Pilot's In Flight Announcements

[Min Stack]

Do any of you guys up front ever get any feedback from the cabin staff that your in-flight announcements are quite often unintelligible to us pax at the back and that your carefully constructed announcement giving us information on the flight has been a complete waste of time? Is the PA system ever checked at all or are you speaking too close to the microphone?

Most of my recent flights have been with a well known budget airline out of Prestwick and I'd say that at least half of the announcements are a waste of time because we can't understand them. That also goes for the cabin announcements, which are often made by staff with foreign accents and I often wonder what would happen in the event of an emergency - would we all be able to understand what is being said when everyone's panicking. It's also why nobody buys any on board merchandise because we don't understand what it is you're trying to sell us.

As for flight deck announcements - can you at least slow down the delivery sometimes because that would help in some cases - just trying to be helpful because I'm interested in what you're trying to tell me. :ok:

[draughtsman99]

Hear, hear - but not often and not very well on most aircraft.
This is not a problem confined to LCCs. Even the self styled 'Worlds Favourite' is often difficult to understand.
With the amount of money spent on aircraft design and manufacture one would assume that by now they would be able to make mikes and speakers that would convey any message clearly - obviously not so.
Do CC just not bother telling the drivers or do they just not listen to announcements?

[Skipness One Echo]

The PIK loco mentioned was the only airline I have flown with where the passengers burst into laughter at the ineptitude of the girl trying to do the safety announcement. Her announcement was TERRIBLE and the whole thing was treated as a big joke.
I should add this was a STN crew.

[YYZ]

On short flights a quick announcement might be whats required, a high workload in the FD can make a PA tough to fit in.

Also, nobody on board can adjust the volume of the PA, obviously accents and the ability to talk in a more clear manner would help, but aside from that it is what it is, only boeing can help.... nothing to do with it being a LoCo

YYZ

[fireflybob]

On short flights a quick announcement might be whats required, a high workload in the FD can make a PA tough to fit in.


YYZ, yes I know what you mean!

Reminds of the joke (allegedly) of the a/c going from LHR to LAX (10 hour flight). Not a word was heard from the flightdeck until 5 hours after take off when a voice came on and said "HALFWAY" and that was the only PA heard from the flightdeck during the whole flight!

I did travel on a certain loco from EMA to BCN a little while ago. The clarity of the PA was good but the delivery was, to say the least, awful. Every phrase included the "er" and did little to convey confidence! I know many operators give training in use of the PA but others do not do so. When I first started flying (in the 1970s!) I used to write down exactly what I was going to say before pressing the key on the mic! That way you have time to think about it and, hopefully, the delivery is more impressive! Then after a while I was in a position to "ad lib" a bit more having listened to certain Captains and copied what I thought was good and deleted what I didn't like!

But if nobody tells the Flight Crew that the PA is inaudible they probably won't know. As crew I know that if somebody tells me then I can put it in the Tech Log so it gets fixed. Also there is a safety issue if the PA is inaudible.

[DAr19]

I once took a flight that was operated by LatCharter, cannot remember who the flight was for but it was a UK leisure tour operator.

The only announcements from the captain (or First Officer, I honestly could not tell) were the "cabin crew seats" at take off and landing.

All I heard was static and the cabin crew seemed to take an awfully long time to realise what the pilots were probably saying, surely it is a requirement to have some clarity in the pilots' PA microphones?

[Min Stack]

I'm glad it's not just me. At least on the PIK LoCo they now have an automated safety brief which everyone can understand. When it was done individually a few years ago, if we were taxying for a 31 departure then the cabin crew had about 5 mins to deliver it but if we were racing for a 13 departure they only had a couple of minutes and it was a joke to listen to - extremely fast delivery in various accents.

I don't think the cabin noise has anything to do with it - I've heard some excellent broadcasts in my seat and some lousy ones, same aircraft type all with similar cabin noise.

As far as speed of delivery is concerned - slow it down if you can, which also goes for RT delivery, as there are still a few (mostly younger sounding) pilots out there who think they need to deliver their RT at breakneck speed, which I can't sometimes understand. :ok:

[King Chav]

I was a passenger on a flight in central europe the other day, and the cabin crew made a lovely announcement in her native tongue and then in English.

She notified us that we must make sure our seatbelts were fastened for landing (when we were taxiing for take off) ... I thought, crikey, that was a quick flight.

Then she asked us to make sure our seatbelts were fastened for take-off when we were on finals.

Hmmmmmm

I didn't have to heart to tell her :}

[Di_Vosh]

In QantasLink (regional carrier in Oz, flying Dash-8's) the CC respond to our PA's (we generally only make two) and give us feedback on whether they could be understood or not.

DIVOSH!

[AKAFresh]

There an obvious difference between the PAs made while the a/c is on the ground and engines off and when the a/c is inflight. Often when I give PAs on the ground the flightdeck door is sometimes open and you can hear the PA very well, hence you know the PA system works well. However during flight in the cabin while positioning the flightdeck PA is often hit or miss.

As 'Rainboe' quite rightly said it all depends on where you sit, sometimes its easy to hear and other times its near impossible.

