Yes, I think SI was defamatory and he does appear to like posting in an inflammatory manner (we don't have to bite though, do we?!) but he did - for once - make a good point reference these new SOPs that the airbus has been saddled with and about the manner in which they were brought in.....
In 26 years of aviation I have never seen so much confusion created about SOPs as was the case when this came in, by disc, in the post. I happened to be on leave when it did and I missed much of the time 'given' (!!) to prep for it. I was left playing 'catch up' with important stuff!
I have colleagues now telling me 'let's ignore that estimated ZFW **** and do it like we did previously'; I see confusion as to who puts the numbers in and when and I see confusion as to what are the limits before a change is required from the estimated figures to the actual figures. The info is all there buthave you reviewed the way in which it is written lately? There are yellow pages replacing other pages, pages that refer to other procedures in different sections etc etc. Doesn't there come a time when we stop 'papering over the cracks' with temporary changes and write the whole thing afresh? I am sure much of the confusion originates from both the way in which this change was promulgated and in the manner that it appears in the book. Take a look at FCOM 3 in the cruise, you will see what I mean if you read it.....especially if you read it so that you are able to teach somebody every little nuance. I wager that you will be exasperated by the number of cross references to 3.03.91 etc
Don't get me wrong, I believe that I have a reasonable grip on these new procedures - but it took reading it many times and lots of discussions with many other pilots. Believe me, what I did on day 1 and my understanding of the new SOPs was very different to what I do now! We both operated very contentedley that we had a good handle on the new procedures and yet a post flight discussion brought up so many different thoughts that we went into the books again and found a fresh perspective. Then I flew with somebody else and his understanding was different again.....and again...!!
Now EK has had 2 serious incidents in this very same area, admittedley with different SOPs. Arguably any set of SOPs might have been ignored by one crew (I don't know, I wasn't there). But if I was responsible for bringing in new changes here as a manager then I would be a bit more pro-active about the whole thing than has been shown to date. For the record, I agree with whomever said that the existing SOPs were already robust enough as they stood anyway.
One last thing; in my many years in the cockpit I would never be so arrogant as to assume that I could do it all myself to the extent that I would refuse the help/watchful eye of two other experienced and professional eyes in the cockpit and actively shun them! Yes, if they were rude enough to natter on a mobile then they would be asked to leave but, until then, their input would be valued. I have flown the 340 at 360 tonnes, but not nearly so much as other guys here and I don't neccessarily have the same 'feel' yet for the numbers as others clearly do; therefore I welcome somebody casting a critical eye over my shoulder. Indeed I usually hand the bloody computer aft with a request to check the numbers and to involve the other other crew members. (Surprisingly, once one of my colleagues pointed out that I shouldn't do this as it made the other guys culpable as well should we have screwed up the numbers and it were not noticed! I don't subscribe to that view.)
Just my ten penneth worth...