Applause?

[psolk]

I have heard applause on two flights ever (on US based airlines) and I do over 90 flights a year. One was on a flight to Cincinatti on a 737 with 3
passengers. It was the first day the airports were open again after 9/11 and all 3 of us clapped for the crew and the attendants and then they
clapped for us and thanked us for flying...
I had the same crew back to NY but there were something like 35 people on that flight...

The second one was after a go around due to a slow aircraft leaving the runway at Hartsfield. We were almost in the flare when I heard the throttle
go full again. The lady sitting next to me nearly cr***ed her pants until I told her there was nothing necessarily wrong and there are a lot of
reasons for a go around. By the time we made our second pass, you could not see anything the visibility was so bad. Everyone applauded the pilot on
that flight.

Other than that, like Brad said, we as passengers just take it for granted. I always make a point to pop my head into the flightdeck and thank the
pilots. Continental pilots almost never come back to greet the customer from my experience although they are usually great about letting you up to
the flightdeck before the flight. I have been in the flight deck of the 777, 767, 737 6/7/8, ERJ and the 1900D thanks to many a Continental pilot.