Toughest things in a dispatchers shift

pljenkins said:
Hmmm.. How about the CRJ-200 in July on the DEN-YEG route when you need an alternate? Yes, it was on the schedule every damn day. It's what I used to call the Kobyashi Maru scenario of dispatch.

Really the hardest part of dispatch is staying on top of things during good days. Super easy to become complacent when it's severe clear everywhere and everything is on time and under budget. Honestly the days where the fecal matter impacts the rotating air movement device are easier, because it keeps you busy. Busy is focused.
Click to expand...

THIS. The majority of my ASAPS have been on perfectly clear VFR days with nothing to do. Yes, I've missed an alternate or 2 @A1TAPE . Sorry to let you down.
 
DxDD said:
Listening to your fellow dispatchers calling station ops to tell them about bumping passengers because they are using an altn 200miles away with 25minutes of hold fuel and 1500lbs of extra fuel on a regional jet
Click to expand...

My company is a supplemental cargo carrier...I had one of my co-workers training a new dispatcher the other day, and he had him put THREE alternates when the destination and first alternate were 10 and clear...and had TWO alternates on the return leg when the destination and first alternate were also great. This is during fish season up here when our airline makes a good bulk of money...there goes a few thousand pounds of revenue each leg!
 
Adding extra alternates doesn’t necessarily add extra fuel. You just have the burn to the most distant alternate from the destination. I agree though, adding multiple alternates when weather at destination and first alternate are good seems rather odd.
 
manniax said:
Adding extra alternates doesn’t necessarily add extra fuel. You just have the burn to the most distant alternate from the destination. I agree though, adding multiple alternates when weather at destination and first alternate are good seems rather odd.
Click to expand...
Adding an alternate when the weather is good at the destination itself is odd. Lots of people say "just in case it drops..." well that could happen to any destination I suppose so why not just carry an alternate on every flight. If the crew cant land the airplane when its BKN020 then they probably have no business flying a commercial aircraft.
 
CPZ9900 said:
Adding an alternate when the weather is good at the destination itself is odd. Lots of people say "just in case it drops..." well that could happen to any destination I suppose so why not just carry an alternate on every flight. If the crew cant land the airplane when its BKN020 then they probably have no business flying a commercial aircraft.
Click to expand...

It's not about safety as much as it is protecting yourself from FAR violations when you don't have the time to keep track of all the borderline TAFs for your 50 flights.
 
CPZ9900 said:
Adding an alternate when the weather is good at the destination itself is odd. Lots of people say "just in case it drops..." well that could happen to any destination I suppose so why not just carry an alternate on every flight. If the crew cant land the airplane when its BKN020 then they probably have no business flying a commercial aircraft.
Click to expand...

My understanding for supplemental operations is that an alternate is always required. However, I have not worked at a supplemental myself, so if anyone who has knows of exceptions to this rule let me know.
 
manniax said:
My understanding for supplemental operations is that an alternate is always required. However, I have not worked at a supplemental myself, so if anyone who has knows of exceptions to this rule let me know.
Click to expand...
Correct. If it's supplemental you need an alternate.
 
Easy, air traffic control and their lack of communication. It's awful, I've worked in buisness aviation and 121 - its all the same, they claim to be all about "Collaborative Decision Making", but its a farce. I always tell the pilots in tough weather days, its not the forecast thats the wildcard, its how ATC reacts to it.
 
Reek said:
Easy, air traffic control and their lack of communication. It's awful, I've worked in buisness aviation and 121 - its all the same, they claim to be all about "Collaborative Decision Making", but its a farce. I always tell the pilots in tough weather days, its not the forecast thats the wildcard, its how ATC reacts to it.
Click to expand...

ATC is definitely a big one. The worst thing is when it's clear everywhere from the atlantic to the mississippi and calm winds in NY metros, but somehow lga is in a ground delay or a ground stop for "WIND/WEATHER." and then the outbound traffic gets unpublished ATC reroutes to departures they know they're going to close, in the hopes that you have to gate return and or cancel.
 
manniax said:
Adding extra alternates doesn’t necessarily add extra fuel. You just have the burn to the most distant alternate from the destination. I agree though, adding multiple alternates when weather at destination and first alternate are good seems rather odd.
Click to expand...

Yes, it does only carry fuel for the furthest alternate...but when he's adding alternates he doesn't need to have and it's farther than his perfectly fine alternate, he's bumping revenue for fuel he doesn't actually need. Usually we just add extra fuel if we have any room left over. Only time we add extra is if its an airport with no fuel (a few of those up here), or we add extra in winter since it can be notoriously crappy.
 
Reek said:
Easy, air traffic control and their lack of communication. It's awful, I've worked in buisness aviation and 121 - its all the same, they claim to be all about "Collaborative Decision Making", but its a farce. I always tell the pilots in tough weather days, its not the forecast thats the wildcard, its how ATC reacts to it.
Click to expand...


ATC guys are idiots when it comes to reroutes here in Florida. I had a flight the other day into from KPNS to KTPA that got rerouted in such a way that the flight ended up almost going through worse WX than what they were trying to avoid. Had to call the crew and tell them to ask for a short cut through some rain. ATC was trying to route them around all the clouds I guess....
 
1C9CD838-4DF9-4598-9D75-B91026FCEEFD.gif
 
DogwoodLynx said:
ATC guys are idiots when it comes to reroutes here in Florida. I had a flight the other day into from KPNS to KTPA that got rerouted in such a way that the flight ended up almost going through worse WX than what they were trying to avoid. Had to call the crew and tell them to ask for a short cut through some rain. ATC was trying to route them around all the clouds I guess....
Click to expand...
Sounds like Chicago.
 
It seems ORD loves to reroute flights from N/S Carolina and Tenn. and send them as far west as MCI for a single storm cloud over IND lol.

Sent from my SM-J727T1 using Tapatalk
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top