Short Final: Couch Surfing

Gemini Sparkle

Key Takeaways:

  • New York City air traffic controllers are highlighted for their exceptional professional skills and unique sense of humor.
  • An anecdote from Islip Airport showcases this wit, as a controller humorously replied "Sure, but you’ll have to sleep on the couch" when a pilot asked "Stay with you?" (meaning stay on the radio frequency).
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One of the joys of flying in the New York City metro area is listening to the controllers. In addition to being the best in the business, they deliver some good wisecracks, always with that unmistakable accent. We had just landed at Islip (KISP):

Islip Tower: “Comair 234, take a left at the next intersection and taxi to the gate.”

My first officer read back the instructions. Then, just to make sure Tower didn’t want us to switch to the ground frequency, he asked, “Stay with you?”

Tower (without missing a beat): “Sure, but you’ll have to sleep on the couch.”

Rick Sanders

Brooklyn, NY

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