Yikes, I didn't realise it had been THAT long since my last post. I'm still thoroughly de-thawing after the deepest darkest winter months, which have now passed for another year. Scarily though, it's almost the end of February already.
Work hasn't been that interesting lately. The height of excitement has been watching for clear weather and possible sightings of the International Space Station passing over head. Sad I know, but times are quiet and excitement is hard to fall upon recently. There is only so much youtubing, photocopying and tidying that can be done to pass the time. My bookmarks in Firefox have never looked so tidy and my e-mail is sorted into more folders than ever before. I shouldn't complain though, for in another few months free time will become rare and every shift will be near non-stop work, aircraft after aircraft.
The summer schedule is slowly being pieced together as we find out what movements will be happening and when. The airlines have already known their summer schedule and had it on sale for many months, but we rarely get the final details of it until nearer the time other than our own deduction from airline websites.
There's always a glimmer of hope there will be a new interesting airline or aircraft type to handle, or interesting new schedules but unfortunately year after year it tends to be the same aircraft running almost to the same schedules as previous years, even with the same flight numbers. The faces of visiting crew during last summer will probably once again become familiar, and as such it's always a good idea never to fall out with anyone on bad terms. The aviation industry employs millions, but when you make enemies, it becomes a very, very, small community in my experience. Friends come and go, but enemies accumulate! Remember that.
Most scheduled airlines switch between their winter and summer timetables as the time change occurs to summer time. So come Sunday, 29th March, things should at least start picking up in the right direction and by the end of May most airlines' summer timetables will be in full operation, giving me something to do!
Perhaps I'm a bit premature in thinking about the summer in such depth already. I know in the months ahead there will be many endless days filled with sweat and running about, regular stress, disagreements and quarrelling, almost insurmountable problems to overcome, missing passengers, drunk or disruptive passengers, an infinite number of minimum ground time turnarounds... etc etc. But hey, it's part of the job and it can be a hell of a lot fun on good days.
In any other job I've had, thinking about all the possible problems that could occur filled me with dread and a resultant great reluctance to turn up. In this job, I see them as challenges that need to be overcome. I'm looking forward to being able to see how I can use the experience I picked up last summer and during the winter helps me deal with another busy period and the problems it presents.
So bring it on! No doubt I'll live to regret saying that on somedays and return home tired, fustrated and emotionally wrecked, but you have to take the bad days among the good. And like I say, it beats a normal job!
Saturday, 21 February 2009
Saturday, 24 January 2009
Sometimes it goes like clockwork,
Sometimes a turnaround or the first departure of an aircraft runs like clockwork, or even better. Catering, fuelling, cleaning and maintenance are all completed well ahead of departure, the crew turn up at the correct time and 200 happy people arrive at the gate and board the aircraft in time for departure. These types of days are rare, but an absolute gift when they fall upon you. There's no way of working out when they will happen, they're governed by Murphy's Law rather than weather patterns or how far away it is from payday.
When things run smoothly, my job is one of the easiest in the world and it's great to be able to almost sit back and enjoy the ride, and be thankful for having such a cool job. You'll see me buzzing around the ramp with a spring in my step. You could set the whole day to a piece of rock music producing a cool video like Kent Wein did last year on his Paris trip. More commonly though, things goes wrong one after the other and you're left with a giant jig saw puzzle with pieces that are refusing to fit together and you have to work around them. Yesterday, was one of these days.
STD -50. I arrive at the aircraft 10 minutes later than I like, as my previous flight was running late. As I race up the steps to the front of the cabin, I'm greeted by a puddle of water covering the floor in the forward galley. Either someone has spilled an awful lot of tea or something's leaking. Questioning the crew, I find it's the latter, the forward lavatory. I hear your screams of eughhhh and disgust, and echo them as I'm already standing in the said puddle of leakage in my recently polished shoes. Apparently engineering had been working through the night to fix it, and had it under control. But when the crew turned up they found it leaking again and covering the galley floor.
STD-40 The engineer returns to work on the toilet, and eventually manages to cut off the supply to the lavatory, to stop it leaking. Excellent, I hope it holds out but meanwhile there's still several millimetres of water covering the floor. The purser will not allow passengers to board through it, for one it looks unprofessional and smells, they'll tramp it into the carpet down the aisle, and they might even slip on it. I've already called the cleaners to get them to come up and mop it up but as of yet none have turned up.
STD -25 The fueller still hasn't arrived. Now I'm getting worried, they are usually some of the most reliable services and turn up well in advance but this morning they're adding to my stress. I call them again requesting them to come and pump 13,000kg of their finest Jet A1 into the thirsty tanks. If they're not here soon, it will delay the aircraft. I'm not sure of the exact flow rates, I'm sure it depends on which truck they're using but as a rough guide I think it's around 800kg per minute.
The cleaner arrives at the aircraft to get rid of the toilet water, but there's been a breakdown in communication somewhere between my phone call and them being told to come here. They turn up, without mop only to have to disappear again to find a mop. Now would be a good time to take up smoking to de-stress, but not on the ramp!
