anecdotes

WestJet pilot gets offensive note from passenger…

Yesterday, I was reading Yahoo! when I came across an article about a female pilot for WestJet who received a sexist note from a passenger who took issue with her gender.  The passenger berated the pilot, Carey Smith Steacy, a Canadian pilot with 17 years of experience, for being in the cockpit.  Apparently, this guy thinks she’d be better off at home, barefoot, pregnant, and cooking dinner for a man.  The offending note was written on a napkin and accused the pilot of “vanity”, since we need more mothers than pilots.

The pilot handled the asshole passenger with class, writing an open letter back, hoping he was joking.  Frankly, I think it’s too bad no one invited the passenger to deplane mid flight.  What a sexist jerk.  I’m sure the world of aviation is still heavily populated with men, but there’s no reason why a woman couldn’t do the job.  And Steacy has certainly proven she is capable.

It’s so scary that there are people in the world who still hold the view that women only belong in the kitchen, especially in a western society.  The note writer said he’d wished he’d known she was at the helm, so he could have booked another flight.  Because goodness knows, it’s much more important that the occupants of the cockpit have a cock than a clean safety record.  Sheesh!  What an idiot.

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BWI, Charleston, Dover, or Lackland?

I’m a little freaked out about the cold weather in the east.  And I have never been out west, really… unless you could the trip to Washington State we took in 2005.  It would be fun to go to California and it would be fun to go to Hawaii.  I could probably pack lighter, too.  

On the other hand, I like Europe better than the United States.  Later today, I’m hoping we’ll have more of an idea of where we should go to start our adventure.  Hopefully plane tickets won’t be too outrageously expensive if we end up not flying out of Lackland.

A friend of mine suggests we try to get to Dover Air Force Base, since we’d end up on a C17.  Those planes are pretty bare bones, but they are a lot more comfortable than regular planes are.  Instead of being stuffed in a row of seats, you get to sit along the side and once the plane is in the air, you can lie on the floor if you want to.  Better yet, those planes are usually staffed by hot young airmen.

These are photos from our last hop in May 2012.  The last photo was taken in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada, where we stopped to refuel.

It was pretty frigid there, even though it was late May.  My parents lived in Newfoundland in the early 60s.  One of my sisters was born there.  My mom used to tell me stories of people driving their cars across frozen bodies of water.

As luck would have it, I bought a knife from Williams-Sonoma in early December and it’s just now being sent to me.  It will get here after we’re gone.  With any luck, no one will steal it.

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WestJet proves that flying can bring rewards!

This morning, a Facebook friend posted this video:

Canada’s WestJet Airlines delivered a Christmas miracle to 250 people flying to Calgary when they put a big box in the airport, allowing passengers to talk to Santa before boarding.  Santa, curiously dressed in blue, asked each passenger what they wanted for Christmas.  People were pretty honest.  One guy asked for socks and underwear.  A married couple asked for a big TV.  Someone else asked for an Android.  They boarded their flights, apparently thinking nothing of their chat with Santa.

Then, once they got to the baggage hall, they waited for their luggage… and that’s where there was a miracle waiting for them.  Folks, I watched this video and was all choked up by the end.  Yes, I know it was a public relations stunt preying on peoples’ love of material things, but just the delighted looks of surprise on the passengers’ faces was enough to swell my heart.  You hear so much about how awful air travel is in these post 9/11 days.  What a treat it is to hear about something awesome happening!  And it really looked to me like the employees at WestJet who made this happen enjoyed it as much as the passengers enjoyed receiving their surprise gifts!

Now, the cynic in me hopes that no one complained that they didn’t get exactly what they wanted… or no one decides to sue because they had an accident or something, trying to get their haul out of the airport!  I know one couple got a 50 inch TV and if they drive a little Mini Cooper, like I do, it might be a challenge getting that thing home!  But I’m sure the WestJet folks thought of that and offered people the ability to ship stuff if they needed to.

Anyway, kudos to WestJet for pulling this off!  Now I want to go to Canada!

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