Curiosity
Pilot delays flight for several hours for sandwich
Pilot delays flight for sandwich
A pilot for Pakistan International Airlines delayed his flight from Lahore, Pakistan to New York City for 2.5 hours in order to receive gourmet sandwiches.
The matter dealt with more than whether or not the sandwiches were really worth the inconvenience to everyone aboard the flight.
A pilot needs to be alert when flying as the lives of all the passengers aboard are entrusted to his care. To achieve his goal, he needs energy and prior to departure, he was told that the only food available to him was peanuts, chips, and biscuits IE chow fed to animals at the zoo.
Now, it’s not as if the pilot ruled by fiat. His demand for chow from a 5-star hotel no less went straight up the chain of command to corporate offices in Karachi.
It was then that the word came down to meet his demands for food from his chosen venue. So it turns out that the question isn’t whether the sandwiches are “all that”, but actually that the pilot is viewed by management as being “all that”.
Airline spokesman Mashhood Tajwar told The Nation that “management had taken a serious notice of the delay of an international flight” and an investigation has been ordered and action will be taken against those responsible for it.
Also, the airline had previously made the decision to strip sandwiches off the menu in a cost-saving measure. Had they not made that decision, the pilot would have had the food he needed.
Not the first time a flight was delayed for a craving
An Air India pilot was suspensed after she defied orders to switch her scheduled Mumbai-Jodhpur-Delhi flight for a later, direct flight from Mumbai to Delhi. Her reason for doing so? She wanted to fly via Jodhpur to pick up an order for the city’s famous onion kachoris that she had placed. Her refusal to swap flights delayed the Mumbai-Delhi flight, left without a pilot, by an hour.
The incident was later brought to the notice of senior AI officials, who ordered an inquiry into the matter. Sources revealed that after the inquiry was ordered, two senior officials tried to scuttle the issue. However, pressure soon mounted on Air India, and the inquiry was kept open.
On The Web:
Pilot ‘delays flight to New York for more than TWO HOURS waiting on sandwich delivery from five-star hotel’
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2527023/Pilot-delays-flight-New-York-TWO-HOURS-waiting-sandwich-delivery-five-star-hotel.html
Pilot delays Pakistan-New York flight by 2.5hrs for a sandwich delivery
http://metro.co.uk/2013/12/20/pilot-delays-pakistan-new-york-flight-by-2-5hrs-for-a-sandwich-delivery-4238503/
Flight delayed hours for pilot’s sandwich delivery
http://www.foxnews.com/travel/2013/12/20/flight-delayed-hours-for-pilot-sandwich-delivery/