freezingflyboy

I think M5000 was agreeing with you that, in this day and age and with the tools we have available, meeting in ops/planning room is a waste of time.

Domestic? I'll see you at the gate. But I show up in the planning area at report time for an international flight because that's what we are supposed to do. Half the time, the other guys have already been there for an hour and have already done everything (not that theres much to do anymore). All that's left is to figure out who's doing what, talk about any special/significant issues and sign the release. The last remaining advantage to the planning room vs meeting at the gate (besides tradition) was a large flat place to fill out the orientation chart. But now that's on the tablet too.

at6d

Is this a military crossover? Not a slam btw.

vessbot

Obviously M5000's comment was based on a situation where it's normal to meet in ops. (Whether it's normal for that airline, or because it's international, or whatever.) In that case, one guy leaving the other sitting on his thumb, in the dark, does not follow the golden rule.

MiLa

Not sure where M5000 works but based on his comments I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s UAL. At UAL it is written in the FOM that the first flight of the pairing the crew SHOULD meet in ops. This was a big cultural difference between the 2 legacy carriers. At one they always met at the airplane, and at the other always in ops (Again for the first flight of the pairing only). It still causes debate in which way is better. I came after the merger and have no dog in the fight but it is written in the FOM so I go to ops. It used to be a little annoying when you would be sitting there waiting and then find out the guy just went to the airplane and it sounds like that’s what M5000 is getting at. After a little while you get a feel for which guys will show up in ops based on the domicile.

Adlerdriver

I'm stuck on "orientation chart". Never heard of it.

freezingflyboy

Well I work at Big D so it's most likely a tool and procedure most airlines abandoned years ago. I think its supposed to help you find Interstare 80 when you get to 30 west? I'm one of those oddballs that dont care to do too much international flying therefore a little foggy on the details.

M5000

Exactly.

Just don’t leave people hanging.

Recently watched a new hire FO get left hanging by the capt. The ops people overheard him asking another capt if he knew the capt, Because he was searching for him. Ended up with phone calls, that the FO didn’t intend to happen, and he looked a bit uncomfortable, probably because he thought the capt would get in trouble. Nobody in trouble or anything but the FO was new and figuring out the swing of things.

An easily sent email from the PM app seems to work well. Something like:

Hi xxxxx,
I’m scheduled to fly with you tomorrow. I occasionally run into some unforeseen traffic on my way in. How about we meet at the gate, just to ensure our operational integrity? Let me know what you think. Feel free to reply to this email, or feel free to text direct to xxx-xxx-xxxx.

Thanks,
Xxxxx Xxxxx

Guppydriver95

Good technique. However, those who still refuse to show up in ops are flagrantly flaunting the policy at this point. As a matter of fact, the definition of “should” was changed several months ago to say that unless there is a compelling reason not to, this is how it’s done. As a Cap, I’ll always swing by ops, and if no f/o an hour prior, I’ll head to the jet. No biggie. But just know that the definition of “should” is not as liberal as it used to be in case a Captain were to insist on it.

A Squared

Meeting in ops may or may not be necessary, but if your company policies require you to meet in ops on the first flight of a pairing, and you blow that off without any attempt to communicate that to the other guy, then yeah, I have to agree with M5000 that it's inconsiderate behavior. That's just a basic courtesy thing that transcends someone's level of aviation experience.

captjns

I agree 100%. If not, then gate works just fine... even better the closest java joint to the gate.