Dispatch ?

[Mr Tuck]

could anyone enlighten me what exactly does a dispatcher do ?

[opsbod]

Mr Tuck,

There are actually 3 answers to your question because a dispatcher can be one of three jobs.

They are dispatching as in flight ops/crewing for an airline, or ramp dispatching for a handling agent, or as a licenced dispatcher under FAA regulations ?


A Ramp dispatcher is the guy you see looking rather harrased with a clipboard and along piece of computer printout. He or she runs up and down the ramp checking load sheets and baggage tallies, making sure all the services required attend an aircraft on the ground to make a successful turnaround.

An FAA 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.

It's different over here in Europe (which is why Flight Dispatch is rather referred to as OPS), where the principle tasks are to maintain control and manage disruption to the fleet, flight watch and progress tracking, weather and NOTAM watch and providing legal crews. Basically ensuring that flights operate in a safe and timely manner. There is no formal dispatch training/licencing in Europe under JAR OPS.




[This message has been edited by opsbod (edited 24 September 2000).]

[Mr Tuck]

opsbod

just a friendly note to say

ta