Originally Posted by
btwissel
i usually let them know the atis i have when calling for clearance and taxi. i do it for clearance since at the end they usually say "current ATIS is Tango," or something to that effect, so it save them the extra words. that and i think when you send a PDC you have to imput the current atis code. not sure on that, since we don't have it yet (heck, just got ACARS W&B thursday)
Not sure what kind of PDC program you're company is using. I've never heard of that. My understanding is that PDC is sort of "one-way only" from ATC to the magic box. Once you initialize it, it sends a query to the PDC box in the tower (at appropriately equipped airports) and the ATC box downlinks your clearance to you magic box. No further input required. In Canada, ATC affixes a little code to your PDC that you have to confirm with clearance or ground so that they can verify that you did receive the correct clearance. In our world, you still have to advise ATC on initial
voice contact that you have the current ATIS.
In response to the original post, I usually just tell em what ATIS I have when i get the clearance AND when I call to taxi. It's no skin off my back to say it twice. To be perfectly honest, I think ATCers are just used to saying "current ATIS is X" when you call and they don't hear the code from you even though you might have talked to the exact same guy 10 minutes earlier to copy your clearance. Regardless, is it really that big a deal for you to have to say "bravo" two times?