STD -20 Time is running out. If boarding doesn't start soon the flight is going to be late. I talk with the pursuer and we come to a compromise to start boarding via the rear only. Not ideal, and with it comes more problems in worrying about the aircraft tipping. I check with the captain if she's happy for it to happen, if I filter the passengers in the forward rows on first. She agrees, on that condition.
Q me, standing on the ramp trying to explain to passengers that those sitting in the forward rows should proceed on board via the rear steps and the rest should wait a few minutes. In the corner of my eye I spot a fuel bowser pull up under the opposite wing, one less thing to worry about. The cleaner arrives back and begins mopping up the water. Not a moment too soon, it's cleared and the crew allow boarding via the front steps.
STD - 4 The last of the passengers ascend the steps. I signal to the rampers to close up the holds and take away the back steps. The fueller is just finishing and I see the hose disconnect. I follow the last passenger up the steps into the cabin and inform the purser all are on board. In the flight deck the engineer is still in discussion with the captain, and the fueller enters to exchange the paperwork. 5 men in an A320 flight deck is a tight squeeze and resembles some scenes from the movie Airplane!
A few minutes later I'm on the headset and about to push back. I overhear the crew exchanging comments about the strange smell in the cockpit, caused by the disinfectant contained in the toilet water. The brakes are released, the wheels start to roll and the off-blocks time is noted as on time, only just.
Looking back through the post, it's hard to convey the stress I was having at the time. Driving for an on time departure is paramount every turnaround, after safety of course. I'm the one tasked with making the decisions to achieve the on time departure, and if it doesn't happen, I have to be able to say what the problem was and why it couldn't be worked around. We take pride in being able to make things work even in the most difficult situations, but it's not always possible. Some days it can be a fun challenge, others it appears more like an insurmountable one and everything starts to wrong, you just have to go with the flow and manage it as best you can.
When things run smoothly, my job is one of the easiest in the world and it's great to be able to almost sit back and enjoy the ride, and be thankful for having such a cool job. You'll see me buzzing around the ramp with a spring in my step. You could set the whole day to a piece of rock music producing a cool video like Kent Wein did last year on his Paris trip. More commonly though, things goes wrong one after the other and you're left with a giant jig saw puzzle with pieces that are refusing to fit together and you have to work around them. Yesterday, was one of these days.
STD -50. I arrive at the aircraft 10 minutes later than I like, as my previous flight was running late. As I race up the steps to the front of the cabin, I'm greeted by a puddle of water covering the floor in the forward galley. Either someone has spilled an awful lot of tea or something's leaking. Questioning the crew, I find it's the latter, the forward lavatory. I hear your screams of eughhhh and disgust, and echo them as I'm already standing in the said puddle of leakage in my recently polished shoes. Apparently engineering had been working through the night to fix it, and had it under control. But when the crew turned up they found it leaking again and covering the galley floor.
STD-40 The engineer returns to work on the toilet, and eventually manages to cut off the supply to the lavatory, to stop it leaking. Excellent, I hope it holds out but meanwhile there's still several millimetres of water covering the floor. The purser will not allow passengers to board through it, for one it looks unprofessional and smells, they'll tramp it into the carpet down the aisle, and they might even slip on it. I've already called the cleaners to get them to come up and mop it up but as of yet none have turned up.
STD -25 The fueller still hasn't arrived. Now I'm getting worried, they are usually some of the most reliable services and turn up well in advance but this morning they're adding to my stress. I call them again requesting them to come and pump 13,000kg of their finest Jet A1 into the thirsty tanks. If they're not here soon, it will delay the aircraft. I'm not sure of the exact flow rates, I'm sure it depends on which truck they're using but as a rough guide I think it's around 800kg per minute.
The cleaner arrives at the aircraft to get rid of the toilet water, but there's been a breakdown in communication somewhere between my phone call and them being told to come here. They turn up, without mop only to have to disappear again to find a mop. Now would be a good time to take up smoking to de-stress, but not on the ramp!
STD -20 Time is running out. If boarding doesn't start soon the flight is going to be late. I talk with the pursuer and we come to a compromise to start boarding via the rear only. Not ideal, and with it comes more problems in worrying about the aircraft tipping. I check with the captain if she's happy for it to happen, if I filter the passengers in the forward rows on first. She agrees, on that condition.
Q me, standing on the ramp trying to explain to passengers that those sitting in the forward rows should proceed on board via the rear steps and the rest should wait a few minutes. In the corner of my eye I spot a fuel bowser pull up under the opposite wing, one less thing to worry about. The cleaner arrives back and begins mopping up the water. Not a moment too soon, it's cleared and the crew allow boarding via the front steps.
STD - 4 The last of the passengers ascend the steps. I signal to the rampers to close up the holds and take away the back steps. The fueller is just finishing and I see the hose disconnect. I follow the last passenger up the steps into the cabin and inform the purser all are on board. In the flight deck the engineer is still in discussion with the captain, and the fueller enters to exchange the paperwork. 5 men in an A320 flight deck is a tight squeeze and resembles some scenes from the movie Airplane!
A few minutes later I'm on the headset and about to push back. I overhear the crew exchanging comments about the strange smell in the cockpit, caused by the disinfectant contained in the toilet water. The brakes are released, the wheels start to roll and the off-blocks time is noted as on time, only just.
