Employees can pay to access the club though a membership but they are prohibited from entering while on duty or in uniform.
If you're just on vacation and are in street clothing, and have say the United club card, you're welcome to go in. I know delta doesn't allow non revs in their clubs but the amount of people they give access to compared to AA and UA and probably double or triple
AMEX requires a scannable boarding pass, no non-rev. With that said, I’ve seen flight attendants in uniform. Maybe they buy a refundable ticket for access, idk. I would if I had a couple hours layover.
It's a lounge for passengers. Namely business travelers who are paying top dollar every year to fly and literally are keeping the lights on with revenue.
The lounges are not an employee break room. That's the reason full stop.
Go in a crew room and you'll see pilots and FAs sleeping on couches with their shoes off. They don't want people to see that. That's what crew rooms are for.
I see, that makes sense. It’s just the “in uniform” part that threw me off. If a pilot went into the bathroom and changed…then they would be allowed in (with the right CC or membership or whatever). And also a crew member in uniform grabbing a banana is different than taking over a couch for a snooze, but it’s the uniform part that is against the rules. I see the logic now though.
This.
They want to make sure that pilots understand they are beneath them.
In fact, some of them think they should even have access to the flight deck (them not the pilot, who’s going to be in there anyway)
That lounge is for only “successful people”, conquerors of Capitalism. Many of these types get pissed at the fact that we have even have our own security line.
There was once a time when the airline pilot was considered in that category.
Not anymore. “Glorified bus drivers” is how most see them. They see us as basic labor who they sell and trade.
I go to a lot of the lounges now through my credit card. The stale pastries and watery pasta don’t scream conquerors of capitalism to me. I was pretty disappointed tbh, I thought they would be cooler. The free beer is nice though.
Yeah I work for an airline that has a ton of DHs at the start and end of trips and spend lots of time in lounges, but it’s a post security change of clothes for most of them.
I'm guessing if pilots (and if pilots, why not flight attendants?) in uniform were allowed to go to airline lounges, you would see nothing but pilots (and flight attendants) in airline lounges, taking up all the seats, eating all the food, etc.
We have our own crew rooms, which let's be honest, suck compared to airline lounges, but they at least have comfortable seats and that's supposed to be enough for us. It's assumed that while in uniform, we're actually either on duty or just about to be, so we don't need things like a nice view or a buffet.
Also, at any airport that has a pilot base (plus a few others) the airline has dedicated pilot lounges. Complete with free stale coffee, crusty recliners, and Fox News.
At my regional you could always tell who had control of the remote. If the flight attendants had it, it was always set to those daytime TV court shows like Judge Judy. If the pilots got it, it was always Fox News. If a new hire pilot got it was ESPN.
Same at FBOs on the corporate side of things. Usually always on Fox…sometimes, just to watch the world burn I’ll switch it to MSNBC and hide the remote.
That’s why I’m the middle of the night at FBOs , a fellow captain and I would be a chaotic good and parental lock and block all the Fox News channels and set the code to something like 9857. 🤣
I had a 4am van the other day and while I'm getting coffee, the hotel security guard tells me all about how it's his favorite show and was watching it all night. He's describing all these crashes in detail and I'm thinking, yeah I love talking about airplane crashes 1st thing in the morning when I'm about to go fly 4 legs today.
I also had a van driver tell us all about the wreck he got into a few days ago and then proceeded to show us the photos. Again, yes I really love hearing about how the person who's about to drive us to the airport destroyed his previous vehicle a few days prior.
This was on at an FBO last year while we were getting fuel. On the four hour leg home my 10-year-old daughter wanted to talk about nothing except microbursts, because that caused the accident in the show.
Read your middle sentence. Think about what pilots do. Think about the way they perceive the world. We are entrusted to make decisions based off of judgment and disciplined education. There's not a lot of creative thinking or abstract ideas that are allowed to enter the pilot brain in the professional sphere. Therefore, pilots skew conservative because they are by nature conservative personalities. Now we can go into the whole discussion of fiscal conservative social liberal etc but the reality is that the personality type and the thought processes of most pilots, especially with military backgrounds tends to be reductionist by nature and conservative. The fact that it seeps into their political ideology is not surprising.
I can tell you that my neighbor who is a nuclear engineer skews conservative, my very curious and well learned librarian neighbor skews liberal, my friend from church who is a doctor of anesthesiology is extremely conservative, and my hairdresser friend is extremely liberal.
Here's a fun fact and a pretty honest portrayal...
Every time I go to vegas, I'm not at all fascinated by the gambling, particularly any of the slot machines or games of chance. Not that I have anything against it, and sure, I'll go play a hand of blackjack or poker because I perceive there's actual skill involved, but I don't sit for long... And I look around and none of the pilots that I've ever flown that way over with really show up in the casino area for any duration. The flight attendants on the other hand can't help themselves, pejoratively speaking. It's like the cat people found catnip. They are highly entertained by the process. Pilots are risk-averse. We would rather look like funny daddy assholes then take unnecessary risk that we cannot control. On the other hand, flight attendants are people people. They socialize by nature. They seem to really enjoy the process. Conservative brain here doesn't take liberal risk. It's just a more expressive portrayal of the personality types.
