Weight restricted? Grrr...

[BoilerUP]

I'd love to sit in SOC for a day and watch what dispatch and scheduling have to deal with.... Think the company would actually let me?

It was required when I was at Air Wisconsin...I think we had to do 4 hours. It was definitely an eye-opener...both for the workload DXers have and how they can bitch and whine at the "stupid" questions and requests of flight crews about operational issues like alternates and contaminated runways when they're sitting in a nice warm office in ATW.

I decided then I would not want that job...mucho respect to dispatchers who see the "big picture" of things!

...and yeah, even on a 25 minute turn one of the two pilots can take 2 minutes to walk up the damn jetbridge and check for jumpseaters, especially if you have ACARS performance.

 

[FmrFreightDog]

I'm 100% sure we have a mutual friend from XJT so I won't flame you because he says you are a good guy.

But as a commuter myself, try to find something I wrote where I said would not do whatever it takes to get a fellow commuter on the airplane?

"On a 25 minute turn, we're supposed to get the people off, do the checklists, calculate limits if necessary, look over the paper work and call DX because he ********************ed up and forgot to put an alternate on, do the required departure brief, program the FMS, take a pi$$, AND THEN go up the jetway and ask a busy gate agent who wants the flight out?"

Above quote sounded to me like someone who was saying it was unreasonable to expect the Captain to run up to the gate real quickly on a turn and make sure there aren't any stranded jumpseaters. If I misunderstood, my apologies. Bottom line though, the system has gotten messed up and a lot of jumpseaters never make it past the gate for whatever reason. As a commuter, you of all people should understand the importance of scanning the gate area for jumpseaters if it is at all possible (takes about one minute).

Like I said, if I misunderstood the gist of your post, I apologize.

 

[Stifler's Mom]

I'd love to spend an afternoon in OCC with a Dispatcher, but it would have to be the SkyWest ones. That way I can eat In-N-Out Burger and play on Flightinfo all day long.

Oh, yeah and that 10nCLR guy can show me how to photoshop pictures.

 

[WalterSobchak]

If you don't know what I'm talking about, try to JS more often on different carriers.

Funny, a dispacter trying to lecture pilots on the JS. You know, the guys that have to deal with it day in day out.

I do...often. Believe it or not, I essentially commute, too. (Thank Raptor Jesus for Frontier crews...they rock when it comes to getting home when you're desperate enough to stop off in DEN to get there.)

You too, try to dispatch safe.

Always...

...how they can bitch and whine at the "stupid" questions and requests of flight crews about operational issues like alternates and contaminated runways when they're sitting in a nice warm office in ATW.

A question about operational issues is never a stupid question. Any DXer that complains otherwise should be reminded of why they exist. That said, the 473rd crew request to keep an airplane becomes a stupid question in the same way the word "roads" starts to sound funny when you say it over and over.

Above quote sounded to me like someone who was saying it was unreasonable to expect the Captain to run up to the gate real quickly on a turn and make sure there aren't any stranded jumpseaters. If I misunderstood, my apologies. Bottom line though, the system has gotten messed up and a lot of jumpseaters never make it past the gate for whatever reason. As a commuter, you of all people should understand the importance of scanning the gate area for jumpseaters if it is at all possible (takes about one minute).

It wasn't my intention to turn this into (yet another) pilot/dispatcher thread. What FmrFreightDog said above is what I was getting at.

I'd love to spend an afternoon in OCC with a Dispatcher, but it would have to be the SkyWest ones. That way I can eat In-N-Out Burger and play on Flightinfo all day long.

Oh, yeah and that 10nCLR guy can show me how to photoshop pictures.

Hey now...it's not all fun and games. We are, for the most part, just pretty good at what we do...so we make it look easy. We've also had a pretty lucky stretch of good weather lately. If you looked hard enough, you'd find a direct correlation between the WX in SFO, DEN, ORD, and SLC and the amount of posts you see from any of us.

I only post on days that I'm not working flight releases. The other days are feast or famine. And, I have flow in ORD today (just waiting on UAL to steal the good times from us before I start working the program), so this is probably the last you'll hear from me.

10nCLR is pretty crafty with the Microsoft Paint...I'll give you that.

Oh, and I think we've all cut back on the In-N-Out. You can only eat so many double-doubles, in different variations, before they start wear on you.




Good Lord, I feel like Rez after all that quoting.

 

[Stifler's Mom]

Hey now...it's not all fun and games. We are, for the most part, just pretty good at what we do...so we make it look easy. We've also had a pretty lucky stretch of good weather lately. If you looked hard enough, you'd find a direct correlation between the WX in SFO, DEN, ORD, and SLC and the amount of posts you see from any of us.

I only post on days that I'm not working flight releases. The other days are feast or famine. And, I have flow in ORD today (just waiting on UAL to steal the good times from us before I start working the program), so this is probably the last you'll hear from me.

10nCLR is pretty crafty with the Microsoft Paint...I'll give you that.

Oh, and I think we've all cut back on the In-N-Out. You can only eat so many double-doubles, in different variations, before they start wear on you.




Good Lord, I feel like Rez after all that quoting.

I know, just haven't had the opportunity to give you guys out there a hard time. Appreciate what you all do for us as DX.

 

[WalterSobchak]

I know, just haven't had the opportunity to give you guys out there a hard time.

We wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[dojetdriver]

Above quote sounded to me like someone who was saying it was unreasonable to expect the Captain to run up to the gate real quickly on a turn and make sure there aren't any stranded jumpseaters. If I misunderstood, my apologies. Bottom line though, the system has gotten messed up and a lot of jumpseaters never make it past the gate for whatever reason. As a commuter, you of all people should understand the importance of scanning the gate area for jumpseaters if it is at all possible (takes about one minute).

Like I said, if I misunderstood the gist of your post, I apologize.

No apology necessary. What I meant was, sometimes there's just not enough time to go up to the boarding area to scan for JS'ers.

If I know the guy is there, he's getting on.

 

[Metro752]

Wrong. It's a privilege accorded by a company as a courtesy. A captain is given discretion in refusing or allowing a jumpseat, but it's still not your right, and the fact is that if you don't make it past the gate agent then you don't get to petition the captain.

Again, it's not your right. Stop whining, grow up, and walk away.

..

I'm a big believer in JS karma too. had a gate agent give the same b.s. story about weight restrictions ono a 757 (American)...so I said "thank you"...walked over to the window right in front of the cockpit, pushed my badge against it until I got the attention of the captain. he then strolled up...said a few words to the gate agent, and then accompanied me to my first class seat. so rad...

I will always go to the gate agent and ask if there jumpseaters looking for a ride if i have any idea if the flight is going to be close to full. our ANC agents sometimes can get a little blase' about getting offline dudes on.

Mookie

I quoted Mookie, I feel dirty.

 

[ShutupandFly]

Sorry to sound like a jerk, but do you even fly the CRJ-200? 35 passengers on a bad weather day? Are you kidding me? The most restricted I've ever personally seen with an alternate and a boatload of fuel and bags has been at 48, possibly 47, passengers. That happens rarely. I haven't experienced any clear weather problems with weight on the -200 at my airline, and we fly a lot of routes like ORD-MKE/MSN/AZO/MLI/PIA/SPI etc.... If the weather is good then we can carry a full boat plus jumpseater.

I guess you never had an MEL restriction that requiered you gear to be down for 10 min, or filling the wing tanks.

 

[Wanderlust]

Ah, yes! Refreshing commentary from an Ann Coulter fan! Who's an atheist sympathizer! I'm so confused.

 

[OOramperpilot]

Alright Wanderlust, let me give you another option from a Ramp Rat's point of view.

Being that you were trying to hop on a regional, ask the gate agent if you can hang out on the ramp just in case it works out that you can get on with the understanding that you will go back inside if it doesn't work out, no harm, no foul.

In this day and age of increasing passenger and bag weights, as well as being aware of CG issues of various types of aircraft, we also know how to make the numbers work (and not by fudging bag weights on load sheets). A lot of us know the Captains pretty well, and most Captains don't like to leave jumpseaters behind. Frankly, I don't either. I might try and get on your weight restricted flight one day in the back of the bus and I hope you would try and do what you can and still be safe to get me on.

Anywho, what it boils down to, is the more experienced of us know, how to adjust CG. Move carry on's to the forward pit of a CRJ700, know how many kids are onboard, is it an aft galley Brasila. Lot's of variables that we deal with every day.

We'll try and get you home or to work, and if it doesn't work out, you go back inside and try another flight or carrier. There's lot's of ways to skin a cat and don't forget, sometimes the rampers can skin that cat for you!

My final bit of advice is that no means NO. Say thank you, move along, and in the words of Patrick Swazye..."Be Nice, if he won't leave, two of you will escort him out, and you will both, BE NICE." Karma is a bitch and if you so much as balk at not getting on, the likelyhood of that gate working the next flight you want to get on increases exponentialy!

 

[Headfake14]

-Leave no Non-Rev behind-

That was and still is my motto.

There was a gate agent at ASA...little Korean lady...called me "captain nonwev...you take all nonwevs" haha. I was ALWAYS going up to the gate to check. You old school ASAers...remember when we had the projected "Max's" printed on the release. Most gate agents would go by that and just stop...not even ask if we could take more. Pi$$ed me off...what if THEY were on the other side of that counter today. Same for jumpseaters. I'd have the girls find me ANYONE who looked like a kid, acted like one...even little old grannies who weighed the same as a kid. There were always kids...or more carryon's than checked bags...maybe 100lbs less gas.

I do the same now at JB...and so do a handful of the captains I fly with.

I went toe to toe with a gate agent with ASA shortly before I left. He wouldn't put this girl on because the "Max" said only 47 or whatever. I said it's a "ball park" thing and we are O K. Then this tool went off about me telling him how to do his job. WTF? Threatend to call a chief....I said, I'll dial the number! Friggin idiot....I got her on eventually.

For the record...if any of you guys ever wanna JS on Jetblue...I've NEVER been limited by weight (E190). 100 pax, 2 JSers, alternate fuel...and room to grow. I think the 320 is pretty good too. Plus, pilots ARE allowed to ride the extra FA jumpseat. We might get limited if we get an obnoxious amout of bags with 100 pax. Normal bag counts are around 120 with that load.

 

[realmanofgenius]

when you consider the carry on allowance , I'm not buying. His 185 pound summer arse could have been absorbed in the imaginary carry ons. you make the numbers work, you fly, you go home...must have been an ERAU captain.