Narrative:

Gander oceanic rerouted us; causing 7;000 pounds additional fuel burn. We coordinated with dispatch; 4 hours from ETA; flight plan route ATC liaison to facilitate minimum hold on arrival to lhr. On arrival; lhr approach gave us 30 minute hold. We said we could hold for 5 minutes maximum. In hold; lhr approach said we could expect no delay into lgw. After 5 minute hold; we diverted to lgw. Lgw approach said we were #11 for landing; with 40 miles of vectoring. We declared emergency for priority handling. Landed with 40 minutes of fuel. Operational shortfalls: lgw air services said carrier had not paid their bill. Turned us over to GA handling. Incurred 3 hour 32 minute ground delay coordinating payment. This has certificate implications: carrier designated lgw as a 'provisional field' also; as alternate on our flight. GA fueler said he was not trained on B777 aircraft; we coordinated instructions by fax and cell phone. Crew actions: on ground at lgw; we advised dispatch of fueling payment issue. Dispatch advised us they would address payment; but likely outcome would be bussing of passengers to lhr. We prepared for flight to lhr; advised dispatch of need for new maintenance release and ATC clearance. The captain addressed issues with crew: pilot fatigue; crew contractual issues; and passenger concerns. Dispatch advised us payment for fuel was forthcoming; we anticipated minimal further delay. The captain continually prompted dispatch for our above dispatching requirements; he coordinated the communication between dispatch; lgw air services; and the GA fueler via fax and an lhr-based purser's cell phone. We waived the 15 hour 30 minute pilot duty day contractual limit for passenger concerns. We may not have adequately self-assessed our fatigue in eventual 17 hour 40 minute actual duty day. Recommendations: dispatch should have shouldered the coordination for handling at the divert field; the captain was overly burdened as central coordinator. It may have been appropriate for a flight ops duty manager to lead the coordination. We relied too much on ad-hoc; face-to-face communication with ground personnel; attaining cell phone numbers and points of contact. Dispatch required continual prompting to coordinate maintenance and ATC clearance. A more appropriate approach may have been to unload the captain; give a decision time for dispatch to advise the captain of completion of dispatch requirements or cancellation (fom ground hold policy -- 90 minute/3 hour -- doesn't say the captain makes all the coordination). Safety was impacted as the captain was on duty with a 'creeping delay' for the duration of the fuel stop.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: Airline Dispatch failed to provide administrative support for flight crew of B777-200 who diverted to their alternate due to insufficient fuel to hold at their destination.

Narrative: Gander Oceanic rerouted us; causing 7;000 LBS additional fuel burn. We coordinated with Dispatch; 4 hours from ETA; Flight Plan Route ATC liaison to facilitate minimum hold on arrival to LHR. On arrival; LHR Approach gave us 30 minute hold. We said we could hold for 5 minutes maximum. In hold; LHR Approach said we could expect no delay into LGW. After 5 minute hold; we diverted to LGW. LGW Approach said we were #11 for landing; with 40 miles of vectoring. We declared emergency for priority handling. Landed with 40 minutes of fuel. Operational shortfalls: LGW air services said carrier had not paid their bill. Turned us over to GA handling. Incurred 3 hour 32 minute ground delay coordinating payment. This has certificate implications: carrier designated LGW as a 'provisional field' also; as alternate on our flight. GA fueler said he was not trained on B777 aircraft; we coordinated instructions by fax and cell phone. Crew actions: On ground at LGW; we advised Dispatch of fueling payment issue. Dispatch advised us they would address payment; but likely outcome would be bussing of passengers to LHR. We prepared for flight to LHR; advised Dispatch of need for new Maintenance Release and ATC clearance. The Captain addressed issues with crew: pilot fatigue; crew contractual issues; and passenger concerns. Dispatch advised us payment for fuel was forthcoming; we anticipated minimal further delay. The Captain continually prompted Dispatch for our above dispatching requirements; he coordinated the communication between Dispatch; LGW air services; and the GA fueler via fax and an LHR-based purser's cell phone. We waived the 15 hour 30 minute pilot duty day contractual limit for passenger concerns. We may not have adequately self-assessed our fatigue in eventual 17 hour 40 minute actual duty day. Recommendations: Dispatch should have shouldered the coordination for handling at the divert field; the Captain was overly burdened as Central Coordinator. It may have been appropriate for a Flight Ops Duty Manager to lead the coordination. We relied too much on ad-hoc; face-to-face communication with ground personnel; attaining cell phone numbers and points of contact. Dispatch required continual prompting to coordinate Maintenance and ATC clearance. A more appropriate approach may have been to unload the Captain; give a decision time for Dispatch to advise the Captain of completion of dispatch requirements or cancellation (FOM ground hold policy -- 90 minute/3 hour -- doesn't say the Captain makes all the coordination). Safety was impacted as the Captain was on duty with a 'creeping delay' for the duration of the fuel stop.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of May 2009 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.