Crew superstitions part two: the ones from the Gulf, the ones from Asia, and the pilot who will not say the word
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#1 There is a superstitions thread from a while ago and it was mostly the European ones (the left foot first, the no whistling). I am Thai, I fly with a crew from forty countries, and the superstitions I have collected are better. Part two.
From Thailand
A small amulet in the bag, always. Not for the aircraft, for the hotel, because hotels are where the ghosts are. Half the Thai crew I know will not stay in a hotel room with the bed facing the door and will move the pillows if it does.
From the Philippines
No cutting nails on the aircraft, which nobody would do anyway but which is specifically forbidden by grandmothers. A prayer at the door, quietly, on the first sector of the month.
From India
The right foot first onto the aircraft. A small sweet eaten before sign on for luck. A colleague who will not fly on a particular date each year and bids leave for it, every year, for a reason she will not explain.
From the Gulf and North Africa
The evil eye, small, on the bag or the key ring. A specific short prayer at push back. Not saying the name of a thing that could go wrong, which is universal but has a specific weight in Arabic.
From the pilots
The pilot who will not say the word 'quiet' about a flight, ever, because the last time he did, it was not. This is apparently international and every airline has him.
From me
The same lipstick for every flight. Not the same brand. The same tube. When it ends I have a bad week and then a new tube and then the luck resets. I know how this sounds. I have flown four years and nothing has gone wrong, so.
The question
What is yours, where is it from, and has it ever failed?
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#2 The prayer at the door on the first sector of the month. Yes. My mother taught it to me and I have never missed one. It has not failed, which is the whole point of a superstition: you never know if it would have.
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#3 The sweet before sign on. A specific one from a specific shop in Delhi that I bring in bulk. The one month I ran out I had two diversions. I am not saying. I am just saying.
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#4 The push back prayer, yes, and the not saying the word. Every Arab crew member has both. And the pilot who will not say 'quiet' is on my roster this week and I will not test him.
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#5 Scottish, and the ATR crews have one: never say the name of the island airport with the crosswind before the descent. Say 'the usual'. Everyone knows. Nobody says it.
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#7 American, and I thought I had none until I read this and realised I have flown with the same pen for four years and would not fly without it. It is a superstition. I am one of you now.