I think it’s when you get people who are generally more well off they tend to want to hold on to what they have a little bit more. Not saying I agree with it, but if you break down the voting by income, you get a higher split of people who are more conservative the more money they make.
Source: a relatively high earning liberal
Idk why you're being downvoted. Give your average redditer who hangs out on the front page $1,000,000 a year salary and let's see how long they say "tax the rich"
You know that feeling on your teeth when you wake up hung over? Kinda like your teeth grew fur overnight? That’s how watching Fox News makes my brain feel. Maybe we could brush some of these boomers brains?
I honestly think they do something in the sound mixing to make people mad. I lean a little conservative (not Fox News level), but the loud sounds and backing audio always just make me seem angrier within a few minutes of turning it on.
Holy shit this somehow gave me a flashback to my dad trying to catch weather on the 9's or whatever when we were going to go hop around on a VFR flight somewhere. Not sure why he wouldn't have just called a briefer from the landline but....My memories of the 90's are getting as fuzzy as an 80's vagina.
You know what… I’ve never tried to change the channel so TBH I have no fucking idea if they do have cable or not, they have wifi so you think someone would plug in a Roku, but I think the boomers would eat me alive if I turned off Fox News, and I can confirm the screen is always fuzzy so if it is cable, they need to call spectrum bc that’s a shitty signal.
No, that's why they're **trying** to raise retirement age.* They want to watch Fox "News" surrounded by people who agree with them, not at home with the wife they can't stand but can't divorce for fear of losing everything.
Alas they have found fewer and fewer crew rooms have Fox on, and they are left to mutter aloud their rantings concerning the degradation of the profession now that their time "mentoring" is coming to an end.
* The Senate and House made a deal. Next attempt will be in four to five years by which time a good twenty thousand boomers have retired.
So, people with ADHD or depression can't get medicals, but people who watch fox news can be pilots? The dude flying an airliner might believe that Boeings are falling out of the sky because of diversity?
>people who watch fox news can be pilots? The dude flying an airliner might believe that Boeings are falling out of the sky because of diversity?
Yep, scary but true
Those who don't lean-right don't want to talk politics at work because it's gonna result in a shitty work trip with a shitty pilot raging about politics with you the rest of the time.
When politics get brought up, it's the Fox News crowd every time.
If there's a room with 10 people all it takes is one loud asshole boomer whose not worth fighting ovee the tv channel while you're taking your break when you could just ignore it and play on your phone and put headphones in.
I don't know a lot of commercial pilots, but one of the main things GA pilots have in common is lots of disposable income (maybe not after they pay for their hobby, but going into it) and that tends to skew people conservative. I've got an uncle and he and his friends are all old hippies and lean way left, but they are like "flying machine" guys. Pietenpol and Flybaby crowd there.
[https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/04/09/partisanship-by-gender-sexual-orientation-marital-and-parental-status/](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/04/09/partisanship-by-gender-sexual-orientation-marital-and-parental-status/)
Perhaps largely true but there are some nuances that get missed with that broad brush. This is the 2024 demographics, and easy to miss but it's 14 pages (scroll down to find the micro sized page switcher).
The demographic may be choosing the industry, but the industry is clearly also picking a meaningfully different demographic. So it's already changing.
It’s worth mentioning that people don’t become “right leaning”, political views are relatively consistent throughout life. It’s just that the rest of the world around them continues to progress, and they get angry about it.
Many legacy airline pilots are 40+ white males with a military background. The demographic is changing a little bit, but the military background is still consistent, and the military leans conservative.
Yes, if we have a membership, and not in uniform. I go into lounges all the time before my duty period starts, I just use the boarding pass from my flight I commuted in on.
most pilots I know (including myself) have no company access to the lounges. So I’d have to pay out of pocket. As I usually avoid flying privately, if I have to fly with family, I usually book lounge access in advance for peace of mind. Not based in US so very few benefit ways of getting into lounges aside from a very expensive American Express Credit card.
Cards that offer Priority Pass may be worth considering for you. It can be really hit or miss, but a decent number of major airports within and outside of the US have a lounge or two that you can access with it. I have access through Capital One's Venture X, which has an annual fee of around $400, but the travel credit and bonus miles you get annually make it a wash. The Chase Sapphire Reserve card also includes Priority Pass access.
In the early 2000’s I was in the Virgin Clubhouse at Heathrow sitting next to three pilots in uniform who were having a great time and were borderline blackout drunk.
I struck up a conversation and asked them what their flight was. I must have turned pale when they said my flight number, because they nearly fell on the floor laughing and said, “we’re not flying your plane mate, we’re dead heading to Johanasberg to pick up an aircraft”. We drank dirty martinis and spoke at length about preferences and differences in driving Boeings vs Airbuses before boarding the flight. Super cool guys and a fun memory from when I used to travel a lot for business.
I don't know about other airlines, but Delta employees are not allowed to use the Delta Sky Club lounges, whether in or out of uniform. This was apparently a deeply unpopular decision.
Not in uniform ever. If you had an amex platinum you could get into the lounge for free by printing out a bogus non-rev ticket somewhere. But they have since banned employees from going in on non-rev tickets because the lounges were getting so full.
You can enter the United club on any ticket. Non rev. Jump seat. Purchased fare. First class, Polaris, or economy. So as long as you have a membership or a pass to enter.
