Question for ASA Pilots

[COOPERVANE]

I think we all need to sit in each other chairs for a few hours once a year.

Why cant dispatchers shadow a reserve captain to see how bad his life SUCKS sometimes? See how small descisions affect his day? I think you would be VERY surprised at how demanding this job CAN be!

Why cant we sit in and observe dispatch to see how hard that job can be? I'm positive the job has LOTS more to it than I think.

 

[WalterSobchak]

Why cant we sit in and observe dispatch to see how hard that job can be? I'm positive the job has LOTS more to it than I think.

I can't speak for our brothers at ASA...but I know we welcome pilots anytime. Ask your dispatcher...maybe they can set something up if you have a few hours to kill.

 

[COOPERVANE]

Well, O.K. but I really want you guys to see our side also.

The company should REQUIRE us to shadow each other.

 

[wms]

Pilots can be uncooperative. But there's a sector mgr up there that waits for a pilot to disagree with a dispatcher and then screams at them over the radio. That's totally wrong. And there are dispatchers that try to lead pilots down the wrong road, the flap AD would be one example.

The 200 hour new-hires of three years ago are now upgrading, and can be easily misled by a dispatcher. That's a bad thing in the making. I think there has to be some proactive work at ASA to open the door between the dispatchers and the pilots so we understand the challenges the other group has to face.

 

[fltdspx]

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.

 

[twott driver]

I have to agree with you on that one but you can't tell me it happens every single time and don't you have a max effort section with the correction data on it for the runways as well as use of the ACARS.

I certainly wouldn't say it happens all the time, and yes, we can and do use the max effort section. The point is that when that stuff happens with regularity, it makes the dispatcher look unprofessional, and at worst, incompetent. After that, it's a slippery slope.

 

[fltdspx]

I certainly wouldn't say it happens all the time, and yes, we can and do use the max effort section. The point is that when that stuff happens with regularity, it makes the dispatcher look unprofessional, and at worst, incompetent. After that, it's a slippery slope.

Well I can't argue with that.

 

[John Pennekamp]

I don't use the radio to vent out like the pilots do. We have accountably on our end where the pilots will say just about anything they want and no one can really prove who said what. When we are talking to our flight and someone pipes in with a smart $%^# comment it might seem funny but after 10hrs of hearing that crap over 8 years is a bit much don't you think. All I ask is to be professional on the radio and if someone has a problem with the way things are being handled deal with it in a more professional way and not the coward way behind the mic. I bet there is not one of you who would say any of that crap in person in flight control.

Come, come now. Are we tampy? Is it that time of the month?

Yes, I think a good smart ass comment every now and then really does lighten up the mood. And if you don't you might be in the wrong business. So next time you've pulled a 10 hour shift, and you want to reach through the mike and strangle me for my comments, it's probably time for you to take a coffee break (better make it decaf) and breathe deeply.

Then I'll be there to make fun of you for saying something stupid on the radio when you get back.

 

[CFI2766]

Ironic that the folks we tend to b!tch at are the folks who should be on our side. (Pilots vs Dispatcher, and vice versa.) The folks that we have the biggest gripes about we never see. I've been flying the line over a year now and have yet to see either of the CEOs of my company anywhere near an airplane or even the airport, for that matter.

Are pilots, or dispatchers, perfect. Nope. Doesn't mean that we couldn't work together a bit better, tho.

 

[Oakum_Boy]

Well, O.K. but I really want you guys to see our side also.

The company should REQUIRE us to shadow each other.

Yeah. And probably on a day that would otherwise be OFF. Do you think ASA will actually pull you off a trip and pay you to be a shadow? Not.

 

[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.