Looking back through the post, it's hard to convey the stress I was having at the time. Driving for an on time departure is paramount every turnaround, after safety of course. I'm the one tasked with making the decisions to achieve the on time departure, and if it doesn't happen, I have to be able to say what the problem was and why it couldn't be worked around. We take pride in being able to make things work even in the most difficult situations, but it's not always possible. Some days it can be a fun challenge, others it appears more like an insurmountable one and everything starts to wrong, you just have to go with the flow and manage it as best you can.
Saturday, 17 January 2009
De-icing time
Apologies, I got lost in the fog of life recently and haven't had the time to write anything. Work continues to be quiet after the holidays have subsided, and I've been managing to get other things done in life with the time off I have.
I was doing well this winter to avoid the messy business of de-icing, but my luck ran dry shortly after Christmas and I ended up with more than my fair share. I started off in the business as a seasonal worker, covering the busier times of year during the summer and so managed to avoid anything to do with de-icing for a long time in the job. As such, it's not one of my areas of expertise so I can't give you a short lesson on it, other than the basics I know and the mess it causes for us.
There are a few different types of de-icing fluid that range in the time they remain effective for before de-icing would be required again. The Type II fluid we use I'm told is little more than a more expensively priced version of sugar and water, and is sticky stuff. After being applied to the wings it tail, it drips off onto the ramp forming puddles. I end up walking through it while doing my job, my trousers get covered in it, my headset gets covered in it, and I end up back in the office feeling somewhat like a school glue stick.
Those of you who follow Flightlevel390.com will have seen Capt Dave's recent two posts on de-icing at JFK, and the specially built 'house' for it. At my lesser equipped airport, we have no such facility and the de-icing is carried out on the apron where the aircraft park.
A fancy cherry-picker type truck drives around the aircraft. One ramp guy is in the basket of the cherry-picker with the nozzle, directing it at the required areas, while a driver in the truck moves around the aircraft as necessary. The two of them communicate via an intercom system in a 10-4 Rubber duck type lingo similar to that in the 1970s film, Convoy. Or so I like to imagine anyway.
The fluid is heated before being sprayed on, to around 80 degrees Celsius. It can be used at lower temperatures but is most effective around 80. It's heated within the de-icing rig, and can take about 10 minutes to heat up. The rig then moves around the aircraft to allow a good position to spray the required surfaces. De-icing usually takes about 10-15 minutes, depending on what areas need de-icing and the size of the aircraft.
A gauge in the truck records the amount of de-icing fluid used for each aircraft, and this is used to work out the billing for the airlines. Some typical values are around 200 litres to de-ice the wings and tail of a 737 or A320 sized aircraft.
It's a surreal image standing freezing on the ramp watching an aircraft get de-iced. In the darkness of early morning you watch the steam rise from the aircraft as the heated de-icing fluid hits the wings and tail. The sight always reminds of giving my dog a wash, while scratching behind his ears to keep him happy.
Thankfully, in my climate, we don't get the more extreme cold temperatures that New York get and so the fluid tends to last unless it's significantly colder than usual or it's snowing/raining. I can only remember a select few occasions where aircraft have left the ramp for departure but had to return due to exceeding the hold-over time.
It can lead to delays, which we always try best to avoid but sometimes just happen. We can't de-ice during boarding, unless the aircraft is on a jetty/airbridge. Spraying 80 degree hot fluid over the tops of passengers would lead to around 150 law suits per flight, and that would put us out of business rather quickly. Instead, if it's 'warm' enough with no rain/snow, we can try and de-ice before the passengers start to board. This means we need to get an early call from the crew to say they need de-icing, and what areas they want done. It might just be the wings and tail, it may be over most of the fuselage too. If we can't find out early enough, it will have to wait until after boarding and the doors are closed.
Don't let my ignorance of de-icing worry you, the crew and de-icing guys know much more about it than I do, in this situation I'm merely the messenger boy between crew and ramp guys. I'll stick to smaller tasks of trying to de-ice my windshield when I return to the car after a cold shift.
I was doing well this winter to avoid the messy business of de-icing, but my luck ran dry shortly after Christmas and I ended up with more than my fair share. I started off in the business as a seasonal worker, covering the busier times of year during the summer and so managed to avoid anything to do with de-icing for a long time in the job. As such, it's not one of my areas of expertise so I can't give you a short lesson on it, other than the basics I know and the mess it causes for us.
There are a few different types of de-icing fluid that range in the time they remain effective for before de-icing would be required again. The Type II fluid we use I'm told is little more than a more expensively priced version of sugar and water, and is sticky stuff. After being applied to the wings it tail, it drips off onto the ramp forming puddles. I end up walking through it while doing my job, my trousers get covered in it, my headset gets covered in it, and I end up back in the office feeling somewhat like a school glue stick.
Those of you who follow Flightlevel390.com will have seen Capt Dave's recent two posts on de-icing at JFK, and the specially built 'house' for it. At my lesser equipped airport, we have no such facility and the de-icing is carried out on the apron where the aircraft park.
A fancy cherry-picker type truck drives around the aircraft. One ramp guy is in the basket of the cherry-picker with the nozzle, directing it at the required areas, while a driver in the truck moves around the aircraft as necessary. The two of them communicate via an intercom system in a 10-4 Rubber duck type lingo similar to that in the 1970s film, Convoy. Or so I like to imagine anyway.
