Narrative:

We contacted ground control clearing the parallel runway and informed them of our gate. Ground controller said; 'proceed to spot aa and contact ramp control'. The first officer switched to ramp control frequency before entering the inbound taxiway and advised them we were approaching spot aa for our gate. Another company aircraft was approaching spot aa outbound; which is why the first officer switched to the ramp control right away to avoid a conflict. The ramp controller said we could not enter at spot aa and to contact ground control for amended taxiing instructions. I stopped the aircraft until we sorted this out. The first officer re-contacted ground control for new taxi instructions. The ground controller was very curt and said; 'I'm not talking to you.' I responded that somebody needed to as I was not going to move the aircraft without further clearance. After another carrier passed eastbound and the company aircraft received clearance from spot aa; the ground controller said; 'give way to the other carrier and pass behind company to spot aa and contact ramp control at spot aa.' I told the first officer to wait until we were at spot aa before contacting ramp control. We contacted ramp control at spot aa and were cleared to the gate without further problem. In an effort to expedite our taxi to the gate and get a jump on coordinating with the outbound company approaching the same spot; we left ground control while still on a controlled portion of the movement area. I was informed later when I called the tower by phone that the ground controller attempted to contact us but we had left the frequency early to contact ramp control. After my discussion with the tower supervisor and the ramp control supervisor; it is clear that the company is caught squarely in the middle of a political battle between the tower controllers and the ramp controllers as to who controls what concrete. The elimination of spot ab and the use of spot aa for both inbound and outbound aircraft; along with the numerous frequency changes required in such a short distance; will continue to be a problem as well as a safety issue by requiring one pilot to be 'eyes down' on an active taxiway. It is not clearly defined where the movement and non-movement areas begin and end. From now on; however; I will make sure we do not contact ramp control until we are physically at the appropriate spot and the aircraft is stopped before proceeding to the gate.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: B737 flight crew reports a heated exchange with ground and ramp controllers regarding dominion over ramps and taxiways.

Narrative: We contacted Ground Control clearing the parallel runway and informed them of our gate. Ground Controller said; 'Proceed to Spot AA and contact Ramp Control'. The First Officer switched to Ramp Control frequency before entering the inbound taxiway and advised them we were approaching Spot AA for our gate. Another Company aircraft was approaching Spot AA outbound; which is why the First Officer switched to the Ramp Control right away to avoid a conflict. The Ramp Controller said we could not enter at Spot AA and to contact Ground Control for amended taxiing instructions. I stopped the aircraft until we sorted this out. The First Officer re-contacted Ground Control for new taxi instructions. The Ground Controller was very curt and said; 'I'm not talking to you.' I responded that somebody needed to as I was not going to move the aircraft without further clearance. After another carrier passed eastbound and the Company aircraft received clearance from Spot AA; the Ground Controller said; 'Give way to the other carrier and pass behind Company to Spot AA and contact Ramp Control at Spot AA.' I told the First Officer to wait until we were at Spot AA before contacting Ramp Control. We contacted Ramp Control at Spot AA and were cleared to the gate without further problem. In an effort to expedite our taxi to the gate and get a jump on coordinating with the outbound Company approaching the same spot; we left Ground Control while still on a controlled portion of the movement area. I was informed later when I called the Tower by phone that the Ground Controller attempted to contact us but we had left the frequency early to contact Ramp Control. After my discussion with the Tower Supervisor and the Ramp Control Supervisor; it is clear that the Company is caught squarely in the middle of a political battle between the Tower Controllers and the Ramp Controllers as to who controls what concrete. The elimination of Spot AB and the use of Spot AA for both inbound and outbound aircraft; along with the numerous frequency changes required in such a short distance; will continue to be a problem as well as a safety issue by requiring one Pilot to be 'eyes down' on an active taxiway. It is not clearly defined where the movement and non-movement areas begin and end. From now on; however; I will make sure we do not contact Ramp Control until we are physically at the appropriate spot and the aircraft is stopped before proceeding to the gate.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 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.