A good crew...

...can totally make the difference between a so-so trip and a great trip.

[Used to be a picture of flight crew and myself @ restaurant, taken down for privacy reasons]

This is Steve, Karina, Debbie, and myself at the El Torito restaurant in Sacramento last week. They were a great crew to fly with - we had a lot of fun. Crews like these make a 4-day trip go much quicker and seem much more bearable.

Fortunately, I have yet to fly with a truly horrible crew where I wanted to gnaw my own arm off by the fourth day. It's just that most MegaWhacker crews tend to be significantly older than myself, lack much of a sense of humor, & tend to stick to themselves on layovers. These crews are known as "slam-click" crews....because the hotel doors go slam, click, and you don't see them again until the next day. With crews like this, I just find something to do on my own.

It's much more enjoyable to have a fun-loving crew that you get along well with. A friendly captain you can converse with makes the legs go much quicker, and you talk & joke with the FA's between flights. During the day you'll typically make plans for the layover, so that gives you something to look forward to.

When I was interning at TWA, an old captain gave me a piece of advice: "Once you become a captain, always take great care of your crew, no matter what it costs you." I've taken that to heart, but would add that I want to be a captain my crews enjoy flying with.