The Wall Street Journal-20080212-The Middle Seat- Coming to You Live From the Cockpit

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The Middle Seat: Coming to You Live From the Cockpit

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Listening to air-traffic control communications while flying across the country on United Airlines, Hugh Coppen heard the flight's captain receive a warning of turbulence ahead. A seasoned traveler, Mr. Coppen acted quickly before the captain alerted passengers. "I knew to run to the bathroom, because you may not be able to go for the next hour," he said.

Mr. Coppen's inside knowledge came from "Channel 9," the audio feed of communications between the cockpit and air-traffic controllers available on United aircraft. Unique among U.S. airlines, Channel 9 is very popular with aviation buffs and road warriors. United says Channel 9 tends to be the most listened to channel on its entertainment system during takeoffs and landings.

Many travelers say they find the rapid-fire communications and sometimes lighthearted banter with controllers far more entertaining than the normal fare of second-run movies and music collections offered on in-flight entertainment systems. And some nervous fliers say they find it soothing to hear their captain's confident voice.

But allowing passengers to listen in on the cockpit is controversial. Pilots cite concerns about having too many passengers monitoring their performance from the back of the airplane. Sometimes pilots miss radio calls from controllers, for example, and passengers might become unduly alarmed. (Controllers call again until an aircraft responds.) A posting on YouTube of audio and video of a United 747 landing in Hong Kong also raised eyebrows among pilots, though the landing was routine and smooth. And some simply liken Channel 9 to cameras in the courtroom or videotaping in the operating room -- many professionals don't want people watching over their shoulders.

Just how transparent the cockpit should be has been a long-running issue in aviation. The National Transportation Safety Board has pushed for adding cameras to cockpits to supplement the audio and instrument readings recorded on so-called black boxes that are crucial to accident investigations, but pilot unions have vehemently opposed having their every move in the cockpit recorded. And other airlines have considered adding cockpit communications to their in-flight entertainment, but decided against it despite the popularity of United's offering.

AMR Corp.'s American Airlines used to provide air-traffic control communications on its DC-10 wide-body jets, but discontinued it in the 1980s because the channel was commandeered for different use in an upgrade of the entertainment system, a spokesman says. JetBlue Airways, which offers live satellite television in its aircraft, says it considered offering cockpit communications, but decided to focus on its satellite radio and TV.

Frequent travelers say that even Channel 9 is off the air more often these days. Indeed, some captains have told customers they are muting the optional feature to highlight their current contract battle with United's management. Others say they have grown wary of possible YouTube postings of their work and are concerned about lawsuits should passengers overhear mistakes.

Pilots who agreed to hefty pay and benefit cuts during United's bankruptcy have been enraged by millions of dollars paid in bonuses to company executives, and a $250 million special dividend paid to shareholders, while management has declined to renegotiate contracts before they come up for renewal at the end of 2009.

Mr. Coppen, a corporate leadership development consultant, has been on 14 United flights since Thanksgiving and only four have had Channel 9 turned on. He used to hear it on about 90% of his trips, he says. "It struck me as being more than just coincidence," he said.

Andrew Ohnstad says he's heard Channel 9 on only about half of his flights lately, down from 80% or so before. "For me, it's a huge selling point for United," he says. "It helps excuse the poor onboard service I often get with United."

UAL Corp.'s United says it knows of no organized campaign by pilots to mute Channel 9, and neither the airline nor any of its pilots have ever been sued over anything related to the air-traffic control communications. The feature is offered completely at the discretion of each captain, a spokeswoman notes.

United's pilots union says it knows of no organized effort to silence Channel 9, either. "It's up to the individual captain whether to turn off or turn on Channel 9," a union spokesman said. But union leaders have declared "battles lines are drawn" and have encouraged some disobedience to demonstrate unhappiness with management, such as refusing to wear hats when in uniform.

Frequent travelers say that when they ask why Channel 9 wasn't available, some pilots have told them they have decided to provide only minimum customer service until management addresses their concerns. In a discussion about the fate of Channel 9 on a FlyerTalk.com forum, a United pilot told frequent travelers: "The pilots at United are DONE doing anything that is 'at their discretion.' . . . Sorry, but look for the bare minimum from the employees at United Airlines until further notice."

While many travelers clearly want as much information about their flight available as possible, airlines have been reluctant to pull back the curtain too much. New models of airplanes offer better technology that could enhance passengers' ability to hear and see what is going on in the cockpit. But airlines have been slow to plug in customers. The Airbus A380 super-jumbo jet, for example, gives pilots a unique bird's eye view from a camera mounted in the tail fin of the monster airplane. Qantas Airways in Australia says it will offer the view to its passengers through its entertainment system but Singapore Airlines, already flying the A380, doesn't offer the video.

Many passengers take comfort in the back and forth between pilots and air-traffic control. Mr. Ohnstad, a technology project manager in the banking industry, says he sometimes worries about noises and jolts while in flight. "But I hear the pilot's calm voice telling ATC that 'We're experiencing continuous light chop,' and I can relax more," he said. "It's fear of the unknown that causes apprehension. Pilots can't update you every 30 seconds."

Passengers who are also pilots themselves are particularly fond of the air-traffic-control chatter because they understand the sometimes arcane lingo used. To the untrained ear, Channel 9 can sometimes be confusing as controllers rattle off routings, call out the names of navigation fixes and give instructions to pilots for instrument approaches. But many fliers say even without flying lessons, they pick up enough of the simple English instructions to know what's going on. "Cleared for takeoff," "hold for 30 minutes," "contact Cleveland center," and even "cleared for ILS approach runway 17 Left" don't need much explanation.

David Trasen, a campus recruiter for a high-tech company, says he's heard about 30-minute delays in holding patterns and other changes in his flight on Channel 9 long before the captain tells other passengers on the public-address system, and spotted planes himself when controllers warn his flight of nearby aircraft. "It just makes the flight more interesting to me," said Mr. Trasen.

Mr. Coppen used to fly private airplanes, but is no longer current with his license. For him, Channel 9 is "the last link with a world I enjoyed very much," he said. Besides getting early warning of delays and turbulence, he simply enjoys hearing the rapid-fire instructions thrown at pilots around busy airports.

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