depends
Generally it depends. From airline to airline.. and FAA and JARops rules requirements.. but big airlines where the number of operations is exceeding few hundred a day.. Dispatch Office is preparing a flight in advance of ca. 4 -6 hours to ETD (sometimes before even crew will wake up and prepare their makeup) and Dispatcher is (under FAA 50%) partly responsible for the flight in explicite:
prepares the route, flight plan calcullations and optimalization, includes OTS, ETOPS calcs, Alternates suitability and availibility, Preplaning fuel, cost optimalization, NOTAM checks, Weather influence check, send ATC FPL, coordinate slot (eurocontrol ifps and cfmu communication) preparing briefing package with OFP for the crew. Most likely this dispatch office has nothing to do with load.. it is rather coordinated with LoadMaster and station officer or management. Those information are delivered to the cockpit and often sent to Dispatch Office via SITA or AFTN.. sometimes WAB and fuel recalculations are needed but it is triggered by planned and actual load difference.
shortly what for? it is simple.. for big business earnings.. savings.. call it how you like. But cockpit crew work and paper work can be reduced this way significantly..
I would like to say hello to all PPRUNE users as long as it is my first post.
greetings for all
fil..
Last edited by filotnie; 22nd Feb 2007 at 14:08.