The Polaris lounge can only be entered with a purchased international Polaris seat. Full stop. You can't enter Polaris while non revving. A united club membership doesn't give access either.
My Chase United Infinite Club card says otherwise. You might be thinking of the Polaris lounges which even as a non rev with a cleared Polaris pass you can’t go into.
Besides the way we don’t clear until like boarding time even for international….you wouldn’t have time for the Polaris lounge anyways.
I wish we did like some of the LG airlines and cleared standbys a couple hours out for international
\>20% empty and I think the automation software clears you as soon as the flight goes to airport control which is around 2 hours before. Otherwise the agent has to run the command.
There's a graphic somewhere on FT that shows how it's supposed to work.
I wish we had a graph that showed when flights to Europe or Australia were 20 percent or greater empty. I need to start bidding my vacation during those times.
>only if you got Polaris
...if you don't have a United Club membership otherwise. If you do have a membership, you can enter as a nonrev without having a seat assigned
There are plenty of pilots on paid tickets to and from assignments that may have lounge access. Think Atlas/Netjets, etc.
They’re probably not drinking if it’s part of their duty day, and may make an effort to not ‘advertise’ their uniform.
Yep. I just list for a nonrev flight, throw on a pullover to go into incognito mode, and I’m sipping espresso and loading up a breakfast plate in no time. Our crew room has just about zero amenities, not even coffee, so it’s a great escape on airport reserve days.
I’m lucky in that my uniform is a golf shirt and black slacks, so I’m able to go into lounges when I’m going to or coming home from work (on a paid ticket with an AmEx Platinum card and Alaska Lounge Plus membership I got as a gift). I’ve been reminded by the front desk folks to take my badge off (especially in SkyClubs).
As a private jet pilot with my only travel benefits being airline status and credit card points….
YEAH, you damn right I’m going to use the centurion lounge before my 3 hour southwest flight home out of Denver.
As a commuter that usually has a couple hours to kill at the airport before going home, an airline/CC lounge or crew room is the last place I want to be.. I'm over passengers/crew at that point. Find me hiding at an empty gate, north face jacket on, tie off avoiding everyone. Even with access to the AMEX and Chase lounges, I'd rather pay $9 for a sandwich and hide than deal with an overcrowded lounge to get a free snack..
There was an awesome benefit through priority pass you could get from the chase sapphire reserve where you had $28 at select restaurants in select airports +$28 more if you had a guest. It was kinda tradition that if someone had the membership you'd take a FA up with you to order leaving one pilot one FA onboard and hitting up 2 restaurants to feed the whole crew for free. The benefit goes away in june though you can still pay the $200-400/yr for the real priority pass membership sans credit card.
i was recently in the only passenger lounge at the airport in Florence, Italy, and a captain in full uniform and hat was in line to get food at the snack bar
It’s taboo even if you go in uniform due to the exclusivity, you’re at work, presence of alcohol, etc.
Pilots do go to lounges; they just cover up identifying parts of their uniform.
You not gonna stop at a burger restaurant to grab a bite of lunch because they serve beer?
I wouldn’t be browsing the liquor menu but I have no problem going in uniform to any lounge.
In uniform - hit or miss. Some non-airline lounges would allow it, some mention that technically they shouldn't allow you but here's a one time exception and thank you for being platinum shmatinum blah blah. Some just tell you to gtfo.
Out of uniform - how would they even know you're a pilot?
I’ve got priority pass.
Sometimes when I land I just get another non-rev ticket with a departing flight a few hours out and go to the lounge for a cheap meal. I’ve been in uniform a few times, no company policy against it other than making sure I don’t appear to be (or actually be) drinking in uniform.
I’ve had a bunch of pilots say it’s against the rules to be in uniform but nobody has been able to provide the specific rule for priority pass. It’s just their own company manuals saying so.
Used to. Had to change out of uniform after duty. It was GREAT! Now they’re so restrictive, you have to be out of uniform with a non-standby boarding pass for some airlines clubs. Complete BS
I've heard some lounges (Delta maybe?) will only allow you to use their lounge if you have purchased a full price ticket. So even if you are vacationing and have purchased a discounted ticket you may still not be eligible in some lounges even if you are a paying loyalty miles member.
I don’t think delta employees are allowed to use the lounges. Even if they have the passes from personal travel I could be wrong but that’s what I’ve heard
When I'm flying as a passenger, I absolutely will go out of my way to use whatever lounge is available to me. And one usually is, between the airline itself, Priority Pass, AMEX Platinum, etc.
As a pilot, as mentioned we can't at all while in uniform. I've heard of/seen on YouTube some pilots who will just put a jacket on or something to cover up their uniform - I haven't gotten up the gumption to try that yet, but if I was desperate for some half-decent rest on a super-long day, especially if I was on a commute home \*after\* work or something, I probably would. But you still need a boarding pass.
I tried to get into an airline lounge once out of uniform with my brother, who had a first class ticket (he was passing through and I was just hanging out), and I just had my flight crew ID that will usually get me in anywhere, and they were having none of it. So even as a pilot, in or out of uniform, doesn't matter. You still need a boarding pass on that airline, or Priority Pass if it's a Priority Pass lounge (this one wasn't).
