Aviablog

A blogger writing for the Huffington Post says that the Captain of a United Airlines flight from Washington D.C. to London insulted "Sully", the Captain of the US Airways A320 that ditched into the Hudson River in New York. The United pilot was making a joke - or not - when the flight was following the coastline near New York City, and the metropolis was clearly visible.

What that Captain reportedly said was: "Ladies and Gentlemen, if you are on the left side of the plane, you will see a spectacular view of New York City and US Airways' new runway, the Hudson River."

Now, it is clear that this was intended as a joke. Whether one regards it as a joke or not, that's another question. Of course no one doubts the skill and professionalism of Chesley 'Sully' Sullenberger and his crew on that day, who carried out a successful emergency landing on the water and evacuated everyone on board.

Personally I do think that this pilot shouldn't have said it. Not because he was insulting the US Airways crew, but maybe more so because he was talking about another airline. It was a bit derogatory. On the other hand, it could also be viewed as a compliment, for this crew to have been able to land the aircraft on this "improvised runway". In the end it probably is a "glass half full or glass half empty" situation...