Remote Hold at Gatwick

[Hotel Mode]

Owing to our companies inability to employ enough gate staff, i have spent several hours in 125 and 101 recently, on several occasions for more than an hour. When we have arrived on the stand it has been quiet at the holds, and we have been given a start time about 10 mins before the slot starts, fair enough. However on more than one occasion as the time approached the evening/lunchtime/whatever rush started and lots of aircraft went to the hold. We still didn't get start any earlier, so we joined the back of the queue and ended up taking off in the last 5 mins of the slot.

I dont necessarily expect to get airborne on the first minute, but its a bit frustrating sitting at the hold watching a slot you have been ready for for over an hour tick by. Even if we dont get started any earlier, what about putting us in C/G/H.

Its juts a minor whinge! I'm not one of these "Whats our position in the sequence", "we can accept C1 if it helps" and i'm certainly not going to start nagging delivery for start, so just thought I would mention it on here.

[Muppit]

HM,

An extremely valid whinge if I may say so!

When I'm in Delivery or Ground, I'll start or route a/c so that they are number one at the hold at the minus 5 on their slots. It's not difficult to do with a little bit of thought. Unfortunately, there may well be a/c ahead of you with earlier slots or have had bigger delays than you, which will push you back in the queue.

Not all of our ATCO's are as 'customer orientated' as they should be, and it is something we are trying to address, so if you're sitting on 125 and hear a few starting up, positively suggest to Delivery that you'd like to go now please.

....and not having enough gate staff is another thread altogether!

;)

[FlapsOne]

I am not a whinger......honest, but I do like to ask where i am in the sequence.

It's very useful to know and, if appropriate, tell the punters how long we're likely to be sitting there.

Likewise i will always state whether I can take an intersection departure. It might help me, it might help ATC.

It's got nothing to do with trying to 'jump the queue' or wind up ATC.

[Muppit]

No problems with questions being asked, and as for intersections I'll ask you if I can make use of you (unless your a BA 735 of course and you'll get the full length :p ) to maximise the runway utilisation.

If you are not going to 'monitor' try to choose your moment to talk. There's nothing more scary than seeing someone trying to hover in a B772 , and someone asking what their sequence is!

The best bit of dead R/T space to talk is just after the landing clearance has been given; ones airborne, ones landing, the conditional line up's been given, so ask away!

The best go around I saw was when the inbound aircraft was giving a commentary about ILS fluctuations, and the tower controller couldn't get in to launch the one on the threshold, so when he finished yapping at about 2.5nm, there was only one place for him to go: straight ahead to 3A!:p