Originally Posted by
sonicbum
As many operators, we also had a few level busts over the years, because of crew selecting the final cleared altitude on SID/STARS with constraints in the middle and for some reason getting out of CLB/DES and here you go, you get a level bust. We basically write down the final cleared altitude on PM MCDU (eg. descend via STAR 3000 ft) and select step by step the different altitudes on the STAR (5000 ft, 4000ft, etc..).
That would not be fun going into LAX on the Hollywood STAR. Just about every fix has a constraint, but it’s pretty simple. You set the FCU to 12,000 for the bottom of the star, then you set the FAF altitude when cleared for the approach at ~ FL200. Easy as pie (when it all works
). DES is a lovely thing.
Thanks for the insight though. There are as many ways to do it as there are operators.