Originally Posted by
Aluminium shuffler
Band a lot, are you suggesting the FAA or others have authority over the commander on how much fuel to carry? That they can limit the fuel carried on ferry flights or other ops? If so, you are sorely mistaken. Nobody has more authority on the fuel load than the commander, and that is enshrined in aviation law everywhere. Besides, authorities prescribe what minimum quantities (timewise) have to be carried for flights in terms of contingency, diversion, reserve and so on, but they never get involved in a figure and would never limit a commander to only the figure on a flight plan. And please stop using silly terms to sound nonchalant; it's unconvincing.
In FAA-land Dispatchers and certificated and share a legal, joint responsibility with the PIC when it comes to planning, delaying, and releasing a flight. The Captain has full authority when it come to meeting any emergency/threat to safety, and in command over other crew members in flight, but they don't automatically wield full authority when it comes to operational control of the aircraft except as allowed by the operator (and up to the point shared responsibility is dictated by the FAA). Even in flight, outside of mitigating threats/dealing with emergencies, the Company in the form of Dispatchers still hold operational control authority.
In other words, without agreement with both the PIC and Dispatcher also signing the release, the flight can't legally go anywhere, and in flight the PIC can't just do whatever they want to in the absence of a threat to safety or outside what's specified in the FAA-approved Ops Specs/Manuals.
Yes, I know it's different outside FAA-land.