Question for ASA Pilots

[Cpt Oveur]

They should get a new frequency for scheduling. that way there can be a dedicated smart comment frequency, and reserve flight control for asking dispatchers what was going through their head when they sent us a release with either: no alternate when one is required, an illegal alternate, an alternate listed but no alternate fuel, or a route that takes us through the worst of the adverse weather.

 

[XPOO]

ASA could also ditch the Freq. altogether and adopt the SKYW method of phone calls only. Every call to dispatch is recorded digitally and maintained on record for 90 days. This eliminates the whole pilot said/dispatcher said arguments.

 

[John Pennekamp]

ASA could also ditch the Freq. altogether and adopt the SKYW method of phone calls only. Every call to dispatch is recorded digitally and maintained on record for 90 days. This eliminates the whole pilot said/dispatcher said arguments.

But SkyWest pilots play nice in the sandbox. ASA pilots don't.

In light of this, flights will be delayed when pilots refuse to call from their cell phones, and go inside to call. Also, ASA pilots really aren't afraid of telling off the dx on record. With union protection, it's very hard to fire us (unlike SKW). And 131.15 is recorded anyhow.

Probably not such a good idea.

 

[XPOO]

SKYW also has ACARS, so calls to dispatch before a flight are pretty rare actually. However, when a pilot gets snippy and threatens to file an IOR on the dispatcher, the dispatcher just has their manager flag the phone call. I've seen it kill quite a few egos already.

 

[John Pennekamp]

However, when a pilot gets snippy and threatens to file an IOR on the dispatcher, the dispatcher just has their manager flag the phone call. I've seen it kill quite a few egos already.

But we can't get fired for that. They can and do.

 

[XPOO]

But we can't get fired for that. They can and do.

Yeah, I wasn't claiming that. But it does help give the dispatcher a leg to stand on sometimes.

 

[XPOO]

duplicate

 

[mkingmei]

"it's dissipating"

They should get a new frequency for scheduling. that way there can be a dedicated smart comment frequency, and reserve flight control for asking dispatchers what was going through their head when they sent us a release with either: no alternate when one is required, an illegal alternate, an alternate listed but no alternate fuel, or a route that takes us through the worst of the adverse weather.

Oh it's ok the level 5 over the field/on the departure is DISSIPATING... as always.

 

[John Pennekamp]

Oh it's ok the level 5 over the field/on the departure is DISSIPATING... as always.

The weather should be gone by the time you get to Macon. It's what, like an hour flight?

 

[Stifler's Mom]

do you think it's your job to give the dispatch group a hard time with every radio call that comes into flight conttrol along with the smart comments at the end of EVERY SINGLE call

Never have and hopefully never will.

Now OPS Freq???? That's a different story. As far as I'm concerned that place is open mic night at the Improv.

If you are going to work at ASA, you better have a healthy sense of humor, because it is the only thing that will get you through the day.

 

[Varmint]

I agree with my brother dispatcher at SkyWest , we welcome all pilots to sit with us when you have time to kill. I believe if we all work together we could get along much better. just remember that Dispatch is different than scheduling, maintenance or ramp tower.

I welcome a dispatcher to come ride with me on a five leg day. Before you leave to ride, make sure the trip has the typical two aircraft swaps. Sounds simple and easy but those two swaps equate to two concourse changes, dealing with other peoples crap aircraft that they have delayed causing you now to inherit their delay, dealing with multiple crap mels like APU inop, and putting up with aircraft with no crew closets. No crew closets require you to shove four days of crap into the overheads (which smashes everything in your bag and scrapes your bag up) or put it in the back and risk it getting lost.

You say quit whining and that stuff does not seem like a big deal....well, come out on a 13.9 hour duty day when its cold and raining and there are hours of ground delay programs. With the delays, you are doing all that crap above on a compressed schedule trying to get somewhere so you can go to sleep for your required 8 hours of rest.

90% of that is not your fault...but it all begins with the simple aircraft swap. Your smarta$$ flightinfo signoff (at the bottom of each post) about "keeping the aircraft" equates to the "ghost" smartass remarks on the radio. Touche.

