A video is going viral on Reddit, showing a Delta Air Lines captain loading bags onto “his” plane, to get it to depart as quickly as possible during a delay. Massive kudos to this guy!
In this post:
Delta pilot tries his hand as a ramp agent in Atlanta
Hours ago, a Reddit user shared the following:
Stuck in ATL right now with a flight that has been delayed more than two hours. They only found one poor guy to load our bags, so the pilot went out to help. I’ve never seen anything like that!
Kudos to the one ramp agent and pilot, but who’s going to help us get off the gate?
Edit: that is Captain Paul! Awesome team.
Then there was the following update:
Update: pilot just came back on the plane to let us know they found another ramp agent to take over. He expects about another 20 minutes before we can take get off the gate.
Now I wonder if there will be anyone to unload the plane at our destination when we arrive at 3 AM?
Kudos to the ramp agents and aircraft crew.
And then this final update (along with a video showing several ramp agents meeting the flight):
Just landed! I don’t think Captain Paul is going to need to help unload the bags.
Huge kudos to Captain Paul, this is amazing to see!
It’s always so nice to see employees at an airline go above and beyond to keep the operation moving, even if something isn’t specifically their job function. I’d also point out how the captain is not only helping with loading the bags, but he’s doing so much more gently than most ramp agents I’ve seen. I’d say he has quite the career as a ramper, though I suspect that would be a slight pay downgrade for him. 😉
Anyway, while Delta definitely has the best service of the “big three” carriers, I’m not sure how much of this can be attributed to Delta’s culture of shared success (in the form of profit sharing, and aligning employees with the company’s goals), vs. just this individual being awesome.
I think it also has to be pointed out how good the optics of this are. When you see something like this as a passenger, you can’t help but be impressed, and immediately have a lasting positive impression of the brand.
Bottom line
A Delta flight was delayed by hours and apparently then had a shortage of ramp workers to load bags onto the plane. So the pilot took the situation into his own hands, and went to the ramp to load bags himself. That shows an incredible amount of initiative… how cool to see!
Going above and beyond is nice, until you get injured and insurance refuses to cover treatment as the precipitating event is not in the job description or profile.
Wait until the pilot and baggage handlers unions hear about this...
The pilot’s willingness to help is commendable, but it should not have been necessary. This is a PR-friendly mask for a failure by management. A unionized ramp wouldn't have 'prevented' the flight from leaving, it would have forced management to properly staff the station so the captain didn't have to choose between their actual job and the baggage hold.
Kudos to the pilot. He may have had other reasons like getting home that night for family reasons. I'm sure the humidity at ATL wasn't particularly pleasant to be swinging bags.
Why do they even hire ramp agents . Pilots should do this all the time, and serve food onboard . Entitled employees stealing money from investors ( read retirees ) as usual . :)
I can hear Ed now... "you're hired!" Because that sounds like the logic Delta management uses to justify their under-staffing. Why stop at loading bags? Pilots should be cleaning the lavatories and refueling the aircraft, too. It’s the ultimate shareholder-value strategy! Why pay for a ground crew when you can just make the captain do ten people's jobs during the turn? /s
Delta is the BEST! This is what happens when you treat your employees well and it shows!
Great work by the pilot to get pac on their way
Great story, Ben
*pax
If this pilot got hurt throwing a bag, no matter how softly thrown he could still tweak his back if not used to performing the motion, and he claimed an OJI, would his claim be denied. This is not his role or duty and he is likely not officially trained to do this job. I bet the claim would get denied.
The TDS (Tim Derangement Syndrome) on every Delta post is just exhausting. Some of you really need to get a new hobby.
Hey Tim. Another person just told you what we all trying to tell you.
You're deranged.
Get a new hobby.
Ok Tim, I'll get right on it.
Without knowing more precisely how long the pilot was loading the bags or how many bags he actually loaded, I think this is more performative than actually beneficial, especially at the 'gentle pace' he is performing the task. It certainly can ameliorate the frustrating delay for the pax observing and maybe it was cathartic for him, instead of siting in the cockpit fuming.
I certainly wouldn't wish him ill will, but I'd be curious...
Without knowing more precisely how long the pilot was loading the bags or how many bags he actually loaded, I think this is more performative than actually beneficial, especially at the 'gentle pace' he is performing the task. It certainly can ameliorate the frustrating delay for the pax observing and maybe it was cathartic for him, instead of siting in the cockpit fuming.
I certainly wouldn't wish him ill will, but I'd be curious to see DL's reply to an on the job injury workman's compensation claim if he were to be injured performing his good deed. Was he wearing steel toe boots ? I"m sure the F/A's & customer service ground staff @ the arrival station benefited from his goodwill.
Let’s see fight between unions. Pilot doing ramp agent job. There will be so much grievance.
seriously?
DL's ramp employees are not unionized. Only DL's pilots are unionized among large employee groups.
you confirm precisely why DL succeeds where other airlines fail
Tim, that is not the 'win' you think it is. Recall, Delta's union pilot here was doing the work. Delta's non-union baggage handlers were no where to be seen. Sounds like an advertisement for unions! Bah!
