Holligan/nodelay
You are of course right, as I acknowledged in my first post, albeit without spelling it out.
We both have a problem. We generate your business and you have to manage that, you (and I mean the collective ATS you) then restrict us in our interest because we all want it safe, we then in turn try to find a way around that restriction, and so on. In between all this are the comms links, ramp, tech delays etc. which pilots and perhaps local ATC know about but the Ops department 100 miles away don't. The good efforts of local ATC units who we know do their best to get the flight away, throw in a phone call from the pilot to his Ops asking them if there is anything we can do to improve the slot etc etc. You can see it is not surprising that at times there is confusion all round.
It is more often honest confusion then malice or incompetence, don't underestimate the flight deck input to all this as well, they, with their passengers best interests at heart, will endeavour to improve upon the slot by, I almost said, by fair mean or foul, but I don't really mean that- however, they will work to get the best improvement they can.
In our ATC environment today airline ops departments have an essential part to play in the management of flow delays. If we all play by the rules and work together the contribution should be positive, and I believe for the most part it is. You might be interested to know that in my airline our Ops can improve upon flow related delays by 30%. This is a very significant factor in ensuring an airline operates on time, which in turn supports the system.
We're not all perfect and I'm not saying airline ops departments don't screw up from time to time, but then again neither is the ATC system perfect. We all have to live and work with it, perhaps more temperate posts and a greater understanding between us would help.
Last edited by no sig; 13th April 2002 at 10:50.