better intuitive understanding of US geography, as opposed to the people now that just punch things into GPS or Google Maps.
I flew as a commercial airline pilot and captain for many years. I carried a book that had maps with unique and fun information and trivia about the terrain 35- 50,000 feet below. I often would make an announcement starring the trivia as a question. For example, Good afternoon lady’s and gentleman. We are at our cruise altitude of 35,000 ft and we expect light turbulence for the next 10 to 15 minutes as we cross the mountain range below. For the first 5 adult passengers who can name that mountain range and its highest peak, I’ve authorize our lead flight attendant to give a free premium beverage of your choice. “. I gave away several hundred “comped” drinks over a years time. Our passengers seemed to really enjoy the games and competition. If we were to busy, I’d give a quiz sheet to the lead flight attendant and notify her or him when to read the question as it pertained to our geographic position.
@ Capt Ret Bret – Wow, that sounds amazing! Wish I had experienced one of your flights.
Seems redundant for a pilot to announce planes position etc. when it’s readily available electronically. The pilot can instead focus on flying.