i don't fly all that often, but when i do, i try to fly only JetBlue. why? one, i like their copy. their quippy, offbeat attitude appeals to me and makes me feel safe for some reason. two, being able to flip through channels and watch, say, Barefoot Contessa at cruising altitude eases my irrational fear of flying.
also, over the last 10 years, i have flown out of JFK far more often than any other airport. i hate traveling along the Belt Parkway to get there, but otherwise i have no complaints about the place.
why am i babbling about this? because i happen to think this controversy over the air traffic controller letting his kids communicate with pilots last month is ridiculous. as in, not newsworthy. at all. and it sure as hell won't keep me from flying JetBlue out of JFK.
i'm actually amused and even touched by the whole thing. when i was a little kid, being able to go to my dad's office was not far below Disney World on my Favoritest Places to Go scale. i'm serious! it was like being allowed into a secret club—a whole other universe—and i'd wander around the desks and into the kitchen or mailroom with a mix of wonder and trepidation. i had no concept of how an office worked, what the hell it was even for, which made the experience that much more intriguing.
(plus, his co-workers always made a fuss over my presence. i was shy, but secretly i loved the attention.)
so, i can imagine this air traffic controller's kids losing their you-know-what over not just going to work with dad, but actually getting to communicate with pilots! and, i'm sorry, but god knows the world needs more dads who actually have the time and interest and patience to bring their kids into their workplace.
i watched an NTSB spokesperson and a former pilot duke it out on the Today show this morning and the NTSB guy sounded like an alarmist idiot, saying how this would only heighten the public's concern about flight safety, while the pilot was all, "what's the big deal? this guy is a seasoned professional. no one was ever in danger."
it's not like the kids were let loose in the control tower without supervision and were recorded chatting with the pilots about the latest episode of The Suite Life of Zach and Cody or telling knock-knock jokes. i imagine they were sitting on their dad's lap, repeating exactly what he told them to say, albeit in squeaky voices.
and, hello: the pilots were unfazed! amused even! one went so far as to say he wished he could bring his kid to work.
so, really, i don't know who passed this story onto the media but it's bogus. it's a waste of airtime and newsprint. the eight-year-olds cleared, what, approximately three flights for take-off? and guess what—nothing happened.
i think the FAA and NTSB and MSNBC ought to keep their attention focused on how to prevent religious extremist nutbags with exploding undies from getting onto our planes, not on creating hysteria over innocent kids in the control tower, who will probably grow up to be awesome, well-adjusted people because their dad cared enough to give them a taste of his professional life.
that is, if the poor guy doesn't get fired.
mbm
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