Beech / Raytheon had the correct written description of the elevator rigging and a diagram which showed the connection for the trim cables reversed from what they should have been.

Guess what ... mechanics followed the picture and connected the trim servos backwards.

I see this often in ATL, non rev or rev, and it's due to the emphasis of being on time. Departing a few minutes late in order to get as many on board is a no brainer to most pilots, but the gate controls the boarding process. DAL management puts the pressure on the agents to accomplish this. See it in ATL and in BHM where I commute from, although the DAL gate agents in BHM are great and usually get everyone on board, rev and non rev. I think DAL ought to change being adamant about getting out on time and ****ing off rev passengers who don't get on, not to mention non revs.

Hoser

I would imagine that connect times will change to reflect the emphasis on the on time dep. The pax want to depart on time and get to the destination on time...do you delay the entire flight for one or two pax? Instead of 2 pax mad, you have 148 not happy. The schedule adjustment will be on going.

Never mind.

If PCL only uses a hub as an alternate, instead of a legal alternate nearby, that sure would do it. Seems silly, though. No reason to bump more than 2-3 for w&b, and it's worst on the super-short legs. ATL gate agents are ridiculous when it comes to time pressure, but part of the problem is I don't know how many I can really put on until the very end. The gate will often say we're restricted to, say, 44 pax/90 bags - but that's ludicrous because you couldn't physically stuff 90 bags in the back. Again, at Comair (on the 50 at least), the crew gets to decide how to work the problem, everyone else relies on ACARS.

As for DCI using different methods, what would you expect when you have so many different providers? I admire your commitment to your passengers, but good luck trying to get DCI on the same page. Consider the CRJ 100/200. Comair prefers flaps 20 on takeoff, everyone else likes flaps 8. Comair deices with flaps up, others use takeoff setting, and I think PCL or Mesaba does Type I with one flap setting, Type IV with another. I've been on an ASA jumpseat, and we're on different planets when it comes to how we fly the same airplane. Comair cruises at Mach .62, everyone else goes fast.

All those different training/flight standards departments have to fill up their days, so you get lots of different philosophies. None of which are necessarily better than the others, just different...

I can assure you that PCL does not use only hubs as alternates. I took a number of delays crunching numbers with the load controllers to ensure we got everyone on board that we could take. It was rare to not be able to take everyone, despite the gate agents pulling their hair out. Not once did I ever get called in... the block times were so padded you could pretty much always make it in A0. The ballast issue was a big debacle after I came over to big D, I'm assuming that's been resolved since I don't hear people screaming about it anymore.

Nothing makes me dig my heels into the ground more than a pushy gate agent trying to hit D0 at the expense of everyone around them.

"Comair cruises at Mach .62, everyone else goes fast."

So that's where the term 'cholesterol jet' comes from. Your clogging everything up!!! :D:D

I commuted home through DTW the other day and the connection was tight, 20 min. I got off the train and ran down the escalator but the agent said sorry door is closed. There was a diamond there to and he was not happy. We had to fly him back to NYC because he missed his meeting. Agent told me for us to make D0 they are held to D-3. I know we are low on the on time ratings, but at who's expense are we going to improve it?

Gentlemen, it is Saturday night. Do you know where your Clamp is?

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