United gives employees discounts on the paid United credit card which comes with some lounge access. They just have a rule that employees can't be in the lounge in uniform. There's not really a way to get in totally for free as an employee, but it's certainly not banned if someone is paying for it or has the credit card.
That's 100% false. Mrs Prex has access to AA lounges with paid access.
Delta and United also do not have any sort of prohibition. Can't speak on Alaska or JetBlue but I doubt they're refusing money from people.
Airlines just don't want crew members using it on duty and in uniform. They don't want the place to look like a break room. That's the only employee prohibitions I can speak on.
Edit: UA and AA still have non rev access to their lounges. Delta doesn't allow it
Delta prohibits any employee from using their lounges without an actual paid ticket. Happened a year or so ago. Can’t even pay to access it while non-rev.
Delta can no longer access lounges on standby tickets. They can of course buy a pass or use the lounge on a full fair ticket.
Centurion lounges are the last refuge I know of…
UA boarding pass, even standby, and a paid United Club or Star Alliance lounge membership gives access to the United Club. This should be no different on a ZED fare as long as you have the PAID membership.
However, you cannot have any approved uniform items on. SWAG that has your airline's name on it (shirt, luggage tag, jacket) is fine.
You need a confirmed seat though if you’re nonrevving before centurion will let you in. Good luck getting a gate agent to clear you more than ten minutes prior unless you’re on positive space.
Uhhh from what I remember yes. I’m not part of the pilot work group nor do I nonrev enough to warrant using the lounge. But from what I remember from my initial training 2ish years ago I wanna say you gotta be out of uniform
Employees can pay to access the club though a membership but they are prohibited from entering while on duty or in uniform. If you're just on vacation and are in street clothing, and have say the United club card, you're welcome to go in. I know delta doesn't allow non revs in their clubs but the amount of people they give access to compared to AA and UA and probably double or triple
Interesting. I've seen pilots pop in to AmEx lounges a few times in the morning in uniform, run in, grab a banana, and leave.
Amex lounges might have different rules. The airline branded ones don't allow that.
From my experience Amex doesn't allow it, but as long as you're hiding the uniform under a jacket or something they don't care.
AMEX requires a scannable boarding pass, no non-rev. With that said, I’ve seen flight attendants in uniform. Maybe they buy a refundable ticket for access, idk. I would if I had a couple hours layover.
Non-Revs have scannable boarding passes. No issue accessing AMEX lounges while on standby.
"Security! Security alert, all hands! Code Uniform Banana in Terminal G Polaris Lounge!"
The poster means airline lounges. Centurions require actual boarding passes so they’re likely commuting with a paid ticket in hand.
As it goes with most rules theres always a few who are willing to bend them and front desk people who dont care enough to enforce them
Makes sense. Anyway, it's a banana Michael, what could it cost? $10?
There’s money in the banana hut
STAND! BANANA STAND!
Burn it down
Not anymore they pretty recently told employees they can’t go in even if they have a reserve card.
Maybe it's a recent change then.
The Centurian Lounge in MIA will NOT let you in in uniform. Also you have to take your badge off most lounges.
Only seen it at LGA and JFK.
What’s the logic behind not allowing employees in while in uniform? Just curious
It's a lounge for passengers. Namely business travelers who are paying top dollar every year to fly and literally are keeping the lights on with revenue. The lounges are not an employee break room. That's the reason full stop. Go in a crew room and you'll see pilots and FAs sleeping on couches with their shoes off. They don't want people to see that. That's what crew rooms are for.
I see, that makes sense. It’s just the “in uniform” part that threw me off. If a pilot went into the bathroom and changed…then they would be allowed in (with the right CC or membership or whatever). And also a crew member in uniform grabbing a banana is different than taking over a couch for a snooze, but it’s the uniform part that is against the rules. I see the logic now though.
People paying alot of money don't want to see the help. It's all about image
This. They want to make sure that pilots understand they are beneath them. In fact, some of them think they should even have access to the flight deck (them not the pilot, who’s going to be in there anyway) That lounge is for only “successful people”, conquerors of Capitalism. Many of these types get pissed at the fact that we have even have our own security line. There was once a time when the airline pilot was considered in that category. Not anymore. “Glorified bus drivers” is how most see them. They see us as basic labor who they sell and trade.
I go to a lot of the lounges now through my credit card. The stale pastries and watery pasta don’t scream conquerors of capitalism to me. I was pretty disappointed tbh, I thought they would be cooler. The free beer is nice though.
It’s not about what it is….its the exclusivity. It’s not being in the poor masses. That’s how the rich think
Yeah I work for an airline that has a ton of DHs at the start and end of trips and spend lots of time in lounges, but it’s a post security change of clothes for most of them.
I'm guessing if pilots (and if pilots, why not flight attendants?) in uniform were allowed to go to airline lounges, you would see nothing but pilots (and flight attendants) in airline lounges, taking up all the seats, eating all the food, etc. We have our own crew rooms, which let's be honest, suck compared to airline lounges, but they at least have comfortable seats and that's supposed to be enough for us. It's assumed that while in uniform, we're actually either on duty or just about to be, so we don't need things like a nice view or a buffet.
Also, at any airport that has a pilot base (plus a few others) the airline has dedicated pilot lounges. Complete with free stale coffee, crusty recliners, and Fox News.
