Narrative:

I was the working captain on flight from san francisco. It was on this flight; during the cockpit preflight process that I received the following message via ACARS; 'lp (load planning) reduced gate fuel for payload. Please let me know fob (fuel on board) and send rls (release) 2.' this ACARS message was signed by our dispatcher. Upon receiving this message I contacted our dispatcher via my personal cell phone to find out exactly what this message meant and to receive some much needed clarification. I was informed by this dispatcher that load planning had unilaterally informed him that they were reducing our fuel load; one that was agreed to by the captain and the dispatcher approximately 30 minutes earlier. When I asked him under what authorization this was being done; he said load planning had the 'right' to reduce a fuel load according to their internal requirements. He then said he believed they could unilaterally reduce the fuel by up to 3000 pounds. It was here that I assured him that they did not have such authority. I used this as a teaching moment and instructed him the clear verbiage of far's and I quoted him the following: 'the captain and dispatcher shall ensure there is sufficient fuel to comply with far 121.647 and 121.639 as provided in this section.' no place in these sections does it give any other outside authority to unilaterally change a captain's fuel load. I also asked him to quote me the regulation or company authorization that allowed load planning to make this unilateral decision during the dispatch process. After stumbling for a few minutes; he could not find such authorization. I also asked him to contact load planning and ask them the very same question; under what authorization or authority were they operating under? To his credit; he did contact load planning to find out what authorization they were operating under; and once again after fumbling for a few minutes; load planning had to admit they could not find any written authorization or authority to make such a decision. I submit this because I am finding that we continue to have infringements into to the captains and dispatchers sole responsibility of dispatching our aircraft as outlined in far 121.533; far 121.535 and far 121.627. Although disseminating information from all departments to the captain and dispatcher is good; right; and necessary; we need to make these departments understand that 'no unilateral decisions' can be made without contacting both the dispatcher and the captain who must and will make that final decision.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Air carrier Captain reported questioning an internal company policy in regards to load planning changing fuel loadings without consulting the flight's Dispatcher and Captain.

Narrative: I was the working Captain on flight from San Francisco. It was on this flight; during the cockpit preflight process that I received the following message via ACARS; 'LP (Load Planning) reduced gate fuel for payload. Please let me know FOB (Fuel on Board) and send RLS (Release) 2.' This ACARS message was signed by our dispatcher. Upon receiving this message I contacted our Dispatcher via my personal cell phone to find out exactly what this message meant and to receive some much needed clarification. I was informed by this Dispatcher that Load Planning had unilaterally informed him that they were reducing our fuel load; one that was agreed to by the Captain and the Dispatcher approximately 30 minutes earlier. When I asked him under what authorization this was being done; he said load planning had the 'right' to reduce a fuel load according to their internal requirements. He then said he believed they could unilaterally reduce the fuel by up to 3000 pounds. It was here that I assured him that they DID NOT have such authority. I used this as a teaching moment and instructed him the clear verbiage of FAR's and I quoted him the following: 'The Captain and Dispatcher shall ensure there is sufficient fuel to comply with FAR 121.647 and 121.639 as provided in this section.' No place in these sections does it give any other outside authority to unilaterally change a Captain's fuel load. I also asked him to quote me the regulation or company authorization that allowed Load Planning to make this unilateral decision during the dispatch process. After stumbling for a few minutes; he could not find such authorization. I also asked him to contact load planning and ask them the very same question; under what authorization or authority were they operating under? To his credit; he did contact Load Planning to find out what authorization they were operating under; and once again after fumbling for a few minutes; Load Planning had to admit they could not find any written authorization or authority to make such a decision. I submit this because I am finding that we continue to have infringements into to the Captains and Dispatchers SOLE responsibility of dispatching our aircraft as outlined in FAR 121.533; FAR 121.535 and FAR 121.627. Although disseminating information from all departments to the Captain and Dispatcher is good; right; and necessary; we need to make these departments understand that 'no unilateral decisions' can be made without contacting both the Dispatcher and the Captain who must and will make that final decision.

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.