Whether its short haul/lowcost or long haul the story is the same which row/class you sit in makes all the difference. Listening to the PAs using the provided headsets on long haul flights is often the only way I hear the flightdeck PAs clearly throughout, mind you I only speak with economy class experience. :sad:

Granted the speed and accent of the pilot also makes a difference. The only comment I have had from a flight attendant regarding my PA was that a passenger told her that the crew must really be tired because the pilot said thanks for flying with 'X' airline when the name of my airline was 'Y'. I said to her no matter how tired I was there was no way in hell I would ever mix up my airline with Ryanair!!... :}

[BYALPHAINDIA]

On a Jet 2 AMS flight once 'This is the Capt speaking - Capt Thomaldahide?? Everyone cracked up in laughter!!

I asked around later on, And someone said this capt worked for AIH previously?

Not a Funeral Director?

[Tight Slot]

Or even worse, making a PA over ground freq. Some bright spark in Manch was very good at informing us all on the radio that it was his pleasure to have us on board, our flight time was to be around four hours and twenty mins and that the pursers name was Jane.

Boy did he get some stick!!

[fireoff]

Ha that would be funny "Ground ABC123 Stand 34 requesting maintenance for engine problem please":}
===================================================
As for not understanding I think Ryanair noticed this as they have loads of foreigners and now have a English voice who do the safety announcements automatically.

As for the pilots I dont understand them - I might be able to decipher "Cabin crew, seats for departure" but after that I don't really get it:rolleyes:

[G SXTY]

Top Tip

When ops have just disrupted your nice two sector day by asking you to fly another couple of sectors in the middle, do not do welcome the new passengers with a PA telling them "we've been hijacked to fly you to X."

Your words may be misconstrued . . . . :)

[fireflybob]

Pilot flew jumbo ‘without deep voice’ (http://newsbiscuit.com/article/pilot-flew-jumbo-without-deep-voice)

[Northbeach]

As a pilot when I listen to the radio in the car or at home I am studying the announcer to learn what I can from somebody who makes their living speaking to the public. Before I speak I try to figure out who the audience is and what they may be interested in. I tailor what is said depending on the listeners. Most of the time people just want to be spoken to respectfully, they want to know where they are and when they are going to get where they paid to go and what the weather will be like when they arrive. I try to keep it brief and interesting and am frequently complimented. Only once have I had a passenger upset with something I said, and that is another story.
When it comes to maintenance delays a few well chosen words spoken at the proper time can defuse a lot of frustration and headaches for everybody in back. I tell the passengers the truth about the “problem” in non-aviation plain English, what is being done to rectify the situation and an estimate on when the fix will be complete or when more information will be forthcoming. I try to do this every 20 minutes but not less than twice an hour. Works like magic.

[BelArgUSA]

Few pilots are really good at making a passenger PA.
Proficiency comes maybe with a few years of flying experience.
xxx
First, comes the question of language.
I learned English in USA... my English is not always suitable to UK passengers.
Although I know what Brits, or Aussies, or Kiwis would like to hear.
Just educate yourself a little about the differences in language/wording...
To UK people, they need to know about Manchester United and Arsenal.
Not about the Dallas Cowboys or the Chicago Bears.
xxx
If you speak other languages, use (or massacre) them.
Practice correct pronunciation as needed, often foreign F/As in your crew will help you.
Generally, the airline's national language(s) is sufficient, consider using a language of destination.
In some cases, English might be worthless, i.e. a "Hajj" flight from North Africa to Jeddah.
The only "other language" of Algerians, Moroccans or Tunisians is French.
xxx
Then there is a difference of units...
Some people do not know about ºC or ºF temperatures. So, do convert as required.
Same for speeds/distances. As pilots, you have knots/nautical miles in your head.
Your passengers only know statute miles, or kilometres.
Same for altitude - 36,000 feet is 11,000 metres.
Some people have no idea what "flight level 360" really is.
So do not speak as pilots would, but as a "normal Earthling".
xxx
As pilot, I spoke little from the cockpit, especially on scheduled flights.
One announcement during cruise climb with a simple welcome and reminder of safety belts use.
And one at top of descent, with the latest weather and local time.
For charters, I sometimes mentioned points of interest, cities, passing the Equator, or high mountains.
Even posted a large ONC map with the flight track highlighted on it on a partition near toilets.
xxx
True, some PA systems are very poor (volume), but often, is the pilot's own fault.
If you do not speak properly into the microphone, what do you expect...?
If the F/As announced the flight time, weather etc... why repeat...?
And make your PA simple, of interest, and if need be, with humour - my specialty.
xxx
Now retired, I was known for my great PA abilities and smooth landings...
And make 400 passengers rolling on the floor of the aisle with laughter.
Problem is, my flying was just "average"...
But PA and smooth touchdown are all that counts for passengers.
xxx
By the way, I still have an "Air France" F/A PA booklet, with a few languages.
Stole it from one of their ladies, for a few drinks in Paris.
Your airline might publish some equivalent too. Get yourself a copy...
xxx
:D
Happy contrails, and happy 2009 to all.

[MarcJF]

Last summer heard a cracking PA from the FD. Something like "Ladies & Gentlement this is your captain speaking, the CC will now give a short safety presentation, please give them your full attention, in the event of an emergency, it will be the survivors that did" - kinda focusses the mind...

[Jucky]

Check out this announcement!

YouTube - Comedian GB Captain (http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=iqKIYLXXkQM)