The fluid is heated before being sprayed on, to around 80 degrees Celsius. It can be used at lower temperatures but is most effective around 80. It's heated within the de-icing rig, and can take about 10 minutes to heat up. The rig then moves around the aircraft to allow a good position to spray the required surfaces. De-icing usually takes about 10-15 minutes, depending on what areas need de-icing and the size of the aircraft.
A gauge in the truck records the amount of de-icing fluid used for each aircraft, and this is used to work out the billing for the airlines. Some typical values are around 200 litres to de-ice the wings and tail of a 737 or A320 sized aircraft.
It's a surreal image standing freezing on the ramp watching an aircraft get de-iced. In the darkness of early morning you watch the steam rise from the aircraft as the heated de-icing fluid hits the wings and tail. The sight always reminds of giving my dog a wash, while scratching behind his ears to keep him happy.
Thankfully, in my climate, we don't get the more extreme cold temperatures that New York get and so the fluid tends to last unless it's significantly colder than usual or it's snowing/raining. I can only remember a select few occasions where aircraft have left the ramp for departure but had to return due to exceeding the hold-over time.
It can lead to delays, which we always try best to avoid but sometimes just happen. We can't de-ice during boarding, unless the aircraft is on a jetty/airbridge. Spraying 80 degree hot fluid over the tops of passengers would lead to around 150 law suits per flight, and that would put us out of business rather quickly. Instead, if it's 'warm' enough with no rain/snow, we can try and de-ice before the passengers start to board. This means we need to get an early call from the crew to say they need de-icing, and what areas they want done. It might just be the wings and tail, it may be over most of the fuselage too. If we can't find out early enough, it will have to wait until after boarding and the doors are closed.
Don't let my ignorance of de-icing worry you, the crew and de-icing guys know much more about it than I do, in this situation I'm merely the messenger boy between crew and ramp guys. I'll stick to smaller tasks of trying to de-ice my windshield when I return to the car after a cold shift.
Saturday, 27 December 2008
Back to the grind
My alarm goes of, it's o-dark hundred and still in that transitional period during the night where it goes from being very late in the night to ridiculously early in the morning. I am by no means an airline pilot living in hotels but when the alarm goes off at these silly times it takes me a few moments to get my bearings and realise what's happening.
Up, shower, dress, raid the fridge for breakfast and get assaulted by the smell of various meats being kept from yesterday. The roads are emptier than usual this morning, in fact I'm certain the only other cars I see are airport workers or the passengers. As I pull into the staff car park though it's business as usual, we're all back to work.
I arrive in the office to see which of my colleagues have drawn the short straw and are working this morning. Some would prefer to be at home but I don't mind. My three flights for this morning are spread across the shift and should go fine, should being the operative word.
As I walk across the ramp, it's still littered with aircraft that have been sitting over the holiday but the eerie silence is long gone as trucks buzz around the apron and ground power units hum in the dark. I make it to my first aircraft and see loading is going well, the fueller is finishing up and the crew are on board prepping the aircraft. Perhaps the morning shift will actually go well. I go and greet the crew, and find them in a surprisingly cheery mood. I say surprisingly, not because I stereotype them all to be grumpy, but suspected they might have been unhappy at spending the holiday down route away from family. However, they assure me they had a wonderful day though in the hotel.
Everything goes smoothly and I even have time to stand around and have a chat with the crew over coffee. Before long, it's fully boarded, I collect my various bits of magical paperwork complete with the captain's autograph and then get cornered by the cabin crew when trying to exit, wanting to know if I'll look after them again when they pass through next week. I'm not sure if that means they like me or hate me so much as to want to avoid me dispatching them? Ah the wonders.
Checks complete, headset on and ready to kick the tyres, bad news comes over the headset. ATC has said there is a slot time of 50 minutes from now. Bad news indeed, for that messes up my morning. However, no sooner have the crew finished telling me about the slot than it is cancelled. Someone is toying with me this morning! The beacon light goes on, I signal the tug driver and we're off. We're the first aircraft movement of the day.
I arrive at flight number 2 and notice my first aircraft blowing the dust and tumbleweed off the runway as it jets off into the dark sky. My next flight crew have definitely drawn short straws today, as they are having a line check by a training captain. He seems almost as apathetic as they do about it. I wonder what soul in the training department decided to schedule it for today. I quickly tell them what they need to know and disappear, the last thing they will want is me hassling them.
The cabin crew on this flight I know, for they are based here and I see them on a regular basis so it's good to get caught up with each other. I can also rely on them to be ready when they should be, and so smooth as clockwork as they finish their security checks I have the first passengers arriving at the aircraft door to board. When it works as well as this you can almost guarantee the flight will be ready to depart early, and if they're lucky enough it will carry through out the day and they can get home earlier. It's a long shot in this business, but worth a try. I ruin their happiness though by explaining every seat will be full.
