Narrative:

The aircraft delivery process is very broken in my opinion. I have only done two; but both were the same story and I've heard from others it is always the same issues with dispatch; weight and balance; and performance numbers. It seems dispatch is unprepared for the [flight from] boeing field; like it's a surprise. When we; check airmen; arrive at boeing and contact dispatch; it takes dispatch quite some time (at least an hour; maybe two or more) to get the paperwork together. According to the boeing representatives; they let dispatch know several days ahead of time about the delivery flight; then again that same morning; several hours before hand. Boeing provides their weight and balance numbers to the crew; which do not match the ones dispatch eventually provides on the release. Today; our dispatch provided operating weight (ow) was different from the boeing provided ow by a couple thousand pounds. Our zero fuel weight (ZFW) was different by even more. Further; when the other pilot and I input the manual weight and balance numbers into the [performance calculator] to get our takeoff performance numbers; the [performance calculator] would not return data. According to the [performance calculator] remarks section; our fuel load was greater than the maximum possible fuel load. When we adjusted the [performance calculator] inputs to reflect the 6.873 pounds/gallon density the boeing weight and balance paperwork showed; it did not fix the problem. Only when the other check airman (who had recently had the same problem on a delivery) called a performance engineer at the operations center; were we able to resolve the density problem. Apparently; the operations center engineer said the density was not updating. He was able to update it on his end in the operations center and we received the takeoff numbers. To confuse matters further; the gate location at boeing field has poor ACARS reception. We had ACARS no comm. The folks at boeing say that is a known problem. So on top of the above confusion and added risk; crews are forced to use [a backup system]. Overall; aircraft deliveries are out of the norm by their very nature; so crews are out of their habit patterns to start with. On top of that; the takeoff performance process is very; very questionable. Sooner or later; someone is going to make a significant mistake that could cause big problems. I believe the crew needs a specific procedure to follow codified in the aircraft operating manual (aom). Same with dispatch. And dispatch needs to be better prepared. When check airmen call; the paperwork should be ready to go and sent over. [Weight and balance calculations] need to be adjusted to prevent the fuel density problem.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737-800 Captain reported the process of taking delivery of a new aircraft from Boeing is flawed in the areas of weight and balance as well as fuel density calculations.

Narrative: The aircraft delivery process is very broken in my opinion. I have only done two; but both were the same story and I've heard from others it is always the same issues with Dispatch; weight and balance; and performance numbers. It seems Dispatch is unprepared for the [flight from] Boeing Field; like it's a surprise. When we; Check Airmen; arrive at Boeing and contact Dispatch; it takes Dispatch quite some time (at least an hour; maybe two or more) to get the paperwork together. According to the Boeing representatives; they let Dispatch know several days ahead of time about the delivery flight; then again that same morning; several hours before hand. Boeing provides their weight and balance numbers to the Crew; which do not match the ones Dispatch eventually provides on the Release. Today; our Dispatch provided Operating Weight (OW) was different from the Boeing provided OW by a couple thousand pounds. Our Zero Fuel Weight (ZFW) was different by even more. Further; when the other pilot and I input the manual Weight and Balance numbers into the [performance calculator] to get our takeoff performance numbers; the [performance calculator] would not return data. According to the [performance calculator] remarks section; our fuel load was greater than the maximum possible fuel load. When we adjusted the [performance calculator] inputs to reflect the 6.873 pounds/gallon density the Boeing Weight and Balance paperwork showed; it did not fix the problem. Only when the other Check Airman (who had recently had the same problem on a delivery) called a Performance Engineer at the Operations Center; were we able to resolve the density problem. Apparently; the Operations Center Engineer said the density was not updating. He was able to update it on his end in the Operations Center and we received the takeoff numbers. To confuse matters further; the gate location at Boeing Field has poor ACARS reception. We had ACARS NO COMM. The folks at Boeing say that is a known problem. So on top of the above confusion and added risk; crews are forced to use [a backup system]. Overall; aircraft deliveries are out of the norm by their very nature; so crews are out of their habit patterns to start with. On top of that; the takeoff performance process is very; very questionable. Sooner or later; someone is going to make a significant mistake that could cause big problems. I believe the crew needs a specific procedure to follow codified in the Aircraft Operating Manual (AOM). Same with Dispatch. And Dispatch needs to be better prepared. When Check Airmen call; the paperwork should be ready to go and sent over. [Weight and balance calculations] need to be adjusted to prevent the fuel density problem.

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.