@learhawkerbe400 sorry you had a hard time buddy. The -200s aren't fun times for anyone, anywhere. (and I don't work nights so I know it wasn't me that burned you!)
Gonna play the ramp card here -- at an outstation it isn't a face card, but it's got some value in the discussion.
Regarding fuel/de-fuel, Wiggins in MHT operates a 6-truck (5-truck for
years) fleet with every vehicle topped off and ready for use. In my 5-year history at the airfield, we've emptied one of the 250,000 gallon(!) tanks in a day - once after Boston had the fuel facility fire and required enroute fuel stops - and later during a JFK/EWR/BDL/BOS ground stop that put MHT, BTV, PWM and BGR in the news with some serious heavy metal diversions. "
We're always open," so it's important to have the fleet topped off in case JBU, VRD, ASA, UAL, or whoever sends anything larger than a 737 our way. I left the ramp just under a year ago - and this August would have been 6 years for me. In that time we
never had a dedicated defueler - and of our six-strong fleet - only 2 trucks could defuel.
supposedly MHT just bought one in December...old as sin too. In the case of a larger airport, though, especially Philly, they very well may have defuelers hanging out. (and I've seen quite a few 10,000 gallon trucks all stacked up at the DHL Cargo apron just hanging out...)
MORE TO THE POINT, defueling is a
royal pain in the ass. It DOES take a truck out of service, as "that fuel" needs to be refiltered, inventoried (Is it actually the airline's? Does it belong to a parent company, such as World Fuel Services?) before it can even be redistributed / mixed in with "other" jet fuel. I've also only defueled....once? Maybe twice. I know I had to take a megaton out of a Delta Mad Dog when the thing refused to fire off an engine on a supremely hot summer day. Took us almost an hour to extract the 3000 lbs out of the center tank. Then, when a rookie fueler unloaded his 5,000 gallon truck into a BWI-bound SWA 737 registered N490WN when he thought he was fueling a DEN-bound SWA 737 registered N480WN...that didn't go over well with our boss.
“American started tracking each dispatcher’s fuel performance and publishing it for all the dispatchers.”
That's nice. Give me a $10,000 bonus for not having my name in red italics. No? Leave me alone.
More specifically, the Federal Aviation Administration entrusts fuel decisions jointly to pilots and dispatcher.
Weird, I don't see
management in there anywhere.
Typical cheapo Airways policies.... PSA was recently told they were no longer allowed to round up the fuel, "it costs too much!" Good luck on that fueler getting exactly 6246 pounds into the airplane. The scare tactics in DAY are ridiculous when it comes to fuel, and most of the brand new dispatchers don't have the balls to stand up to it and protect their license.
Especially since CRJ fuel panels are
absolutely notorious for fuel roll -- almost 300 lbs per tank -- and are only accurate to the te-- Well, only display the tens, anyway. You'll see "2250" per tank for 4500 lbs of fuel if you need it -- but you'll most likely end up with 2460 in the left and 2310 in the right. Putting 5000 lbs in a -700/-900? Lol, have fun watching the digits go wild as you inject 300 gallons a minute into the wings.
Only planes worse than CRJs were the ones that said Airbus on the side.