The passengers start flooding out of the terminal towards the aircraft and I assume my position under the wing tip playing the Shepard again, trying to heard people out around the wing. I notice that when I tell people to walk out around the wing edge they look up at it, as if they don't believe me there is actually a wing there or maybe they have concerns it's going to fall off. I do feel slightly silly standing under the likes of an A330 wing making them walk the half mile de-tour around the edge of it, especially since it's 20-30ft off the ground, but rules are rules and I obey them to keep my boss happy and my job safe.
As the last of the passengers turn up, I signal to the ramp guys to remove the back steps and close up the holds. With any luck, that's all the passengers through the gate and boarding the aircraft, with 20 minutes to go. A few seconds later I get word from the gate agent, all 180 passengers are accounted for, excellent.
I join the back of the queue of passengers going up the steps, and several decades later it make it to the flight deck. I look intently at both crew members but can't see a bead of sweat on their foreheads yet, so things must be going ok. I collect the paperwork and make a quick escape before they ask me something I don't know. I push it back, a few minutes early and give a wave to the crew showing them they are clear to move off.
My last flight is slightly different, it's purely cargo travelling on it. Someone else has already taken care of the load plan and loading of the cargo for me, so I have the easy task of finalising the paperwork and closing it up for departure. 5 minutes later, it's wheels start rolling backwards too. I enjoy doing cargo flights, it can be more challenging and satisfying dispatching them instead of passenger flights, plus the cargo always turns up on time unlike passengers.
My 3 flights are away and looking at my watch I'm guessing most people still haven't even got out of bed yet. I walk back to the office, 324 are on their way to sunnier climates and 14 tonnes of freight, maybe even delayed Christmas presents, are on their way to be scattered across the continent. I'm content, and now in need of another breakfast!
Up, shower, dress, raid the fridge for breakfast and get assaulted by the smell of various meats being kept from yesterday. The roads are emptier than usual this morning, in fact I'm certain the only other cars I see are airport workers or the passengers. As I pull into the staff car park though it's business as usual, we're all back to work.
I arrive in the office to see which of my colleagues have drawn the short straw and are working this morning. Some would prefer to be at home but I don't mind. My three flights for this morning are spread across the shift and should go fine, should being the operative word.
As I walk across the ramp, it's still littered with aircraft that have been sitting over the holiday but the eerie silence is long gone as trucks buzz around the apron and ground power units hum in the dark. I make it to my first aircraft and see loading is going well, the fueller is finishing up and the crew are on board prepping the aircraft. Perhaps the morning shift will actually go well. I go and greet the crew, and find them in a surprisingly cheery mood. I say surprisingly, not because I stereotype them all to be grumpy, but suspected they might have been unhappy at spending the holiday down route away from family. However, they assure me they had a wonderful day though in the hotel.
Everything goes smoothly and I even have time to stand around and have a chat with the crew over coffee. Before long, it's fully boarded, I collect my various bits of magical paperwork complete with the captain's autograph and then get cornered by the cabin crew when trying to exit, wanting to know if I'll look after them again when they pass through next week. I'm not sure if that means they like me or hate me so much as to want to avoid me dispatching them? Ah the wonders.
Checks complete, headset on and ready to kick the tyres, bad news comes over the headset. ATC has said there is a slot time of 50 minutes from now. Bad news indeed, for that messes up my morning. However, no sooner have the crew finished telling me about the slot than it is cancelled. Someone is toying with me this morning! The beacon light goes on, I signal the tug driver and we're off. We're the first aircraft movement of the day.
I arrive at flight number 2 and notice my first aircraft blowing the dust and tumbleweed off the runway as it jets off into the dark sky. My next flight crew have definitely drawn short straws today, as they are having a line check by a training captain. He seems almost as apathetic as they do about it. I wonder what soul in the training department decided to schedule it for today. I quickly tell them what they need to know and disappear, the last thing they will want is me hassling them.
The cabin crew on this flight I know, for they are based here and I see them on a regular basis so it's good to get caught up with each other. I can also rely on them to be ready when they should be, and so smooth as clockwork as they finish their security checks I have the first passengers arriving at the aircraft door to board. When it works as well as this you can almost guarantee the flight will be ready to depart early, and if they're lucky enough it will carry through out the day and they can get home earlier. It's a long shot in this business, but worth a try. I ruin their happiness though by explaining every seat will be full.
The passengers start flooding out of the terminal towards the aircraft and I assume my position under the wing tip playing the Shepard again, trying to heard people out around the wing. I notice that when I tell people to walk out around the wing edge they look up at it, as if they don't believe me there is actually a wing there or maybe they have concerns it's going to fall off. I do feel slightly silly standing under the likes of an A330 wing making them walk the half mile de-tour around the edge of it, especially since it's 20-30ft off the ground, but rules are rules and I obey them to keep my boss happy and my job safe.
As the last of the passengers turn up, I signal to the ramp guys to remove the back steps and close up the holds. With any luck, that's all the passengers through the gate and boarding the aircraft, with 20 minutes to go. A few seconds later I get word from the gate agent, all 180 passengers are accounted for, excellent.
I join the back of the queue of passengers going up the steps, and several decades later it make it to the flight deck. I look intently at both crew members but can't see a bead of sweat on their foreheads yet, so things must be going ok. I collect the paperwork and make a quick escape before they ask me something I don't know. I push it back, a few minutes early and give a wave to the crew showing them they are clear to move off.
