To the pilot of UA2409, I salute you.
Most pilots give the standard update: "We'll be cruising at 36,000 feet and should arrive on time." But this captain sounded like he had a personal mission against the estimated arrival time.
Every update was something like:
"Good news everyone, we made up another 7 minutes."
Then a little later:
"We've gained another 4."
By the end of the flight it felt like he was treating FlightAware like a live scoreboard and chasing a personal record.
I also have to appreciate the constant updates. Passengers are pretty easy to keep happy. Give us snacks, be honest about turbulence, and keep telling us we're beating the schedule and suddenly the whole cabin mood improves.
I never caught the captain's name, but respect where it's due. Somewhere out there, every dad who has ever said, "If traffic cooperates, we can make good time," probably felt a disturbance in the universe.
May your tailwinds be strong, your coffee stay hot, and your arrival times continue to disrespect the estimate.
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