United Airlines has begun to creep back into my good graces. The Airbus 320 they use is cramped. The food-for-purchase is insulting. I still don’t trust their baggage handling, so I was fortunate to be able to travel with only a carry-on suitcase this weekend. What’s to like, then?
Cockpit communications.
United allows its passengers to listen in on the communications between the pilots and ground controllers, from gate to gate. I haven’t done that in probably twenty years, and, as an airplane geek, I loved it. As we taxied onto the runway in LA, I heard a gent with an Australian accent advise the tower that he had the runway in sight and that he was concluding his approach. As we rolled down the runway, sure enough, a Quantas 747 landed on the parallel runway right next to us. When we neared New Orleans, thunderstorms forced us to circle while the storms swept over the airport. For half an hour, our pilot, the pilot of another United Airliner, and the pilot of an American plane carrying Andy and Todd chatted genially with each other and the ground as they discussed, considered and plotted new areas to loop.
There is an incredible network of controllers out there, guiding aircraft all over the country. The pilots are never alone for long, and it was a blast to be allowed to eavesdrop on that insular community for a few hours. It reminded me that if I were to rerun my life, I might well have pursued becoming a pilot. It also rekindled my love of flying.
Anything that reacquaints you with the child that still lives inside you must be a good thing.
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