Question for ASA Pilots

[XPOO]

Without sounding adversarial (I am not trying to be) as long as you dispatchers are talking about a pilot's comfort fuel in relation to misquoting regs etc... why don't you guys tell me what the point of holding until you only have fuel to get to your divert airport?

No one has justified that reasoning to me yet. Or not very well anyway.

YOu mention big pic with ATC. AS far as holding maybe only being 10 minutes when EFC is 30+ how good are you at getting that info to your crews? Maybe you are good at doing it, but lots of dispatchers aren't

Yeah if we hold a little longer odds might be good at getting in vs diverting, but do you figure into your thoughts that the flight might still have to go elsewhere after they exit the hold or do you always count that flight as making it to the destination as soon as they get out of the hold? It is my responsibility as PIC to keep the flight safe and I do what is necessary to keep it that way. I would not say that it is the dispatcher's fault if I found myself in a bad way after holding til 3100lbs, I can do fuel calcultations. But give me info I can use. What none of you guys will say is that you want us to burn into our reserves by giving us a divert bingo fuel.

If that wasn't true then there would be no difference from having a diversion airport and another alternate. Why would you want to have a flight flying around in wx where they didn't have the fuel to shoot an approach go missed and still fly to an alternate/divert airport AND still have 45mins of reserve? I don't think it is good practice to use your reserve fuel just to "save a lot of time and money". Diverting is a pain in the ass for flight crews as well as you.

That is this pilots view and maybe it will help (I hope) you guys to see what the thought process is on the other end of the radio on days like this.

Sorta related question for the ASA dispatchers:
Does an inbound ACARS message from a flight crew still just show up as atiny orange blinking box on one of your windows on your computer? A window that is probably buried under 6 other windows?

I am not going to speak for everyone here, but I will give you my point of view on these two subjects.

When a dispatcher says he has the big picture in front of himher, he/she means that they can see every other aircraft that is holding going into that same airport.

It also comes with the knowledge that ATC routinely lies to flight crews about how long they can expect to hold. Going into ORD, it is not uncommon for crews to be told to expect 45+ mins. However, 9 times out of 10, I can see that there is only two people in front of you holding and one is being released already. So maybe you have about only 10 mins to wait. ATC does this constantly, and why? To cover their own butt should it actually take that long.

Now, if you are holding because wx at the airport is below mins, then diverting instantly MAY be the best course of action. Those are decision made on the fly, with the captain having the final autority on whether to continue to hold or divert. Each situation is unique and so I can not give you an exact answer for this scenario.

As for the ACARS notification in dispatch, yes here at SkyWest it is a blinking box on our Dispatch Release software. I make sure that no subsequent window will ever overlap that box no matter how many I have open. It is the most important piece of real estate on my computer screen.

 

[Crash Pad]

And, for the record, I plan and monitor every flight like my family and friends are on board. Difference between me and pilots who claim they do that...is that actually goes through my head with every release I build.

I can't resist! You pushed and you pushed:

Maverick: Jesus Christ, and you think I'm reckless? When I fly, I'll have you know that my crew and my plane come first.

 

[MaceyHold]

Macyhold you spoke like a true wannabe pilot.
In that case you should not be allowed to even spell the word "airplane" let stand be a dispatcher. You give your fellow dispatchers a bad name.
I can't help that you are a fake pilot! Now buzz off! Go do your job.


I can't believe that you dispatchers even ask these stupid questions on a message board.

Big Pappa *sigh*

Alright, so you've probably been in the airline biz a few years, just made it to captain not that long ago. Let's have story time shall we...

Yeah, at one point I did "wannabe" an airline pilot. Unfortunately after I got my PPL (back when we had ARSA's, CZ's, TCA's, SAs/FTs - you remember those???) I got to spend my 21st birthday having a surgeon cut into my head to remove a tumor. Well, so much for the pilot career...but I came across this little school down in FL (the dispatchers know the one I'm talking about) that promised me I could still be close to the action, so when I finally hit 23 I went and took the ATP written to get my dispatch certificate...then I was lucky enough to get hired on at, what many consider, the premier regional of the 90's based in IAD. I met what have become lifelong friends at that airline.
During my time there, I had the unfortunate task of being the manager on duty when the ATC command center called to inform me that they thought one of our planes had crashed into the pentagon, followed by mass confusion as we tried to get in touch with over 100 airborne flights and safely coordinate diversions, then piece the puzzle together as planes and crews were scattered, and ATC giving updates to updates...Have you ever had a day like that flying the line???

A few years later, I joined another airline that many feel is the current regional of choice (or at least the step-brother of the choice regional ), and I met a lot of good people there too!

I finally left after 10 years in the airline industry to pursue a job at a stable company, and still get to do what I enjoy with another great group of folks (and have 15 days off a month).

After several years of being persistent, I was able to get my medical cert back, and am now lucky enough to be instructing on my days off at a local mom and pop flight school - my students are always appreciative of what I teach them, and always show up with wide-eyes and big smiles because they enjoy flying so much. I have no more desire to fly for a living, so the teaching and watching my students enjoy themselves is the reward for me - not the hour building.

Ya know, given that I could be facing pay cuts, furloughs, bankruptcies...I think things worked out a little better than my original plans would've produced. A good dispatcher always develops a good back-up plan!!!