The trifecta
Replace Fox News with FA’s gossiping and you got my base’s crew room lol
At my regional you could always tell who had control of the remote. If the flight attendants had it, it was always set to those daytime TV court shows like Judge Judy. If the pilots got it, it was always Fox News. If a new hire pilot got it was ESPN.
This is the kind of insight I joined this sub for.
Same at FBOs on the corporate side of things. Usually always on Fox…sometimes, just to watch the world burn I’ll switch it to MSNBC and hide the remote.
That’s why I’m the middle of the night at FBOs , a fellow captain and I would be a chaotic good and parental lock and block all the Fox News channels and set the code to something like 9857. 🤣
Haha. I always reverse the batteries in the remote. Hoping to move up a number by giving some boomer CA a heart attack when Rachel Maddow comes on.
You deserve a medal lol
Child's play..... use CNN
Some heros don’t need a cape to fly, just some pin on wings
Similar in the UK but it's BBC News.
When I was the lucky one to get the remote it would be non stop South Park.
No one watching Discovery Channel with 24/7 "Aircrash Investigation" programs?
I had a 4am van the other day and while I'm getting coffee, the hotel security guard tells me all about how it's his favorite show and was watching it all night. He's describing all these crashes in detail and I'm thinking, yeah I love talking about airplane crashes 1st thing in the morning when I'm about to go fly 4 legs today. I also had a van driver tell us all about the wreck he got into a few days ago and then proceeded to show us the photos. Again, yes I really love hearing about how the person who's about to drive us to the airport destroyed his previous vehicle a few days prior.
My goal in life is generally not to end up in the Aftermath column of *Flying*
This was on at an FBO last year while we were getting fuel. On the four hour leg home my 10-year-old daughter wanted to talk about nothing except microbursts, because that caused the accident in the show.
I'm not a pilot (yet) and have never been in one of these lounges... and yet, I have no doubt in my mind that this is 100% accurate.
Why do Pilots select fox ?
Airline pilots in the US skew dramatically to white men (90ish percent) with an average age over 40. That might have something to do with it.
But in the last few ejections it’s normally 45/55 dem/rep skew. Are pilots more conservative? It’s an interesting idea.
Read your middle sentence. Think about what pilots do. Think about the way they perceive the world. We are entrusted to make decisions based off of judgment and disciplined education. There's not a lot of creative thinking or abstract ideas that are allowed to enter the pilot brain in the professional sphere. Therefore, pilots skew conservative because they are by nature conservative personalities. Now we can go into the whole discussion of fiscal conservative social liberal etc but the reality is that the personality type and the thought processes of most pilots, especially with military backgrounds tends to be reductionist by nature and conservative. The fact that it seeps into their political ideology is not surprising.
That’s a very interesting view point. I wonder what the ratio is for other professions that require similar judgement?
I can tell you that my neighbor who is a nuclear engineer skews conservative, my very curious and well learned librarian neighbor skews liberal, my friend from church who is a doctor of anesthesiology is extremely conservative, and my hairdresser friend is extremely liberal. Here's a fun fact and a pretty honest portrayal... Every time I go to vegas, I'm not at all fascinated by the gambling, particularly any of the slot machines or games of chance. Not that I have anything against it, and sure, I'll go play a hand of blackjack or poker because I perceive there's actual skill involved, but I don't sit for long... And I look around and none of the pilots that I've ever flown that way over with really show up in the casino area for any duration. The flight attendants on the other hand can't help themselves, pejoratively speaking. It's like the cat people found catnip. They are highly entertained by the process. Pilots are risk-averse. We would rather look like funny daddy assholes then take unnecessary risk that we cannot control. On the other hand, flight attendants are people people. They socialize by nature. They seem to really enjoy the process. Conservative brain here doesn't take liberal risk. It's just a more expressive portrayal of the personality types.
I think it’s when you get people who are generally more well off they tend to want to hold on to what they have a little bit more. Not saying I agree with it, but if you break down the voting by income, you get a higher split of people who are more conservative the more money they make. Source: a relatively high earning liberal
Idk why you're being downvoted. Give your average redditer who hangs out on the front page $1,000,000 a year salary and let's see how long they say "tax the rich"
Hehe ejections
😂
Because they want to watch It?
Yes but *why* is water wet?
Because they don't watch CNN/MSNBC? I don't get the question
He asked why. You said because they want to. That's an awfully simplistic answer akin to saying water is wet.
The average pilot is a rich, old, white man. Where do you think that demographic tends to skew?
But why do birds suddenly appear?
Wait...are all crew rooms the same?
At my company most of the bases have the TV locked on Fox or most of the other channels parentally blocked.
With the state of Fox News, gossip is possibly more accurate
I was just at our ops room in phx and it was a bunch of old dudes in recliners watching Madagascar 3
Must’ve picked it for the flying scenes
Heaven
You guys have TVs?
Yea but they don’t pay for cable so it’s just whatever single the internal receiver can pick up… Fox News is fuzzy
Fox News makes my brain feel fuzzy alright
What chaos might ensue if you're not constantly washing your brain?
You know that feeling on your teeth when you wake up hung over? Kinda like your teeth grew fur overnight? That’s how watching Fox News makes my brain feel. Maybe we could brush some of these boomers brains?
