Graffiti Geek
April 11, 2024
THE PHOTO ABOVE was taken in Boston, a week or so ago in the newly expanded section of terminal E.
The plane is an Airbus A340. But what’s important is that yellow box. See it, along the right edge of the main boarding door? Any guesses what it’s for?
Turns out it’s a sort of dry-erase board — an empty placard onto which crewmembers can write greetings to the passengers. “Welcome aboard,” and that kind of thing. Maybe everyone signs their names, or someone draws a whimsical sketch of mountains or a palm tree, depending where you’re off to. On the interwebs you can see reels and photos of flight crews getting creative.
Things like this restore my faith in commercial aviation. It’s one of those personal, friendly little touches that customers remember. And it costs virtually nothing. (It’s bloggable too, and good for publicity.) Airlines need to think like this more often.
So good on Lufthansa.
And good on me. Because I thought of it first.
I once concocted my own version, from a template I’d made on my computer. I’d print out a sheet of paper, with my airline’s logo and the standard “Welcome Aboard” at the top. I’d write in the pilots’ names, the flight number, and the expected flight time. Then at the bottom I’d sketch a small pictorial of the arrival weather: a sun, for instance, or a raincloud, and next to it the temperature in both Celsius and Fahrenheit (these were usually international flights). Using masking tape, I’d affix the piece of paper to the same spot where Lufthansa’s yellow rectangle is.
It was a pleasant way of saying hello, I thought, and gave customers something to look at while bottlenecked at the end of the jetway.
Not everyone agreed, however, which is why I gave the practice up. More than once I was chewed out by flight attendants, who claimed that people were pausing to read the sign, which meant it took longer to board. Other times, pilots I was flying with took issue with their names being shared.
Whether or not these objections were justified, I stopped doing it. Which made me feel nostalgic, and a bit resentful, when I learned about Lufthansa.
But, I don’t know, maybe it’s best that I stopped. The geek factor was, I admit, a little heavy. Walking past that Lufthansa jet, I pointed out the yellow block to one of my colleagues, and told him how I’d once improvised the same idea using paper and tape. He shot me a puzzled look. “You did what?”
Try to forgive me. I was back from a five-year furlough and excited to be flying again.
Litter. Litter would have been a valid gripe. I didn’t always remember to take down the sheets before the door was closed. And, no, they were never still attached when we landed. More than a few of my homemade greetings have long ago disintegrated into Jamaica Bay, no doubt, or found their way into airport storm drains.
PHOTOS BY THE AUTHOR
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10 Responses to “Graffiti Geek”
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Really???
Could one of those papers wound up in an engine intake?
Standing ovation and a big thumbs-up, mate. I ALWAYS enjoy reading your copy. Keep up the good work and remember: We may be labelled crazy, even idiots, today, for what may pop up as someone else’s bright idea tomorrow. There must be something, some place in the airwaves where our cherished inventions go to (in my case it can be a pun or a joke) until one day we see them realized. Perhaps no one will know why we smile. We will know for sure.
Hug from Argentina,
Javier
May I have your opinion on the 787 issue? Thanks, and keep up the good work.😎
I applaud Lufthansa for coming up with the idea and trying to improve flying. This might’ve been a great idea 20 or 30 years ago when passengers had less rage or more mannerisms. I can’t help but think this will eventually be abused with negative comments about the airline or vulgar comments in general.
Something in this vein that I wish airlines would do gateside: a small whiteboard at the checkin counter. Use it to communicate unusual circumstances and statuses in addition to the spoken annoucements. I once had a hellish afternoon where my Alaska Airlines flight was delayed for 6 and half hours, in 15-20 minute increments. Really. They had us hanging on their verbal announcements for 6.5 hours. And that gate was at the end of the terminal without a drinking fountain or toilet on that floor. The text to phone updates were spotty as hell and did not align with the verbal announcements. The stress of wondering if I’d missed some vital update because I went to find a toilet did not improve things.
Just drop $10 on a bloody 2’x3′ whiteboard, and write the updates there so pax can just eyeball it and not have to bother the gate agent.
PS. I’ve never flown Alaska since, and I used to like that airline due to their somewhat reasonable baggage policies.
Absolutely love it. My business flying occurred between the 1980’s and 2010’s, and such a note would have earned a smile and a “thank you” had it been on one of my flights.
Frankly, I’m surprised that other crew members didn’t like the idea …
I like it / I’ve saved similar ones put up by American and Japan Airlines, which gave crew names, flight path, weather altitude etc – usually up near the cockpit, which I asked to take after the flight- this was mostly in the 90’s when I flew a lot.
A friendly personal gesture that most people appreciated.
Recently flew on Lufthansa St. Louis-Frankfurt-Berlin. We were 1 1/2 hours late leaving St. Louis and arriving in Frankfurt so I missed my connection. Before landing, captain announced ground crew was booking new flights for missed connections. When the plane was on the runway, I turned on my phone and found a text message announcing new connection. The boarding pass was in my e-mail. My checked baggage duly arrived in Berlin. That sort of service (try to find it on a US-flag carrier) is even better than personalized greetings.
Exactly the kind of thing I love! One time after I had got my disabled Mom aboard a Southwest flight in Ontario (California) I was standing inside the gate area taking a picture of the plane. The pilots saw me, rolled down their windows (or however it they’re opened lol), stuck their arms out and gave me two thumbs up. I showed my Mom the pic when she got home from visiting my brother – she loved it! It’s the little things.