Narrative:

We were running very late due to a broken aircraft. With our new flight planning software we can't do flight planning on ACARS so I had to go to the flight planning room at an enroute stop. I had our first release from the ACARS printer showing ZZZ as the first point on the route and; so; had an idea of what was to come. When I got our new release I noted on the first page it said 'do not accept the [named] RNAV SID.' after going through the 58 pages of our 'new flight planning software' generated release I signed it and ran for the gate. When we got our pre departure clearance; sure enough; we were cleared via the [named] RNAV SID (which is illegal since we don't have GPS)! So; I called clearance delivery and he said it's because your company filed you that way! So; I called dispatch and he got angry with me swearing he didn't file us that way. After multiple conversations and ACARS prints he told us to 'get a vector' for departure. Clearance was adamant that they would not give us a vector departure and said it was about time after years that we stopped filing illegal sids; expecting ATC to fix the problem. He explained why the high and low sectors would not allow vector departures. We were caught in a quarrel between two forces. I talked to dispatch again; but he was unwilling to bend. Said he would talk to ATC coordinator. Went back to clearance and he recleared us 'vectors [named] SID' do you see where this is going? I couldn't accept that as it was still an illegal clearance; the [the SID] requires GPS! Clearance and we finally came up with the idea of filing (a conventional; non GPS required) SID out to baton rouge and then connecting the dots after that. It wasn't perfect; but it was doable so I went back to dispatch and; yeah; you guessed it; he was unwilling and unable to file it. Our marvelous improved flight planning software was totally inflexible and did not allow him that option. I was running out of patience; decided to bypass dispatch; got a clearance on a usable SID to baton rouge--thence on course--and; only then; told dispatch what we did. It was somehow easier for him to [accept the reality of a negotiated fix] than to do a revised filing. There is no excuse for dispatch to continue to file us on illegal sids because the new software won't allow him to do otherwise; fix the system! ATC is mad at us and looking for someone to make an example of. We ended up getting our passengers to their destination very late; a disservice that didn't have to happen. I had been on sick leave for some time and it breaks my heart to see how dysfunctional our 'new airline' has become. Another quick example: the other day I left a bunch of paying passengers behind because the software would not allow the agent to reopen and board passengers even though we were sitting waiting on maintenance.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B757 Captain voiced his displeasure with the inability of his Dispatcher to provide him with a flight plan release that did not contain a SID for which his aircraft was not eligible due to lack of GPS navigation; the apparent stumbling block being the intransigence of the airline's recently introduced flight planning software.

Narrative: We were running very late due to a broken aircraft. With our new flight planning software we can't do flight planning on ACARS so I had to go to the flight planning room at an enroute stop. I had our first release from the ACARS printer showing ZZZ as the first point on the route and; so; had an idea of what was to come. When I got our new release I noted on the first page it said 'do not accept the [NAMED] RNAV SID.' After going through the 58 pages of our 'new flight planning software' generated release I signed it and ran for the gate. When we got our PDC; sure enough; we were cleared via the [NAMED] RNAV SID (which is illegal since we don't have GPS)! So; I called Clearance Delivery and he said it's because your company filed you that way! So; I called Dispatch and he got angry with me swearing he didn't file us that way. After multiple conversations and ACARS prints he told us to 'get a vector' for departure. Clearance was adamant that they would not give us a vector departure and said it was about time after years that we stopped filing illegal SIDS; expecting ATC to fix the problem. He explained why the high and low sectors would not allow vector departures. We were caught in a quarrel between two forces. I talked to Dispatch again; but he was unwilling to bend. Said he would talk to ATC coordinator. Went back to Clearance and he recleared us 'vectors [NAMED] SID' Do you see where this is going? I couldn't accept that as it was still an illegal clearance; the [the SID] requires GPS! Clearance and we finally came up with the idea of filing (a conventional; non GPS required) SID out to Baton Rouge and then connecting the dots after that. It wasn't perfect; but it was doable so I went back to Dispatch and; yeah; you guessed it; he was unwilling and unable to file it. Our marvelous improved flight planning software was totally inflexible and did not allow him that option. I was running out of patience; decided to bypass Dispatch; got a clearance on a usable SID to Baton Rouge--thence on course--and; only then; told Dispatch what we did. It was somehow easier for him to [accept the reality of a negotiated fix] than to do a revised filing. There is no excuse for Dispatch to continue to file us on illegal SIDs because the new software won't allow him to do otherwise; FIX THE SYSTEM! ATC is mad at us and looking for someone to make an example of. We ended up getting our passengers to their destination very late; a disservice that didn't have to happen. I had been on sick leave for some time and it breaks my heart to see how dysfunctional our 'new airline' has become. Another quick example: The other day I left a bunch of paying passengers behind because the software would not allow the agent to reopen and board passengers even though we were sitting waiting on Maintenance.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of July 2013 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.