"Getting the numbers"?
I was recently briefly held up by a BA wide-body at the holding point while the apologetic crew explained that they were "waiting for the numbers" from their Ops department.
Can somebody explain what exactly "the numbers" are, and the process involved in obtaining them? I presume that this data is a bit more complex than just Vspeeds, otherwise surely the onboard FMS could calculate them? Are they, for example, a detailed flight profile based on actual passenger count and latest forecast wintem aloft data? Why is this seemingly calculated at the last moment - in this case as the aircraft was at the holding point - rather than a few minutes before push-back?
Last edited by Trim Stab; 27th Dec 2013 at 05:26.