Shocked at the state of Dispatcher Profession

[ABC123]

When I started Dispatching 16 years ago, Dispatching was a career, now it appears it is just something to do, while in college, or they see an ad in the paper, seeing an airline offering to put people though school, and have no clue what it is about.

At the company I work, I watch people surf the net, listen to their Ipods or watch movies, all the while flights are are in the air, weather or ATC issues and the dispatcher is completely clueless to these conditions.

I have actually taken over a desk before, where the destination now requires a alternate, and when I ask the dispatcher I am relieving, why there is not one on the releases, I get this answer, "It was legal when I dispatched it". Guess what, that is fine, but the forecast amended 3 hours ago. Or having a illegal alternate on the release, because they failed to pull out the Jepp manuals, and derive alternate mins.

Or seeing a line of thunderstorms going to impact one of our major hubs, and yet, no alternate, no hold fuel and very little tanker, all because the written TAF did not require an alternate, and when all had to do is look at the weather radar and see the TAF was wrong.

Is this what our profession has become, just a tap tap send, so the dispatchers can get back to surfing the net, listening to their Ipods, or watching movies.

Are they any other places like this, that let their dispatchers do this? Please I am loosing faith in my profession and fast

 

[abxdx]

Where do you work? Sounds like your management and supes have let things get way out of hand. I will admit that with all the technology these days our job is alot easiar to do, we rely on the computer a lot. But it sounds like your dispatch office needs a reality check or maybe a visit from the FAA... I won't say I never surf the net, if the wx is good and things are running smooth I usually get a chance to catch up on my sport scores etc.... Not sure if you are at regional, major,121 Supp, or what, but some of these airlines get what they pay for..........

When I started Dispatching 16 years ago, Dispatching was a career, now it appears it is just something to do, while in college, or they see an ad in the paper, seeing an airline offering to put people though school, and have no clue what it is about.

At the company I work, I watch people surf the net, listen to their Ipods or watch movies, all the while flights are are in the air, weather or ATC issues and the dispatcher is completely clueless to these conditions.

I have actually taken over a desk before, where the destination now requires a alternate, and when I ask the dispatcher I am relieving, why there is not one on the releases, I get this answer, "It was legal when I dispatched it". Guess what, that is fine, but the forecast amended 3 hours ago. Or having a illegal alternate on the release, because they failed to pull out the Jepp manuals, and derive alternate mins.

Or seeing a line of thunderstorms going to impact one of our major hubs, and yet, no alternate, no hold fuel and very little tanker, all because the written TAF did not require an alternate, and when all had to do is look at the weather radar and see the TAF was wrong.

Is this what our profession has become, just a tap tap send, so the dispatchers can get back to surfing the net, listening to their Ipods, or watching movies.

Are they any other places like this, that let their dispatchers do this? Please I am loosing faith in my profession and fast

 

[ABC123]

Prefer not to say where I work.

And management has been brought into it, and yet nothing is done, and the FAA is aware, one of our sister companies just got busted for not knowing to when to add an alternate or how to 3585 a dispatch release.

It is sad

 

[abxdx]

Well maybe after 16 years it is time to move on. I looked at your other posts, are you at a regional, why not try for a 121 Supp, or major.. Better pay and professionalism. I hate to say it but if you are only going to pay 12-13 dollars an hour what do you expect. I am sure that the guys who take it seriously are moving on to bigger and better things. There are a lot of 121 cargo carriers out there that I think get a bad rap, they usually pay decent and it is a great way to learn intl side of flight planning, a good way to move on to a Southwest or United if that is your ultimate goal, but hell UPS a cargo carrier is probably the highest paying airline out there when it comes to dispatch...

 

[abxdx]

I have been at this for 12 years now and I make a pretty decent living... I never worked for a regional, I have always been in cargo except for a brief stint with a pax charter operator... I have done nothing but heavy jets and have a ton of Intl experience....

 

[dispatchguy]

one of our sister companies just got busted for not knowing to when to add an alternate or how to 3585 a dispatch release.