My last flight is slightly different, it's purely cargo travelling on it. Someone else has already taken care of the load plan and loading of the cargo for me, so I have the easy task of finalising the paperwork and closing it up for departure. 5 minutes later, it's wheels start rolling backwards too. I enjoy doing cargo flights, it can be more challenging and satisfying dispatching them instead of passenger flights, plus the cargo always turns up on time unlike passengers.
My 3 flights are away and looking at my watch I'm guessing most people still haven't even got out of bed yet. I walk back to the office, 324 are on their way to sunnier climates and 14 tonnes of freight, maybe even delayed Christmas presents, are on their way to be scattered across the continent. I'm content, and now in need of another breakfast!
Wednesday, 24 December 2008
Christmas Eve
Twas the night before Christmas, when all across the ramp,
Not an aircraft was starting, nor evening de-icing,
The windsocks were still flapping, but no one to notice
Except St Nicholas when he finally made it
At the time of writing this, Santa has already started his busy schedule and has passed through Magadan, Vladivostok, Brisbane, Christchurch, Pago Pago... I hope he manages to achieve another record year for On-time performance (OTP) and that he isn't held up due to the weather.
The last of our flights have arrived and are parking up for the day. Thankfully this year we have no flights on Christmas Day, so we can shut up until the morning of the 26th and return to work as normal, hopefully avoiding the usual Christmas conversation about how the day went. So the crews and I can hang up the Santa hats for another year, be thankful they don't have to wish another few hundred passengers happy Christmas and now get home in time for their own Christmas.
Don't get me wrong, I am no Scrooge by any means but I have once again succumbed to the frustration of shopping and the empty shelves in all shops as everyone panic buys for the 24 hours the grocery store will be closed.
As I walk across the ramp after my last flight, other flights are still arriving with full loads. I won't get the experience this year again of walking across an apron full of aircraft, all sitting in utter silence, no APUs running, not even any GPUs running, just the eerie silence interrupted by the clacking of engines as they windmill. A somewhat odd sight, like a ghost airport long abandoned.
So Happy Holidays everyone, I'll have a nice warm lie in this Christmas please, Santa!
Not an aircraft was starting, nor evening de-icing,
The windsocks were still flapping, but no one to notice
Except St Nicholas when he finally made it
At the time of writing this, Santa has already started his busy schedule and has passed through Magadan, Vladivostok, Brisbane, Christchurch, Pago Pago... I hope he manages to achieve another record year for On-time performance (OTP) and that he isn't held up due to the weather.
The last of our flights have arrived and are parking up for the day. Thankfully this year we have no flights on Christmas Day, so we can shut up until the morning of the 26th and return to work as normal, hopefully avoiding the usual Christmas conversation about how the day went. So the crews and I can hang up the Santa hats for another year, be thankful they don't have to wish another few hundred passengers happy Christmas and now get home in time for their own Christmas.
Don't get me wrong, I am no Scrooge by any means but I have once again succumbed to the frustration of shopping and the empty shelves in all shops as everyone panic buys for the 24 hours the grocery store will be closed.
As I walk across the ramp after my last flight, other flights are still arriving with full loads. I won't get the experience this year again of walking across an apron full of aircraft, all sitting in utter silence, no APUs running, not even any GPUs running, just the eerie silence interrupted by the clacking of engines as they windmill. A somewhat odd sight, like a ghost airport long abandoned.
So Happy Holidays everyone, I'll have a nice warm lie in this Christmas please, Santa!
Monday, 22 December 2008
The easy shifts go wrong
It's a quiet evening in work and I only have two flights to dispatch, one is a day stopper leaving at 1800 and the other is a turnaround arriving at 1810. In theory that should be perfect, dispatch one and have time to spare as I walk to the next aircraft for its arrival. However, it didn't turn out like that.
I walk out to the aircraft an hour before departure to check how things are going. There are only five passengers booked for the flight, and already all five are checked-in and their suitcases are already loaded into rear the hold. The ramp guys can take it easy and wait inside in the warmth until we need the steps removed.
As I walk around to the left hand side of the aircraft I see something that always worries me, the engineers have the engine cowlings open and are working away in the dark with head torches. I ask them what's wrong and whether it's going to delay the flight. The news is bad, they can't diagnose the origin of the problem so can't make an estimate on how long it will take to fix once they find it.
The cabin crew are already on board prepping the cabin so I brief them about their busy passenger load and tell them to relax for a bit, as it doesn't look like the flight is going anywhere on time, but at least it isn't my fault.The flight crew arrive a few moments later, Starbucks coffee in hand, and speak with the engineers to see what's happening.
I inform my colleague looking after the passengers of the problem and ask them to explain to the passengers the flight is delayed and we'll have more information in about 30 minutes. As all five are sitting at the gate already waiting to board, my colleague goes round and personally tells them face to face rather than over the address system. All of them, surprisingly, are in good spirits and I'm told none of them know each other but are all mingling and chatting away.
Back at the aircraft, I've taken a seat in the cabin chatting with the crew while waiting to find out what the engineers find. We jokingly blame the last crew who brought the aircraft in for wrecking it. I enjoy these rare occasions where I get to chat with the crew while waiting on something that is out of my control, but soon I'm going to have to abandon them and head to my next aircraft. The only redeeming feature is that I remember reading about the International Space Station being due to pass overhead us this evening, and with the frosty cold and clear skies it should be a good view.