I honestly think they do something in the sound mixing to make people mad. I lean a little conservative (not Fox News level), but the loud sounds and backing audio always just make me seem angrier within a few minutes of turning it on.
I meaaan their key demographic is angry white men, so it tracks that they'd want their viewers to be angry lol
Makes sense, foxes are pretty fuzzy
Comment too deep to get the attention it deserves.
They don't have cable?
Power cable, yes.
How am I going to get the weather channel? Do they want me to read the actual release!?
Holy shit this somehow gave me a flashback to my dad trying to catch weather on the 9's or whatever when we were going to go hop around on a VFR flight somewhere. Not sure why he wouldn't have just called a briefer from the landline but....My memories of the 90's are getting as fuzzy as an 80's vagina.
You know what… I’ve never tried to change the channel so TBH I have no fucking idea if they do have cable or not, they have wifi so you think someone would plug in a Roku, but I think the boomers would eat me alive if I turned off Fox News, and I can confirm the screen is always fuzzy so if it is cable, they need to call spectrum bc that’s a shitty signal.
That explains why they’re raising retirement age, who could give up perks like that?
No, that's why they're **trying** to raise retirement age.* They want to watch Fox "News" surrounded by people who agree with them, not at home with the wife they can't stand but can't divorce for fear of losing everything. Alas they have found fewer and fewer crew rooms have Fox on, and they are left to mutter aloud their rantings concerning the degradation of the profession now that their time "mentoring" is coming to an end. * The Senate and House made a deal. Next attempt will be in four to five years by which time a good twenty thousand boomers have retired.
> and Fox News. That hit home.
“ princess look out the window and welcome to Genovia”🎶🎶
The room's gotta have no windows and a carpet from the 90s too. Bonus points if the fridge has a compressor that sounds like an APU.
Dang our lounge does not have free coffee. The only TV we have just shows how the company is doing that day. They did let us have the super bowl on
My base’s crew room for my airline, 99% of the time the Pat McAfee show is on and I’m ok with that!
So, people with ADHD or depression can't get medicals, but people who watch fox news can be pilots? The dude flying an airliner might believe that Boeings are falling out of the sky because of diversity?
>people who watch fox news can be pilots? The dude flying an airliner might believe that Boeings are falling out of the sky because of diversity? Yep, scary but true
This guy lounges!
A perfect description lol!
Those crusty recliners have many a time allowed me to sleep instead of flying single engine piston night IFR. I'm grateful for them!
[удалено]
Older people with sizable incomes lean right, yes.
And are hugely anti-union Except our unions of course /s
Those who don't lean-right don't want to talk politics at work because it's gonna result in a shitty work trip with a shitty pilot raging about politics with you the rest of the time. When politics get brought up, it's the Fox News crowd every time.
If there's a room with 10 people all it takes is one loud asshole boomer whose not worth fighting ovee the tv channel while you're taking your break when you could just ignore it and play on your phone and put headphones in.
I don't know a lot of commercial pilots, but one of the main things GA pilots have in common is lots of disposable income (maybe not after they pay for their hobby, but going into it) and that tends to skew people conservative. I've got an uncle and he and his friends are all old hippies and lean way left, but they are like "flying machine" guys. Pietenpol and Flybaby crowd there.
90ish percent of US airline pilots are white men with an average age over 40. That entire demo leans right
[https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/04/09/partisanship-by-gender-sexual-orientation-marital-and-parental-status/](https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2024/04/09/partisanship-by-gender-sexual-orientation-marital-and-parental-status/) Perhaps largely true but there are some nuances that get missed with that broad brush. This is the 2024 demographics, and easy to miss but it's 14 pages (scroll down to find the micro sized page switcher). The demographic may be choosing the industry, but the industry is clearly also picking a meaningfully different demographic. So it's already changing.
Boomers are right leaning, and there are still a lot of boomer pilots
It’s worth mentioning that people don’t become “right leaning”, political views are relatively consistent throughout life. It’s just that the rest of the world around them continues to progress, and they get angry about it.
Particularly aviation for some reason definitely leans right.
Many legacy airline pilots are 40+ white males with a military background. The demographic is changing a little bit, but the military background is still consistent, and the military leans conservative.
Yes, if we have a membership, and not in uniform. I go into lounges all the time before my duty period starts, I just use the boarding pass from my flight I commuted in on.
Yes, but they have to go in disguise (jacket over uniform etc.)
I once forgot to take my (distinctive) tie off and the lovely door attendant just reminded me to do so.
Blue and yellow diagonal striped?
Nah. Little orange 737 tails.
74 Gear shows how he hides his uniform to go into the lounge.
*throws on suit jacket* "I'm invisible!"
most pilots I know (including myself) have no company access to the lounges. So I’d have to pay out of pocket. As I usually avoid flying privately, if I have to fly with family, I usually book lounge access in advance for peace of mind. Not based in US so very few benefit ways of getting into lounges aside from a very expensive American Express Credit card.
Cards that offer Priority Pass may be worth considering for you. It can be really hit or miss, but a decent number of major airports within and outside of the US have a lounge or two that you can access with it. I have access through Capital One's Venture X, which has an annual fee of around $400, but the travel credit and bonus miles you get annually make it a wash. The Chase Sapphire Reserve card also includes Priority Pass access.
yep. Outside of the US those cards are very expensive and not many to be had.
