Originally Posted by BugSpeed
The biggest bugbear relayed to me was one of F/O's asking a Skipper which sector he would like to fly after having already made a fuel decision and let dispatch know about it. If there are two things GUARANTEED to keep your hands and feet clear at all times, its unconsulted fuel decisions (without good reason) and asking a Skip what he wants to fly. CAPTAINS GIVE SECTORS AWAY - they don't actually have to let us do any take-offs or landings.
BS
BugSpeed seems to have been attacked strongly over this thread. He is making a valid observation although the implied Man and Boy environment is a tad over-generalised.
Fuel uplifts are a team decision, where the Captain has eventual overall authority and may have some experience-based knowledge to offer. A good Captain should ask the FO how much he thinks they should take, this promotes good CRM and encourages FOs to build their decision making character. There may be days where a Captain will decide the fuel uplift due to an unusual weather, operational, cost or delayed environment and ask the FO if he is happy with it. Unconsulted fuel decisions by either Captain or FO are indeed infuriating and undermine both CRM and the command structure. I have been in several situations where an FO has taken it upon himself to order too much or too little fuel some time before official crew report-for-duty time, because he has arrived early. Trying to get an already busy bowser to return to your aircraft can often be met with rebuke from the tanker driver.
Asking a Captain what sectors he would like to do is laughable and just plain rude. Good manners would dictate an approach such as "Do you mind if I do the third sector as I could do with some crosswind practice?" Captains do indeed have the overall say in allocating sectors but also have an obligation in the interests of good CRM to qualify why they have allocated them in the order as such.
I would consider a Captain to be grossly immature if he decided to "punish" an FO for unconsulted fuel / sector rudeness by not issuing any PF sectors at all. There are ways to deal with such irritations which have a positive learning experience outcome for the FO.
For those FOs without command experience who have shouted down BugSpeed over this thread, don't try to run before you can walk, act on the line with good manner and your deserved command will come in good time.