I typically just run the pushback flow and call for push automatically once the tug driver starts talking to the Captain. Seems to work well, and nobody's ever said anything negative to me about it. Quite possible the Captains are all talking bad about me behind my back though.....

Effective May 5th, the Chief Pilot Support Center is renamed the Pilot Support Center. Same function, same phone number, same people....

Had to take at least 9 people at the conference table to devise a change of that magnitude...

Exactly. It won't be. But I'm worried it will be marketed as this big gain when it could (likely would IMO) easily end up being used as a bargaining chip to (re)trash reserve QOL with the 117 negotiations with vile concepts like validating the "fantasy memo" 2 hour leash for long call and/or inventing some "last day schedule check" so reserves can enjoy 5am stuff on day one again. Then while we're busy counting stacks from all those "extra minutes" from the door pay, the reality of "wheel spin up" (or worse, taxi spin up under your own power only) for block time will shred 5-10 minutes of pilot block time and pilot jobs off of every single flight in the system.

The status quo for block times and reserve QOL work rules could be flushed down the drain for the siren song of "door pay" and I fear some among us may attempt to sell it as a positive. I hope I'm wrong, or at least that we'd get to MEMRAT it at the very least, but either way I see those two things as very realistic threats in the current environment.

Thats my technique as well most of the time. We have total unobstructed cohesiveness. :)

That sounds good until you try and impliment it. You're essentially trying to double pilot pay (yay! let's do it!) simply by redefining something and instituting pay for duty hour. But we usually have a lot more duty hours than block hours. Of course you'd say that's your point, but look at the raise it would end up being. If we had the ability to make that happen, we could simply double the rates. Its not going to be that easy. In fact, it will be exactly as difficult as doubling the hourly pay tables and keeping the pay system we have today in place.

I respectfully disagree with this statement. If you would reference the Flight Standards Update (May 5th, 2014, page 1. look under Pushback Sequence, 3a). It specifically tells you to communicate to the tug driver "beacon on".

At times, defining efficient can be a little ambiguous. There is a reason for a "checklist" to be accomplished after a procedure. I know you understand this and since I get paid by the minute, I don't mind being a little safer by completing the checklist in its entirety before I move the machine.

Like I said this ain't no big deal and it appears they are making every effort to streamline the operation.

Good on them.....

OC

Well, go figure! I'm in the middle of a stretch of days off, so the only thing I've logged on to DLnet for was to see the AE award yesterday. I'll check that out for the verbage update.

Remember, we do most of our checklists while the plane is moving, so I don't really see a big philosophical deal on completing the flow before movement and then the checklist once we're getting going. It's a moo point anyways, and it sounds like what's coming is a decent compromise.

Ding ding ding! We have a winner. :)

Did you just quote from an update that occurred two days ago? That's not fair! :D

OC,
I agree with your sentiment, but take exception to your interpretation. Unless we are hiring blind tug drivers, when you flip the beacon switch, you've communicated.

The FOM requires 2 pilot concurrence for MCP changes, but we only point at the altitude. Because when the PM gets a heading and reads it back, the flying pilot puts the heading in the window. PF didn't read it back...tug driver isn't blind.

But what do I know. I was always told some of the standard text stuff "approaching inbnd cars" "localizer armed" for example was from the airbus...last month, I'm jumpseating on the baby bus and they said something completely different. I don't even know what it was, but I'd never heard it before.