We have no idea why they were short baggage handlers. Depending on the station and whether it was a mainline flight, the baggage handlers can be the same people as your ticketing agent. Someone could have called in sick. Could have been weather that cleared the ramp and a backlog of flights. There's thousands of flights a day, operational issues happen.
But, were it unionized baggage handling, the pilot would have been prohibited from helping.
Christopher, you (should) know better. If the airline were properly staffed, the pilot wouldn’t be in the cargo hold. A union doesn't 'prohibit' help; it mandates that management actually hires enough people to do the job so the captain doesn't have to.
Shh, don't interrupt Tim while he's shilling for "the world's only perfect airline".
He doesn't want those lowly ramp people to have a union because that would destroy Delta's "industry leading margins". Right, Tim?
This is what I love about what I call effective management. When I ran my company, I never, ever asked someone to do a job that I wouldn't pitch in and do myself to get it done. Surest way for me to can somebody was to hear the words, "It's not my job". Like life, we're all in this together. EVERYBODY works until the job is done.
Is it weird that I'm worried this pilot will get some sort of reprimand for violating union protections of the baggage handlers?
Delta ramp is not represented by a labor union.
I hope the pilots don't have to help the mechanics and maintenance staff as well. It could get dangerous.
it doesn't take too much time reading pilot chat forums to know that DL has a lot of pilots like this - and an equally large if not larger group of pilots that will do the bare minimum and complain about that.
DL is the US' most profitable airline because they have employees - not just pilots - that genuinely care about the company's success which flows from their founder's belief that if you take...
it doesn't take too much time reading pilot chat forums to know that DL has a lot of pilots like this - and an equally large if not larger group of pilots that will do the bare minimum and complain about that.
DL is the US' most profitable airline because they have employees - not just pilots - that genuinely care about the company's success which flows from their founder's belief that if you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers.
DL gets the most revenue per employee from its employees than any other US airline - and probably any airline on the planet. DL employees including pilots receive the richest profit sharing of any airline on earth.
and it is also noteworthy that this can happen because DL's ramp workers are not unionized so the pilot isn't violated any union rules by doing some other workgroup's job. while other airline pilots might do this, it could result in a union grievance.
What are you doing in pilot chat forums.
You're not a pilot.
You're fired from Delta.
what are you doing reading, let alone posting here?
You are mentally unfit to participate in normal society
Did you just tell something to yourself in the mirror?
"...if you take care of your employees, they will take care of your customers"
Well Delta definitely "took care" of you - just not in the way that you might want.
You can't evade the question of why you got fired forever Tim.
So that’s what Tim Dunn look like.
If so, he lookin' good! Workin' it!
Tim Dunn doesn’t ever leave his poorly lit basement, no time to venture above ground when you have a daily quota of 100,000 pro-DL words to type!
Well he ran (unopposed) for mayor in his small GA town, so he does get out sometime.
Care to tell us about your political career, Tim?
How messed up are their OPs if they don't have sufficient ramp staff at ATL, of all places‽
you do realize that the whole reason for the delay was likely weather which meant there were far more flights than scheduled at that time? No airline or any other business staffs for a huge surge in extra activity that might happen very infrequently.
do go ahead and tell us how many flights were on the ground in ATL at the time of the video vs. what was scheduled if you are so certain that DL intentionally understaffed its operation.
“You do realize”
“whole reason”
“was likely”
You really need to consider freshening up your rhetoric.
BTW, I’d prefer the pilot stick to piloting. Unnecessary distraction.
Are you saying that all the gates in Atlanta are not used during normal ops?
If Delta has 100 gates, but 500 planes arrive - they still only have 100 planes at the gate needing bags loaded and unloaded. So they still need the same number of working staff for the operation, regardless of whether it's normal ops or irregular ops.
And if it WAS weather - that's predictable. You know when storms are forecast,...
Are you saying that all the gates in Atlanta are not used during normal ops?
If Delta has 100 gates, but 500 planes arrive - they still only have 100 planes at the gate needing bags loaded and unloaded. So they still need the same number of working staff for the operation, regardless of whether it's normal ops or irregular ops.
And if it WAS weather - that's predictable. You know when storms are forecast, and when the FAA plans delays. They don't appear with only minutes' notice.
This was on Delta's poor operational planning. Your "Weather caused a surge" excuse doesn't fly.
He wanted to make sure that he either got away from his wife or got to his girlfriend.
How do you know he’s not gay?
My gay pilot friends would never sling bags.
Ooopsie ....
" .... got away from his wife AND husband or his girlfriend AND boyfriend ...
... fixed it for ya !
...lol
Wow, operational failure…
Wow, Captain Paul goes above and beyond!
Don't provoke Tim Dunn to check in and post 10 paragraphs.
It would be my honor to wake the beast! Come out, come out, wherever you are... there's fresh Biscoff (and free WiFi) waiting for you! Yum! Keep Climbing, sir!
I've had this on AA once, too. Amazing service!
Let's go!