Sure enough, at the time the website said I spot a light on the horizon speeding towards us. If I hadn't known what it was, it could easily been mistaken for an aircraft speeding overhead except for the lack of strobe lighting. It appears AS a bright dot moving overhead, still catching the sun's rays but we're in darkness on the ground. The captain appreciates the sight, but the rest of the crew aren't bothered by it and continue hiding inside from the cold.
Murphy's law would suggest that as soon as my other aircraft arrives, this one will be fixed and ready to go, and Murphy's law was right. A few minutes before my other aircraft arrives, the engineers have nearly fixed the problem and say they'll need to do an idle engine run on stand to check everything is okay. The bad news is I can see my other aircraft rolling out on the runway, so it'll be on stand in a few minutes. Ensue- Dispatcher running madly across the ramp between non-adjacent stands to cover two aircraft. It wasn't suppose to happen like this, the night was so to be so quiet I'm the only dispatcher on shift. So the easy shift has now turned into trying to dispatch two flights simultaneously.
Eventually I get rid of the first flight about an hour later than scheduled and as one puffed out dispatcher. Running with steal toe-caps, many layers and a clipboard isn't easy and the cold has sucked the life out of my lungs.
Anyway, time for me to suit up and head to work for the rest of the day. I won't wish you happy holidays just yet, as I'm hoping to get another post in before Christmas Day to make up for the quiet few weeks lately.
I walk out to the aircraft an hour before departure to check how things are going. There are only five passengers booked for the flight, and already all five are checked-in and their suitcases are already loaded into rear the hold. The ramp guys can take it easy and wait inside in the warmth until we need the steps removed.
As I walk around to the left hand side of the aircraft I see something that always worries me, the engineers have the engine cowlings open and are working away in the dark with head torches. I ask them what's wrong and whether it's going to delay the flight. The news is bad, they can't diagnose the origin of the problem so can't make an estimate on how long it will take to fix once they find it.
The cabin crew are already on board prepping the cabin so I brief them about their busy passenger load and tell them to relax for a bit, as it doesn't look like the flight is going anywhere on time, but at least it isn't my fault.The flight crew arrive a few moments later, Starbucks coffee in hand, and speak with the engineers to see what's happening.
I inform my colleague looking after the passengers of the problem and ask them to explain to the passengers the flight is delayed and we'll have more information in about 30 minutes. As all five are sitting at the gate already waiting to board, my colleague goes round and personally tells them face to face rather than over the address system. All of them, surprisingly, are in good spirits and I'm told none of them know each other but are all mingling and chatting away.
Back at the aircraft, I've taken a seat in the cabin chatting with the crew while waiting to find out what the engineers find. We jokingly blame the last crew who brought the aircraft in for wrecking it. I enjoy these rare occasions where I get to chat with the crew while waiting on something that is out of my control, but soon I'm going to have to abandon them and head to my next aircraft. The only redeeming feature is that I remember reading about the International Space Station being due to pass overhead us this evening, and with the frosty cold and clear skies it should be a good view.
Sure enough, at the time the website said I spot a light on the horizon speeding towards us. If I hadn't known what it was, it could easily been mistaken for an aircraft speeding overhead except for the lack of strobe lighting. It appears AS a bright dot moving overhead, still catching the sun's rays but we're in darkness on the ground. The captain appreciates the sight, but the rest of the crew aren't bothered by it and continue hiding inside from the cold.
Murphy's law would suggest that as soon as my other aircraft arrives, this one will be fixed and ready to go, and Murphy's law was right. A few minutes before my other aircraft arrives, the engineers have nearly fixed the problem and say they'll need to do an idle engine run on stand to check everything is okay. The bad news is I can see my other aircraft rolling out on the runway, so it'll be on stand in a few minutes. Ensue- Dispatcher running madly across the ramp between non-adjacent stands to cover two aircraft. It wasn't suppose to happen like this, the night was so to be so quiet I'm the only dispatcher on shift. So the easy shift has now turned into trying to dispatch two flights simultaneously.
Eventually I get rid of the first flight about an hour later than scheduled and as one puffed out dispatcher. Running with steal toe-caps, many layers and a clipboard isn't easy and the cold has sucked the life out of my lungs.
Anyway, time for me to suit up and head to work for the rest of the day. I won't wish you happy holidays just yet, as I'm hoping to get another post in before Christmas Day to make up for the quiet few weeks lately.
Thursday, 4 December 2008
Dispatcher vs Dispatcher
No no, it's not a post on me competing with my colleagues. After my last post Wayne asked about the road to becoming a dispatcher. There seems to be a lot of Americans and Canadians reading, and since I'm from Europe I should make clear that I am not a dispatcher in the sense you may be thinking.
In Europe, or at least in my country, the term dispatcher is also used for a member of the ground crew who is tasked with oordinator the turn-around. I am a ramp dispatcher, also known as a turn-around coordinator, team leader or dispatch agent. There's probably more titles that I haven't come across and a few rude nicknames I don't want to come across. I'm sure I've been referred to use as 'Useless' some days.