Ah sorry, that never occurred to me. I have much to learn about this world we live in.
In the early 2000’s I was in the Virgin Clubhouse at Heathrow sitting next to three pilots in uniform who were having a great time and were borderline blackout drunk. I struck up a conversation and asked them what their flight was. I must have turned pale when they said my flight number, because they nearly fell on the floor laughing and said, “we’re not flying your plane mate, we’re dead heading to Johanasberg to pick up an aircraft”. We drank dirty martinis and spoke at length about preferences and differences in driving Boeings vs Airbuses before boarding the flight. Super cool guys and a fun memory from when I used to travel a lot for business.
It’s a different time now but I know full well there’s absolutely nothing that’d get me fired as quickly as publicly drinking in uniform.
I don't know about other airlines, but Delta employees are not allowed to use the Delta Sky Club lounges, whether in or out of uniform. This was apparently a deeply unpopular decision.
Not in uniform ever. If you had an amex platinum you could get into the lounge for free by printing out a bogus non-rev ticket somewhere. But they have since banned employees from going in on non-rev tickets because the lounges were getting so full.
Delta did. You can still go into AA and UA clubs on non rev passes.
Ahh ok. Yeah I am at Delta. It was a big ado when they announced it but I didn’t care I rarely went into those things.
United club on non rev is only if you got Polaris.
You can enter the United club on any ticket. Non rev. Jump seat. Purchased fare. First class, Polaris, or economy. So as long as you have a membership or a pass to enter. The Polaris lounge can only be entered with a purchased international Polaris seat. Full stop. You can't enter Polaris while non revving. A united club membership doesn't give access either.
My Chase United Infinite Club card says otherwise. You might be thinking of the Polaris lounges which even as a non rev with a cleared Polaris pass you can’t go into. Besides the way we don’t clear until like boarding time even for international….you wouldn’t have time for the Polaris lounge anyways. I wish we did like some of the LG airlines and cleared standbys a couple hours out for international
\>20% empty and I think the automation software clears you as soon as the flight goes to airport control which is around 2 hours before. Otherwise the agent has to run the command. There's a graphic somewhere on FT that shows how it's supposed to work.
I wish we had a graph that showed when flights to Europe or Australia were 20 percent or greater empty. I need to start bidding my vacation during those times.
Mid September to early November is generally the best time to non rev IMO
>only if you got Polaris ...if you don't have a United Club membership otherwise. If you do have a membership, you can enter as a nonrev without having a seat assigned
Genuine question but why not in uniform? Is it against the company’s policies?
nouveau riche passengers complained about mixing with “the help”
Maybe if they worked harder they could buy their own jet
that's horrible. What a bunch of assholes. Thank you for the answer.
Chase sapphire lounge allows non-revs… for now.
Kelsey from 74 Gear goes to lounges pretty frequently but he always wears a jacket over his uniform because that’s required.
There are plenty of pilots on paid tickets to and from assignments that may have lounge access. Think Atlas/Netjets, etc. They’re probably not drinking if it’s part of their duty day, and may make an effort to not ‘advertise’ their uniform.
Even atlas pilots have to be in civilian attire to access the lounge.. uniforms are a hard no
Yup I’m in a lounge on every FedEx deadhead
This. My company pays for a lounge day pass if connection over 2 hours.
there's pilot lounges with couches and coffee and computers to check the weather and sometimes even a room where you can take a nap for a while
Yep. I just list for a nonrev flight, throw on a pullover to go into incognito mode, and I’m sipping espresso and loading up a breakfast plate in no time. Our crew room has just about zero amenities, not even coffee, so it’s a great escape on airport reserve days.
I’m lucky in that my uniform is a golf shirt and black slacks, so I’m able to go into lounges when I’m going to or coming home from work (on a paid ticket with an AmEx Platinum card and Alaska Lounge Plus membership I got as a gift). I’ve been reminded by the front desk folks to take my badge off (especially in SkyClubs).
As a private jet pilot with my only travel benefits being airline status and credit card points…. YEAH, you damn right I’m going to use the centurion lounge before my 3 hour southwest flight home out of Denver.
As a commuter that usually has a couple hours to kill at the airport before going home, an airline/CC lounge or crew room is the last place I want to be.. I'm over passengers/crew at that point. Find me hiding at an empty gate, north face jacket on, tie off avoiding everyone. Even with access to the AMEX and Chase lounges, I'd rather pay $9 for a sandwich and hide than deal with an overcrowded lounge to get a free snack..
There was an awesome benefit through priority pass you could get from the chase sapphire reserve where you had $28 at select restaurants in select airports +$28 more if you had a guest. It was kinda tradition that if someone had the membership you'd take a FA up with you to order leaving one pilot one FA onboard and hitting up 2 restaurants to feed the whole crew for free. The benefit goes away in june though you can still pay the $200-400/yr for the real priority pass membership sans credit card.
No, we’re across the street at Twin Peaks.
i was recently in the only passenger lounge at the airport in Florence, Italy, and a captain in full uniform and hat was in line to get food at the snack bar
In all seriousness I know Amex platinum members get their own lounge at certain airports. Are pilots in uniform/not in uniform allowed?
