Dispatchers

[low flyer]

I know this may seem like a silly question, and possibly rather insulting, but I'd be grateful for any help. The question put simply is "How do I become a dispatcher?".

There are a couple of secondary questions along the lines of how many vacancies are there and how much pay is on offer, but first things first.

Thanks for any help.

[waco]

Hello low flyer

Would that be dispatching as in flight ops/crewing for an airline or ramp dispatching for a handling agent ?

Both have advantages and disadvantes of course but if you can take joke and have one hell of a sense of humour nor wish to be rich
come on in the water is fine ( well a bit muddy so far this summer) !

[low flyer]

Thanks waco. You can tell the level of research that I've put into this by the fact that I'm not sure what the answer to your question is. I'm picturing the rather harrased looking guy with a clipboard and along piece of computer printout that runs up and down the ramp checking load sheets and baggage tallies. I think they also do stuff like keep punctuality records, register flight plans etc.

What kind of money so they get? WHat qualifications do you need? Does one get training, or do you start as something else and pick it up as you go along?

Thanks again

[waco]

low flyer

send me an e-mail and I'll give you the gen

[NIMBUS]

low flyer,
Aircraft Dispatcher shares responsibility for the flight with the Captain. The dispatcher calculates required fuel, route, weather, weight&balance, aircraft configuration, etc. In the US, the dispatcher licence exams are almost identical to the ATPL exams. The guy on the ramp with the clipboard does not have to go through anything other than basic training (Apologies to any ramp personnal if I'm wrong!)
In the US, there are plenty of schools offering courses to obtain the licence. Cost is around $4,000.
I got my dispatcher cert a few months ago, but did not start looking for a job yet.
E-mail me if I can be of any further help.

[fcit]

Nimbus,
it's a little different with the shared responsibility over here in Europe (which is why Flight Dispatch is rather referred to as OPS - JAA even found the term "despatcher" or "flight ops officer"). :rolleyes:
Still, at most airlines OPS staff is in charge of commercial control (operational control at most U.S. carriers).

Cheers
fcit

[NIMBUS]

fcit,
Few questions you may be able to answer.....
What kind of dispatch release is needed over there, and who signs off on it ?
Also, am I correct in thinking that a European carrier flying into the States must have an FAA-licenced dispatcher sign the release?
Last, if there is no formal dispatch training/licencing, how do the European carriers feel about hiring? Would an FAA licence be a help...?
(Hope you don't charge for information. It'd cost me a fortune!!!)

[positive_rate]

Drop me an e-mail

You can have my job !!!!

When can you start?

Mr Positive http://www.pprune.org/ubb/NonCGI/cool.gif

[fcit]

Nimbus,
though OPS staff is usually listed on the release, they do not excercise operational control over the flight, the commander is.

Also, European carriers do not need a FAA dispatcher to sign off their release, when they operate in the U.S.. This procedure wouldn't make sense, since the FAA cannot force the FARs onto foreign carriers (demanding from U.S. carriers to drop their shared responsibility would be just alike).

Re hiring, well this is a sore point. A FAA license is definately a plus, though some of the bigger airlines (DLH, SWR, etc..), still might require a license that was/is applicable under national law (i.e. their staff is still trained to standard). Under JAA the Flight Ops Officer does need adequate training (as defined by the individual Quality and Training Manuals). Guess the prime issue to do that is/was money (dispatchers without a license don't have to be paid just as good as licensed staff). So, let's continue to keep the best kept secret of the aviation industry a secret, until, well I'll leave that point up to your imagination.....

Cheers
fcit