I have to disagree slightly.
I've flown EasyJet many times in the past, which I would assume would class as bargain basement in the past. One of the best airlines I'vee flown with.

Same reason people fly Spirit or Frontier in the US and the complain, they are cheap and wan't Four Season's service at Motel 6 prices.

Some people have gotten into their minds they can pay next to nothing and have world class service, higher prices don't always lead to better service, however these bottom rate airlines are well known for poor service and nobody should be surprised by what they get.

A news report, in today's Telegraph: Tired technicians "repair" wrong plane!

What I find interesting is how the unlatched cowlings were missed (unless things are different in the UK) by the pilot and ground crew.

At every airline I have dealt with in North America, they required a pilot walk around as well as a ground crew to walk around right before departure to ensure all coverings were latched, door closed, etc.

Seems nobody even did a basic walk around on this plane before departure.

Both the tug operator and co-pilot did a walk around. They both failed to notice the unlocked latches.

Tom Cruise is a nob, but he does make some great films. Here's why....

That would have gotten the ground person fired at my airline, pilot would have probably been suspended but not fired though, more valuable to the company the pilots are.

Shows the importance of actually checking and looking on the walk around, and not just walk around and not actually check anything.

Normally, standard operating procedures require the walk round to be carried out by one of the flight deck plus a qualified ground engineer.
The tug driver is normally not a qualified engineer; however the start engineer who accompanies the tug driver on push-back possibly is qualified.

In US airlines tend to use ramp for push back, and they do their own walk around in addition to the pilot to ensure everything is closed and ready since obviously when the pilot does theirs the ramp is still working the flight. Most also use 2 wing walkers.

Like I said, things sound different in the UK.

Ramp at some airlines even do the brake riding and radios when towing, weight and balance and other stuff people may not associate with baggage handlers.

I have never known a baggage handler prepare a loadsheet (weight and balance).This is the ground ops job or very occasionally the flight-deck.

I did hundreds if not a couple thousand of load sheets during my time and I was just a lowly ramp agent or as some here like call them a baggage handler.

Although we were far more then just baggage handlers, ramp was responsible for at the airlines I have been with:

Bag room
Cargo
Mail
marshaling
push back
towing
weight/balance/load planning based on the dispatch paperwork
ground operations
brake riding and radio operations during tows
cleaning of aircraft/lavs
catering of ice/soda/snacks (my station wasn't a meal station.)
air starts
ground security coordinator (not every ramp agent was trained in this. I was)


I am sure I missed some duties in there.

Every airline is different, and this is based on the airlines I have worked with in the US/Canada over the years.

That’s commendable but in my worldwide airline experience (aircrew), baggage handlers handle bags and freight and ground operations (ramp) do the loadsheets. Some smaller airline companies do expect their ramp agents to be a jack of all trades I must admit, but if you call a ramp agent a baggage handler, he won’t be too impressed. As you say, you were far more than a baggage handler.

Anyone care to recommend an airshow (location no real concern) that is as good as farnbrough?

I only went to Farnborough once, IMO it wasn't a patch on Fairford.

So, he should go to Fairford then?