To fly or not to fly? Whether conditions are mildly unusual or downright scary, your pilot makes the final call.

Pilots have an almost endless number of decisions to make during the course of planning and executing any flight. Passengers often wonder what types of decisions pilots have discretion over, and which decisions are made by other authorities.

For instance, let’s say part of my engine anti-ice system is inoperative. Should I take the flight anyway? The answer is: It depends on where I’m going and what the weather will be like from the beginning to the end of the flight. To determine the right decision, I’d study the weather and possibly call the dispatcher for the flight to see if any forecasts have changed. If we agree that the operation is safe, the final decision rests with me whether to take the plane or not. If I, as the captain, decide I simply do not want to accept an airplane in this condition, I have complete authority to reject the airplane or delay the flight until the problem has been fixed. In the course of my 32-year professional career, I have done both, and I have also accepted many airplanes with minor discrepancies that would not adversely affect the flight.

What about flying in bad weather? Again, the pilot studies many factors and has final authority over whether or not to take off in bad weather. There are some limits. For instance, there is a “maximum demonstrated crosswind” capability for every airplane listed in our airplane manual’s “limitations” section, and pilots will not accept higher crosswinds than that. Sometimes an airport will shut down, removing the necessity for a pilot even to make a judgment call; but most of the time, it’s obvious to a pilot when to delay or even cancel a flight due to weather.

Once airborne, if there is weather we want to go around, we simply obtain clearance from air traffic control to do so. Many times, the controller working a sector with bad weather will even suggest a new course to a pilot. Sometimes the airline’s dispatch will send (via a messaging system similar to email) a new flight plan to the pilot, or a message suggesting a new route to avoid areas of bad weather.

A pilot might say something like, “Requesting 30 degrees left for weather.” If the controller can’t approve it, another alternative will be offered, like a larger turn in the other direction or a change in altitude if that will help. In a dire situation, the pilot can always exercise “emergency authority” and do what is needed without waiting for clearance, but good planning is part of every flight, and it’s rare this authority needs to be used in this manner. In fact, I’ve never had to use it.

Sometimes off-course deviations around weather are made for a very short distance of not even a mile. Other times, I have avoided entire lines of thunderstorms and deviated more than 100 miles off-course. Extra fuel is boarded for en route weather, as well as destination weather.
One question I’ve received is whether pilots get to choose with whom they fly. Generally, the answer is no, but there are some exceptions. It’s not that easy to manipulate schedules to fly certain trips with certain pilots, but it can be done with some creative trip trading, which is available at some airlines. But so far as I know, it’s not done much.

Are pilots told how much they should communicate with their passengers, or is this up to us? Some pilots are very communicative with their passengers, and others never say a word. Frankly, most pilots are not great communicators. On a recent flight I took as a passenger on a regional jet, not one word was heard from the cockpit. Good communications with the passengers (and flight attendants) is encouraged by the airlines, but not well-enforced. Other than certain required announcements, such as each time the seatbelt sign is turned on (and the first time it is turned off ), the airlines leave passenger communications to the captain’s discretion.

I hope it goes without saying that I value excellent communications with my passengers and do my best to keep them informed—even more so when things aren’t going as planned. I discovered long ago that no matter how bad a problem is, whether mechanical, weather, medical diversion and so on—passengers just don’t get as upset when they know exactly what’s going on. I’m sometimes a passenger too, and I appreciate good communication.

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captain meryl getline (fromthecockpit.com) is a retired B777 pilot. She writes a weekly travel column for usatoday.com (“Ask The Captain”) and is the author of The World at My Feet. If you are a nervous flier, check out her Web site: flyingfearless.com. Email Captain Merylat editor@executivetravelmag.com.