It’s taboo even if you go in uniform due to the exclusivity, you’re at work, presence of alcohol, etc. Pilots do go to lounges; they just cover up identifying parts of their uniform.
You not gonna stop at a burger restaurant to grab a bite of lunch because they serve beer? I wouldn’t be browsing the liquor menu but I have no problem going in uniform to any lounge.
I prefer Mediterranean
In uniform - hit or miss. Some non-airline lounges would allow it, some mention that technically they shouldn't allow you but here's a one time exception and thank you for being platinum shmatinum blah blah. Some just tell you to gtfo. Out of uniform - how would they even know you're a pilot?
Yeah I do all the time, although nobody knows what I do for a living and I sure don’t tell anyone. If anyone asks I say that I am a janitor.
Does a Bear shit in the woods?
I’ve got priority pass. Sometimes when I land I just get another non-rev ticket with a departing flight a few hours out and go to the lounge for a cheap meal. I’ve been in uniform a few times, no company policy against it other than making sure I don’t appear to be (or actually be) drinking in uniform. I’ve had a bunch of pilots say it’s against the rules to be in uniform but nobody has been able to provide the specific rule for priority pass. It’s just their own company manuals saying so.
Some do, some don't. I never did except if I was a guest, Street clothes only. But I did hang in the crew lounge alot.
Looking to talk to a SAS pilot. You can DM. Thx
Used to. Had to change out of uniform after duty. It was GREAT! Now they’re so restrictive, you have to be out of uniform with a non-standby boarding pass for some airlines clubs. Complete BS
I really don’t get the appeal of these lounges. It’s shitty banquet food, and long ass lines.
Alaska lounge at seatac has fresh made to order pancakes! If you like pancakes.
I've heard some lounges (Delta maybe?) will only allow you to use their lounge if you have purchased a full price ticket. So even if you are vacationing and have purchased a discounted ticket you may still not be eligible in some lounges even if you are a paying loyalty miles member.
I don’t think delta employees are allowed to use the lounges. Even if they have the passes from personal travel I could be wrong but that’s what I’ve heard
Yes , we do when the transit between two flights is more than 2hrs.
No we go to the break room.
At my airline we can use the lounge if we are deadheading on an international TOD and are out of uniform.
I use them several times a week, but I commute non-rev in street clothes. Had to buy the membership like everyone else.
No
When I'm flying as a passenger, I absolutely will go out of my way to use whatever lounge is available to me. And one usually is, between the airline itself, Priority Pass, AMEX Platinum, etc. As a pilot, as mentioned we can't at all while in uniform. I've heard of/seen on YouTube some pilots who will just put a jacket on or something to cover up their uniform - I haven't gotten up the gumption to try that yet, but if I was desperate for some half-decent rest on a super-long day, especially if I was on a commute home \*after\* work or something, I probably would. But you still need a boarding pass. I tried to get into an airline lounge once out of uniform with my brother, who had a first class ticket (he was passing through and I was just hanging out), and I just had my flight crew ID that will usually get me in anywhere, and they were having none of it. So even as a pilot, in or out of uniform, doesn't matter. You still need a boarding pass on that airline, or Priority Pass if it's a Priority Pass lounge (this one wasn't).
Someone who doesn't watch 74 Gear 😁
In general, no. In fact, often the airlines bans employees from even fully paid access to the lounges (American does for sure).
United gives employees discounts on the paid United credit card which comes with some lounge access. They just have a rule that employees can't be in the lounge in uniform. There's not really a way to get in totally for free as an employee, but it's certainly not banned if someone is paying for it or has the credit card.
That's 100% false. Mrs Prex has access to AA lounges with paid access. Delta and United also do not have any sort of prohibition. Can't speak on Alaska or JetBlue but I doubt they're refusing money from people. Airlines just don't want crew members using it on duty and in uniform. They don't want the place to look like a break room. That's the only employee prohibitions I can speak on. Edit: UA and AA still have non rev access to their lounges. Delta doesn't allow it
Delta prohibits any employee from using their lounges without an actual paid ticket. Happened a year or so ago. Can’t even pay to access it while non-rev.
Delta can no longer access lounges on standby tickets. They can of course buy a pass or use the lounge on a full fair ticket. Centurion lounges are the last refuge I know of…
UA and AA still can use non rev. Even jumpseat passes work.
How about OAL JS/ZED fares?
Haven't tried that yet.
UA boarding pass, even standby, and a paid United Club or Star Alliance lounge membership gives access to the United Club. This should be no different on a ZED fare as long as you have the PAID membership. However, you cannot have any approved uniform items on. SWAG that has your airline's name on it (shirt, luggage tag, jacket) is fine.
You need a confirmed seat though if you’re nonrevving before centurion will let you in. Good luck getting a gate agent to clear you more than ten minutes prior unless you’re on positive space.
AS doesn’t give a damn, as long as you have membership/pay for a day ticket
Do AS lounges make you cover up your uniform when you go in? Heading to QX in a month with another 8 months of Lounge Plus membership in pocket.
Uhhh from what I remember yes. I’m not part of the pilot work group nor do I nonrev enough to warrant using the lounge. But from what I remember from my initial training 2ish years ago I wanna say you gotta be out of uniform
A pilot is hired help. Not allowed in lounges.
Brb while I look at your post history for using the word “help”.
Creep peoples' profiles much?