Is it normal for pilots to board after the plane has already boarded and then push back 15mins later?
Posted by Shikatanai@reddit | aviation | View on Reddit | 14 comments
One of the pilots came straight back out of the cockpit with hi-vis vest on and headed down for what I expect was the walk around.
They boarded with duty free bags but no carry ons.
I’m assuming they’d already done the preflight?? But would be cutting it fine to do walk around? Alternatively maybe they flew the plane in and are turning around to fly it back out?
It’s a 3 hour international flight in an Airbus A320N.
SkyHighExpress@reddit
Geez. A Nothing post looking for something when nothing exists
Av8tr1@reddit
They probably were the crew on the last leg and had already done all the stuff that takes a while.
I regularly go into the terminal in between turns, sometimes just to stretch my legs. Completely normal to go shopping or just grab some shitty airport food while pax are boarding.
vyqz@reddit
I'm having a stroke trying to put your timeline together.
FrankDrebinOnReddit@reddit
The plane took off, and then they boarded.
sirlui9119@reddit
But the duty free bags arrived before fueling but after Christmas.
NotCook59@reddit
That pretty well sums it up.
Difficult_Camel_1119@reddit
Sometimes, crews are swapping the planes at an outstation. So possibly, they came from another plane that was late and are flying only these two legs (so no luggage needed). Maybe, they did the walkaround before boarding
BigJellyfish1906@reddit
It takes you 45 minutes to board. It takes me 5 minutes to do what I need to do. The only reason I’m there when boarding starts is for optics.
drepidural@reddit
As a general rule, the pilot has a vested interest in the safety of the flight. Unlike doctors or lawyers, pilots go down when things don’t work out.
In an industry as regulated as the airlines, I wouldn’t bat an eye at this.
Jayhawker_Pilot@reddit
Karen, sit down, shut up and enjoy the flight. The pilot is in charge and it's his plane to manage as he sees fit.
DogsReadingBooks@reddit
Not really normal, but it does happen. Sometimes pilots are late, for a number of reasons, but they could still choose to board. I used to be a gate manager and this happened sometimes. This one time, for example, the captain was late because he was called out from home standby. He told the flight attendants to go ahead with boarding. So when he arrived at the gate there was just one passenger left. The FO did the walkaround that time.
norman_9999@reddit
In a nutshell, yes. There's 100 different ways to skin a cat and get the job done.
They're professionals doing their job, I wouldn't b worried one bit.
LawManActual@reddit
Yeah. It happens. I’ve been there. Duty free line was longer than expected, or a long line at the shitter, or I really need to eat.
We are human, and it’s still an airport, sometimes timing is off.
Content_Valuable_428@reddit
Why do you care?