It is sad

Sounds like someone I knew at one airline a few years back, before they made the move to big-bad Indy, whom had I had done his comp check, he wouldnt have passed it (hell, he'd probably still be trying to pass it); he only passed his CC from the D-SOC because we needed a warm body on the floor because of inadequate staffing; and thats all this individual is, is a big, warm body.

I mean, I remember one day when I asked him the question to something simple, like how to 3585, so he reaches for the office copy of the FOM; I grab his arm and asked him where his was (I knew his was in the back window of his car, where anyone could see it -including our POI who was on premises that day). I direct him to go get his, and he first stammers that he doesnt know, I splain that I saw his in the back seat of his car plainly in the back window; and that he better get it pronto.

Taking a desk over from this individual was like playing you bet your license; and on several occasions I refused to take a flight or two over until they landed for their releases weren't legal (bad alternates, no alternates, you get the picture).

A lot of it is, especially in the regional world, that real training is nonexistent. They get kids fresh out of school with a tempo ticket (and those kids barely know 121), who hardly know their ass from a hole in the ground, and couldnt dispatch on a VFR day to save their soul.

I put a lot of the failure onto the schools themselves, and the whole dispatch training methodologies; in what other FAA certificated position do you not do the job to get the certificate; a pilot goes and flies an airplane, I assume a mechanic goes and puts an engine together or something (I dont know for sure what a mech's practical is), a dispatcher chases a manual flight plan through such a cumbersome process that if an airline did it that way, nothing would ever leave the ground. There is no "practical application" of what dispatching really means; and that doing the tap-tap-send stuff is the easy part.

Dispatcher certification is so unreal and un-real-world that, combined with the lackadaisical training in the regional world (at least most, but not all) is the perfect storm; low certification standards combined with a low comp check standard (breathing, good, you pass), and with crap pay means you get what you pay for.

I take pride in any release with my name on it, but I must be in the minority.

 

[ABC123]

Was at a major, who was let go after a buy out and told we would all be one big happy family.

Holding on for my dream airline with a supposed opening sometime this quarter

 

[onewithwings]

I put a lot of the failure onto the schools themselves, and the whole dispatch training methodologies;

I take pride in any release with my name on it, but I must be in the minority.

I'm not going to mention where I received my license. The school I attended primarily taught the exams...and how to pass them.

The ONLY practical experience we gained was from the weather instructor. He was a real meteorologist and had an immense passion for his job. He was also a perfectionist. Before class each day, he would have the entire class step outside. Then he would divide the sky into quadrants and we would each take turns interpreting the phenomena. I use those lessons on a daily basis.

Taking pride in your releases speaks volumes. You need to have respect to get respect. The releases you produce are a direct result of the pride and effort you inject into your work...and that will always follow you no matter where you are employed.

 

[WalterSobchak]

Taking pride in your releases speaks volumes. You need to have respect to get respect. The releases you produce are a direct result of the pride and effort you inject into your work...and that will always follow you no matter where you are employed.

That is the best advice any newbie can get. The pride you take in your work...going above and beyond to produce such work...is huge in what we do. I hate seeing releases that were half-a$$ed...almost makes me sick...and it makes us ALL look like idiots when you have a small group that produce crap releases.

 

[great cornholio]

Taking pride in your releases speaks volumes. You need to have respect to get respect. The releases you produce are a direct result of the pride and effort you inject into your work...and that will always follow you no matter where you are employed.

Coming from the receiving end of those releases I'd say that this is true. My company only has a handful of dispatchers so it doesn't take much to remember who is good and who sucks. When I see certain names on the release I feel better because these dispatchers generally have their ducks in order and make very few mistakes that require me calling them to get it fixed. And then there are the names that I see and I know right away that I'll have to call because 99% of the time they have missed something, and when I do call they sound like they have the deer in headlights look because they will be like what do you mean there are TSRA's closing in or huh I guess you do need an alternate now. So for those of you that do the good job keep it up it is appreciated. Especially now with the low time FO's I have to spend enough time baby sitting them so I don't really have time to baby sit my dispatcher as well. (not saying I'm perfect...I make mistakes too and have had some of the good dispatchers catch stuff I missed)