Thread by @cgallello

So I was flying home on Wednesday and my flight was delayed - but I can't get over how well my pilot handled it. It was a masterclass in empathetic leadership.

Right as we were about to board, he came out of the plane and made an announcement over the PA:

"Folks, unfortunately there's a weather system over SFO, and air traffic control isn't letting us take off for another few hours". He talked for a few min about how arrival capacity is reduced, how we'll be landing on a non-standard runway, and how ATC is managing the situation.

'What we need to do is have everyone on the plane by 8:40pm - that gives us two hours to hang out, but if we aren't on the plane by then, we'll miss our scheduled takeoff time given to me by SF controllers. You can go grab a drink, but be sure you're back before then!'

'Let me emphasize that because this is weather related, there's nothing that the flight attendants or the gate agents can do. The only two people who can do anything are myself and the copilot, and I promise we're doing everything we can to get us out of here'

When we finally boarded...

'Look, it's Wednesday evening, I know a lot of you probably left work early to be at the airport on time. You all had to deal with security, which can be overwhelming. I get that. So it's frustrating to just sit in the airport for a delay.'

'But now that we're all on board, I hope that myself and the crew can give you the best possible flight. Normally pilots talk about how their crew is great, but let me tell you - United flight attendants receive the same amount of training as us pilots. They're extraordinary.'

'They're not trained with flight simulators, but with emergency equipment, managing crowds, and keeping you safe. They know more about the plane's emergency systems than I do. They're here to serve you, but also to handle anything that goes wrong'

He even spoke of a flight attendant of his who recently saved a life using a defibrillator!

'By the way, please let us know if there's anything we can change - that includes the temperature on the plane - if you're cold, that probably means other people are cold. Don't be shy!'

WOW OK let's break down what he did so well.

🙋🏽‍♂️ He got off of the plane and broke the bad news /personally/.

📊 He gave us a quick lesson in how delays work from his side. It was just the right amount of detail - nobody had any questions, and we trusted he was 'on our side'

🤝 He gave us a task (be back by 8:40pm) and presented it in a way that made us feel like we had a responsibility to each other, and agency over the situation.

🙅‍♂️ He supported his team by ensuring passengers don't take out any anger on the crew.

💙 He showed that he understood the pain we were going through as passengers

🗣️ He empowered us to speak up - not just in the standard lazy way, but especially with that one that thing we're always thinking about - IT'S SO COLD ON THIS PLANE.

Most importantly, I felt that this pilot is someone who I could trust, because he understands how we as passengers, and the crew felt. He turned frustrations into patience.

Thank you @united! You're sometimes okay.