In N.America, my understanding is that when people refer to a Dispatcher, they are commonly referring to the Flight Dispatcher, a person who prepares the legal documents for a flight and tracks it throughout its journey. Any readers of Flightlevel390 who are familiar with Capt Dave referring to 'mother' e-mailing them, he's referring to the dispatcher. These dispatchers are FAA licenced who have undergone much studying. I'm not sure of the exams they sit but they do have to go through certified courses to get there, and know much more about the technical aspect and legalities involved in a flight from A to B. My job involves looking after the aircraft on the ground at A, or indeed B. They'll be trying to get it to the destination as safely and efficiently as possibly, minimising delays, helping to flight plan it to avoid nasty weather, and providing the crew with the documents they need such as as the flight plan, weather information, and anything else. As far as I know they work in darkened rooms deep in underground bunkers...or in airline headquarters or operations department.
I have nothing to do that more formal paperwork side of the flight. The only aircraft documents I do deal with are those related to any charges for ground handling, aircraft weight and balance and passenger manifests. My job is managing the turnaround aircraft side, working directly with the crew and my colleagues to get the airlines' passengers from check-in to an on time departure. I oversee loading, make sure things are happening as they should, the crew have what they need for the flight,
My own training involved aviation weather, aircraft loading and principles of flight, turnaround management, load sheets, specific airline policies for ground handling, security and requirements, headset responsibilities, hand signals. I don't have to be licenced in the same way FAA dispatchers are, but I do have some legal responsibilities regarding the flight and its safety. I sit exams but the majority are set by my own company and a few airlines I work with, rather than an aviation governing body.
dpierce asked about split destination flights and how the bags are loaded.
Generally, if it's loose loaded, i.e. the bags are not contained in metal bins, we'll try and keep the bags for different destinations in different holds. If I have a flight going from A to B and onto C, I'll try and keep bags being offloaded at B in one hold, and bags for destination C in another hold.
The holds are separated by nets that we attach to points in the hold, that prevent the cargo and bags from sliding during flight.
If the bags have to be mixed to keep the aircraft in trim, unfortunately the ramp guys at the other side will just have to check them as the bags are offloaded. In most cases, it isn't too much hassle as the label attached at check-in will have the destination in large lettering so it can be identified and offloaded without having to check long tag numbers on each bag. If the flight is bin loaded, it's easier and we'll put bags for each destination in different bins so they can be offloaded at each destination.
In Europe, or at least in my country, the term dispatcher is also used for a member of the ground crew who is tasked with oordinator the turn-around. I am a ramp dispatcher, also known as a turn-around coordinator, team leader or dispatch agent. There's probably more titles that I haven't come across and a few rude nicknames I don't want to come across. I'm sure I've been referred to use as 'Useless
In N.America, my understanding is that when people refer to a Dispatcher, they are commonly referring to the Flight Dispatcher, a person who prepares the legal documents for a flight and tracks it throughout its journey. Any readers of Flightlevel390 who are familiar with Capt Dave referring to 'mother' e-mailing them, he's referring to the dispatcher. These dispatchers are FAA licenced who have undergone much studying. I'm not sure of the exams they sit but they do have to go through certified courses to get there, and know much more about the technical aspect and legalities involved in a flight from A to B. My job involves looking after the aircraft on the ground at A, or indeed B. They'll be trying to get it to the destination as safely and efficiently as possibly, minimising delays, helping to flight plan it to avoid nasty weather, and providing the crew with the documents they need such as as the flight plan, weather information, and anything else. As far as I know they work in darkened rooms deep in underground bunkers...or in airline headquarters or operations department.
I have nothing to do that more formal paperwork side of the flight. The only aircraft documents I do deal with are those related to any charges for ground handling, aircraft weight and balance and passenger manifests. My job is managing the turnaround aircraft side, working directly with the crew and my colleagues to get the airlines' passengers from check-in to an on time departure. I oversee loading, make sure things are happening as they should, the crew have what they need for the flight,
My own training involved aviation weather, aircraft loading and principles of flight, turnaround management, load sheets, specific airline policies for ground handling, security and requirements, headset responsibilities, hand signals. I don't have to be licenced in the same way FAA dispatchers are, but I do have some legal responsibilities regarding the flight and its safety. I sit exams but the majority are set by my own company and a few airlines I work with, rather than an aviation governing body.
dpierce asked about split destination flights and how the bags are loaded.
Generally, if it's loose loaded, i.e. the bags are not contained in metal bins, we'll try and keep the bags for different destinations in different holds. If I have a flight going from A to B and onto C, I'll try and keep bags being offloaded at B in one hold, and bags for destination C in another hold.
The holds are separated by nets that we attach to points in the hold, that prevent the cargo and bags from sliding during flight.
If the bags have to be mixed to keep the aircraft in trim, unfortunately the ramp guys at the other side will just have to check them as the bags are offloaded. In most cases, it isn't too much hassle as the label attached at check-in will have the destination in large lettering so it can be identified and offloaded without having to check long tag numbers on each bag. If the flight is bin loaded, it's easier and we'll put bags for each destination in different bins so they can be offloaded at each destination.
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