Narrative:

Cpdlc revised clearance issues; this system is extemely dangerous in present form!basically; the revised clearance never said how to transition from the SID to the route after the changes. SID was changed (trukn to niite) and reroute just said direct dta after tipre. So were we still to go to jsica before dta? Cleared as filed? What does that mean exactly? It bothered me. I pulled charts and I asked the first officer to call clearance delivery. No; actually we instead were rerouted cleared tipre Q126 inslo with no way of discerning this change without calling via the radio to clearance delivery! Furthermore the first officer tells me he had a similarly ambiguous clearance that got his crew in trouble somewhere else in the system last week. They didn't trap the error. I have heard from other pilots this is a common issue! This is not an acceptable level of risk. In 35 years of IFR/commercial/ATP flying I have never seen a more poorly executed FAA system. Keep pre departure clearance until this is sorted out. There is not enough info for a safe clearance. A post modification 'cleared as filed'; when in fact you have no idea what that entails; is unacceptable. Growing pains? Ok I get it; but this is not ready for prime time. The 'tail' continues to wag the 'dog.' we 'the operators' are continually subjected to poorly thought out 'improvements' that are designed to make life easier for ATC; but have the opposite effect on the pilots and the flying public. The plethora of sids and stars which have speeds; crossings etc.; which are constantly changed and/or modified in flight is another program that comes to mind; requiring reprogramming while hurtling through space at 500 mph; with; I suspect; little understanding of the 'implications of convenience' (doing 280; slow 210 - make the crossing etc.?!) to us the end user. I know the FAA is dealing with new hires; weather; politics; etc.; but please include some real operators in the conversation. I am sure there are plenty of experienced ex-airline folks to help sort through this! Thanks for caring.

Google
 

Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 NG Captain reported the new CPDLC clearance procedure has caused confusion and is difficult to interpret.

Narrative: CPDLC Revised clearance issues; THIS SYSTEM IS EXTEMELY DANGEROUS IN PRESENT FORM!Basically; the revised clearance never said how to transition from the SID to the route after the changes. SID was changed (TRUKN to NIITE) and reroute just said direct DTA after TIPRE. So were we still to go to JSICA before DTA? Cleared as filed? What does that mean EXACTLY? It bothered me. I pulled charts and I asked the FO to call Clearance Delivery. No; actually we instead were rerouted cleared TIPRE Q126 INSLO with no way of discerning this change without calling via the radio to clearance delivery! Furthermore the FO tells me he had a similarly ambiguous clearance that got his crew in trouble somewhere else in the system last week. They didn't trap the error. I have heard from other pilots this is a common issue! This is not an acceptable level of risk. In 35 years of IFR/Commercial/ATP flying I have NEVER seen a more poorly executed FAA system. Keep PDC until this is sorted out. There is not enough info for a safe clearance. A post modification 'Cleared as filed'; when in fact you have NO idea what that entails; is unacceptable. Growing pains? OK I get it; but this is NOT ready for prime time. The 'tail' continues to wag the 'dog.' We 'the operators' are continually subjected to poorly thought out 'improvements' that are designed to make life easier for ATC; but have the opposite effect on the pilots and the flying public. The plethora of SIDs and STARs which have speeds; crossings etc.; which are constantly changed and/or modified in flight is another program that comes to mind; requiring reprogramming while hurtling through space at 500 mph; with; I suspect; little understanding of the 'implications of convenience' (doing 280; slow 210 - make the crossing etc.?!) to us the end user. I know the FAA is dealing with new hires; weather; politics; etc.; but PLEASE include some real operators in the conversation. I am sure there are plenty of experienced ex-airline folks to help sort through this! Thanks for caring.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site 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.