Originally Posted by
forgot to bid
But you were at a maintenance base for AK? If you're in ATL and the APU INOP you can run the QRH on it and see if it starts and/or call maintenance. Maintenance can come out and try to fix it or if it won't fix or if it's their prerogative just MEL it. We could MEL it but per our MEL says if you're on the jetway with the door open at a MX base then contact maintenance.
Now you're at an outstation. The APU is INOP. You write it up, call maintenance, MEL it and go fly. If you're next destination is a maintenance hub and they're not planning on fixing it then they won't come out to see the book. The next crew will take it somewhere else and the APU may be inop for as long as the MEL allows, nobody needs to see that MEL.
OK old procedure at AE was mx comes to MEL. New procedure is they don't. It does not matter if we are at an outstation or DFW, maintenance will NOT come MEL or troubleshoot the item. If we call them they will say defer it or talk to your chief pilot and bring the union. The chief pilot will then say "airlines like Delta look down on pilots who are troublemakers and not accept legal aircraft." I actually had an ACP say that verbatim.