Must be a rye ball comment from some newbie to the business or some clown that knew it would make mischief....
Required fuel would never be in question, what would be is the 25% extra for "mother"..
It really is so simple,
fuel is payload,
increased payload increases fuel burn &, low & behold, INCREASES COSTS!
Increased costs means less to spend on the T&C's of the bleating masses beyond the forward bulkhead...
As the dispatcher has mentioned; it is never a question if the consensus of opinion is once you have left the gate it is too hard and costly to fuel again... SO THEY WILL ALWAYS
AGREE WHAT IS REQUIRED...
If a little "pencil sharpening" can save maybe 100kgs per sector, per tail number, per day... LOW & BEHOLD, each quarter the airline may be able to afford some coffee & biscuits for the Flt Deck instead of looking at how that can reduce seven cabin crew to six... to pay for you.
Rest assured PIC's; your sectors (and their performance) are studied and planned way before you come on duty or even get rostered for it... .. data from all previous activities of the tail number and sector, day in, day out are available to help the Dispatcher make his decision before issuing a release...
Additionally, if the clown who started this thread is indentified as problematical, then his roster can and will be MANIPULATED to reduce his exposure to routes he/she causes worries on.... Stats are great at highlighting performance issues..
Bit like a call centre, sat in one place and there to do one task... like for like the varinaces betwen individuals performance (human factors no less) can all be compared...
Its good fun, just like interview stage of PIC.. keen and eager ~ stay that way.
Yes PIC, the bucks stops... but please never underestimate the expereince of those who release 20-30 flights per day.. at best you do four sectors.. on one type....
call that exposure?
Reminds me of the trash that went around when two engines first hit the Atlantic and Pacific... 60mins Etops, 90-120-180... (The more engines the better)
The engines/airframes and fuel burns are now ledgendary... Careful flight management at the time, with very helthy choices pre flight by the dispatcher allowed each trip to "make fuel"... a real class act and team work...
Such activities gave PIC's an industry that boomed.. and created jobs beyond anyone's wildest dreams....
Have a little respect, now more than EVER!
It is not just about what goes on beyond that forward bulk head... if the business is economical in all areas of operations.. there should be enough to fund everyones T&C's.. not just those of the few who bleat and have too much time on their hands
Personally; I feel every sector should be given a "Cost index" and the front enders should be given a target of acheiving the "cost index" to assist the company in hitting its financial targets... Help to keep everyone in a job that would !!!!
Still want a bit extra for "mother"...
