LIDO Anyone?

[Pull To Guns]

PullToGuns has been known to refer to LIDO as "LIDO In, Dispatcher Out".

And I will stand by that statement. Many of our short hauls are automated and they run themselves. If there is a problem an alert shows up and the supervisor tweaks it. Lido reads WX, NOTAMS, selects ETOPS and driftdown alternates, reads airspace restrictions and more. I can do an ultra long haul flight in a few minute's time if there is nothing weird going on. It is very automated and will chose the best route each time. It does much what a dispatcher's eyeballs and brain usually does.

The caveat is that the database must be kept updated and maintained so the system knows what it is looking for so a large "back office" is needed.

An important thing is to let go and trust the system, some can't do that and end up fighting it instead of going with the flow. Maybe it works better in an international environment. We have mostly good luck with LIDO support but still must "trust but verify".

I don't like the charts and visuals but we have Jepp e-link to compensate for that. LIDO has saved the airline a bunch of gas money since its inception and reduced errors.

I despised the Jepp Jetplan(ner) we had before so I think LIDO is the best thing since sliced bread. I also think it is the wave of the future which doesn't bode well us grunts in the trenches. Think the robotic welders that replaced so many autoworkers, that's LIDO.

 

[SKC]

I'm glad we're transitioning to a non-LIDO product now. The time and money invested in this project should keep us away from complete automation for at least 10-12 years.

 

[dispatchguy]

Put the crackpipe down PTG...no system is that perfect!

 

[Pull To Guns]

I'm glad we're transitioning to a non-LIDO product now. The time and money invested in this project should keep us away from complete automation for at least 10-12 years.

Yeah, it is a love/hate relationship. The automation makes my job much less tedious but I can also see where this is ultimately going.

When we had the bare-bones Jepp Jetplan(ner) system, I had to MANUALLY enter flight#'s, ETDs, weights, tail#'s, dep/arr/alt airports and much more for EACH flight EACH day. ETOPS was a huge pain not to mention the trans Atlantic and Australian sectors as well. The setup was more suitable for a small charter outfit than a scheduled international airline.

A flight from here to LHR could overfly a dozen countries (FIRs) and reading the associated NOTAMs and restricted areas for each airspace was like reading a phone book.

LIDO does all that for me freeing my time for more productive dispatch functions such as flight following rather than data entry. It gives me an alert if it sees something hinckey and I investigate further.

LIDO is a European (Lufthansa) product and maybe it just works better in the world than it does in North America. I am good with it but then again I am not just starting out in my dispatch career. If I was, I would be somewhat worried about the potential of the technology.

 

[Pull To Guns]

Put the crackpipe down PTG...no system is that perfect!

LIDO is not perfect and like all systems with human input, it is subject to GIGO. I am still impressed with the sophistication of it though. One learns its weak points after awhile and knows where to pay special attention. Too much misguided and unmonitored automation is not a good thing re: the Airbus "What is it doing now?" joke.

Control freaks tend not to like LIDO but I am one that prefers looking at the forest and let LIDO spend time looking at the trees.

Its like going from hand-flying a DC-3 to the automated glass cockpit of a B777. The former would be fun but the latter is where the future is for commercial aviation. Ask any ex-Flight Engineer.