Hold push-to-talk and speak. Everything is transcribed on your own computer, and nothing here has to be said word for word — these are examples, not commands. Close paraphrases work.
There are two people on the other end, and who you address decides what happens.
| You say | Who answers | What you get |
|---|---|---|
Cabin crew, … | the cabin crew | crew calls and announcements |
Ground, … or Flight deck to ground | the ground handling crew | GSX services |
Address nobody and the call goes to the cabin crew. Say ground whenever you mean the handling crew — it is the only reliable way to tell them apart, because a few calls (we are ready for boarding) mean something to both.
Cabin crew
| Call | Say something like | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| Ready to board | Cabin crew, prepare for boarding · ready to board · cabin is ready for boarding | releases the whole boarding chain — nothing boarding-related plays until you say this |
| Boarding finished | Boarding completed · boarding is done | starts the boarding-completed sequence |
| Arm doors | Cabin crew, arm doors and cross check · doors to automatic | crew confirms the cabin is secured |
| Seats for takeoff | Cabin crew, seats for takeoff · stations for departure · positions please | crew confirms they are seated |
| Start the service | Cabin crew, start the service · you can start serving | starts the cabin service; the crew comes back later with the menu for you |
| Seats for landing | Cabin crew, seats for landing · ten minutes to landing · stations for arrival | crew reports the cabin is secured, 5–10 s later |
| Disarm doors | Cabin crew, disarm doors and cross check · doors to manual | after landing; starts the deboarding music |
Announcements you make yourself
With voice crew on, everything the captain would normally say is yours to say — the app stops speaking those. It recognises when you have made them, so the rest of the flight carries on.
| Announcement | Say something like |
|---|---|
| Welcome aboard | Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard this flight… |
| Pushback | Doors are closed and we are ready for pushback |
| Takeoff | We are next in line for departure |
| Cruise update | We have reached our cruising altitude |
| Final approach | We are on final approach |
| Farewell | Thank you for flying with us today |
The crew talks to you too
They ask whether you are ready to board if you have been at the gate for ten minutes, report when everyone is on board, offer you something during cruise, ask what you would like from the meal cart, and ask for the local temperature before the arrival announcement.
If you do not answer, they carry on without it — the arrival announcement simply drops the weather line. Nothing waits for you forever.
Ground crew (GSX)
Turned on with the switch on the connector's Ground page. With it off, nothing anywhere behaves differently.
What the ground crew can do depends on your simulator. On MSFS it drives GSX Pro 4.0.6 or newer and can do everything below. On X-Plane it drives BetterPushback, which means the pushback and nothing else — see the end of this section.
Getting their attention
Say Flight deck to ground and they answer "Ground to flight deck, go ahead." The headset then stays open for about three minutes, so follow-up requests need no introduction. You can also skip the greeting and ask straight away.
Asking for services
Say what you want. Several at once is fine — start catering and refuelling is two requests, and you get one answer covering both.
| Service | Say something like |
|---|---|
| Refuelling | request refuelling · we need fuel |
| Catering | start catering |
| Boarding | we are ready for boarding |
| Deboarding | please start deboarding · disembark the passengers |
| Ground power | connect ground power · disconnect the GPU |
| Stairs | bring the stairs |
| Jetway | connect the jetway |
| Lavatory | we need the lavatory service |
| Potable water | potable water please |
| Cleaning | send the cleaners — only with an empty cabin |
| De-icing | we need de-icing |
If something cannot start yet, ground tells you why — "We'll get to refuelling as soon as catering is clear" — and then starts it by itself the moment GSX allows. You never have to ask twice.
If something is missing they say so rather than ignoring you: "Set the parking brake and we'll come over", "We'll need the engines shut down", "Your aircraft isn't set up in GSX yet."
Choosing the handling agent stays yours. GSX asks which company should do the job, and that prompt is deliberately left on screen for you to click.
Boarding
Boarding needs both of them — ground brings the passengers up, the cabin crew receives them.
connector starts your dispatched flight right there.
Ground, we are ready for boarding— they acknowledge, and if no flight session is running, the
Cabin crew, we are ready for boarding— the cabin is ready.
Whichever you say second starts the boarding. When GSX finishes, the crew comes forward with "Captain, all passengers are on board", you confirm with boarding completed, and they answer "thank you".
Pushback
| You say | What happens |
|---|---|
Ground, we are ready for push | the tug is called and they read out your options |
area two · number three | picks that option from the list |
facing south | picks the option that pushes you that way |
ready for push, nose right · tail left | direction given straight away |
push straight | straight back |
Not yet, we'll call you | they stand by until you call |
We'll start engines on the push · no start during the push | answers the engine question |
Two good starts | confirms the engine start |
Stop the push · emergency stop | stops it |
Abort the pushback | back to the stand |
Brakes are set | they disconnect |
Thanks ground, have a good day | signs off |
The options are your stand's own. Most stands at real airports do not offer "nose left" or "nose right" — GSX lists the push areas defined for that parking position, each with the direction you end up facing. Ground reads out whatever GSX offers:
> "We have 1, Area 1 N5 facing south; 2, Area 2 N5 facing south; 3, Area 3 N5 facing south; > 6, Straight pushback. Which one, captain?"
Answer with the number or with the direction. Route-editor entries such as QuickEdit are never chosen for you — ask for one by number if you want it.
Anything ground needs from you — release the brakes, set the brakes — they ask for.
On X-Plane: BetterPushback
X-Plane has no GSX, so the ground crew there can do one thing — the pushback — through BetterPushback. Everything else on this page is MSFS only.
The plugin has no way to be handed a route, so you still draw it yourself. The conversation is:
Ground, request pushback— the tug is called and the planner opens.- You draw the push in BetterPushback's overhead view.
We are ready for push— the push starts. Release the parking brake when asked.Stop the pushif you need it, and they tell you when it is done.
If BetterPushback does not react at all, ground says so after a few seconds rather than leaving you waiting — that usually means the plugin is not installed or not enabled.
After landing
Shut the engines down and turn the beacon off, and ground comes up on the headset: "Ground to flight deck, hello. Welcome to Barcelona. How can we help you?"
From there it is the same conversation as on departure: deboarding, stairs, ground power, catering for the turnaround.
If something does not react
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Nothing happened at all | Open the Voice page — it shows the transcript of what was heard and which call it matched. |
| The wrong person answered | Start with ground or cabin crew. |
| Two voices talking over each other | GSX's own voices need to be silent. The connector tries to do that for you; if the Ground page asks, turn the audio volumes down in GSX Settings. |
| Ground never answers | The Ground page shows whether GSX was found and what is standing in the way. |