 

[John Pennekamp]

Now OPS Freq???? That's a different story. As far as I'm concerned that place is open mic night at the Improv.

If you are going to work at ASA, you better have a healthy sense of humor, because it is the only thing that will get you through the day.

LOL! So true!!!! :laugh:

 

[OpsCheckGood]

The following is a true story which happened to ME a couple of years ago!

Doing a ferry flight to MCN. Get to the A/C there is nothing wrong with the plane. No MELs, we have a good release. CAT A ferry flight (MTC convenience only) right? As soon as we rotate ut of ATL the "tower" tells us to call our dispatcher. Wierd, but o.k. Dispatcher: Did you guys take off already?
Me: yes
Dispatcher: o.k. "cool" call me when you get to MCN

upon arrival in MCN I call. Dispatcher asks is we had a ferry permit when we left. I explained we did not but one wasn't required since it was a CAT A ferry. He said o.k. "just wanted to make sure we were on the same page." An hour later sitting in MCN ops waiting on a DHD flight home my phone rings. It's a different dispatcher. She said "captain, I just wanted to give you a heads up that your dispatcher is filling out paperwork on you saying you took off w/out a permit!"

I filled out my paperwork on the flight to ATL complete with a copy of the release and quotes from the ferry flight section of the FOM. By the time I landed in ATL I had two voice mails form the chiefs saying the FEDs were in their office!

I was legal, and MUCH thanks to the lady dispatcher that gave me the heads up so I could have my ducks in a row when I walked in. But don't give me the "dispatchers are the victim" crap here because my 9 years in this business have taught me that some of the ones on "my own team" are the most dangerous.

 

[fltdspx]

I welcome a dispatcher to come ride with me on a five leg day. Before you leave to ride, make sure the trip has the typical two aircraft swaps. Sounds simple and easy but those two swaps equate to two concourse changes, dealing with other peoples crap aircraft that they have delayed causing you now to inherit their delay, dealing with multiple crap mels like APU inop, and putting up with aircraft with no crew closets. No crew closets require you to shove four days of crap into the overheads (which smashes everything in your bag and scrapes your bag up) or put it in the back and risk it getting lost.

You say quit whining and that stuff does not seem like a big deal....well, come out on a 13.9 hour duty day when its cold and raining and there are hours of ground delay programs. With the delays, you are doing all that crap above on a compressed schedule trying to get somewhere so you can go to sleep for your required 8 hours of rest.

90% of that is not your fault...but it all begins with the simple aircraft swap. Your smarta$$ flightinfo signoff (at the bottom of each post) about "keeping the aircraft" equates to the "ghost" smartass remarks on the radio. Touche.

gong on a four leg day with you would be fine however when you go to work you have no idea if you get to keep the aircraft or not it's a crap shoot, so that's what it should be. If I'm not mistaken after talking to a few IPs I was told that when you guys come into ATL expect a swap if you don't get one feel lucky. I'm not say it's fair or not that is not my job.. I am a dispatcher not a aircraft swapper. I agree that IF most of you could keep your aircraft then just maybe you guys /gals could actually get out on time ( of course then again there is the ATL ramp to deal with. Dispatchers get frustrated too maybe not on the same level but it does cause us to have to do extra work once again it's not our call on the swaps ..sometimes it does work out but as you all are aware most of the time is doesn't. What you guys also don’t realize is we have 1 to 5 cities a night red tagged for a/c to overnight in that particular city for mtc…so hey guess what if you bid the lines/trips that overnight in BTR, CAE, MEI, and SHV and cities like that then more then likely you will have to take a particular a/c there for mtc on the overnight. And if you have to swap before then, the sector manager is trying to set up the plot to get that a/c there towards the end of the night. Hell we are still trying to catch up from all the crap you wrote up during contract negotations..so when you get swapped thank your little ALPA buddy for writing up the damn ice drawer or the coffee pot that we have to fix in SHV!!!!

 

[XPOO]

Perhaps things would be a little easier if Delta could see the crew links and try to park crews as close to possible as the aircraft they will be swapping into. UA does this in ORD as much as possible and I think the ORD crews have noticed over the past year.