Narrative:

While looking at computer for the winds aloft and sigmets I then looked at our flight plan. We were routed exactly over our canned route of at FL330. Reports had continuous moderate turbulence on that route with a severe turbulence segment [along our route] surface to FL390. Also there was a tremendous wind gradient all along our route with us on the edge of a band of wind that went from 20-30 KTS to over 130 KTS only 100 miles south of that point. I called dispatch and after being on hold for four minutes he finally came on. I asked why we were routed on a canned flight plan at a canned altitude of FL330 with the current conditions. Why not fly us south and away from the severe SIGMET and with the tailwind? He said he had reports of turbulence all along that route and that we should fly lower and take more gas. I asked why he didn't call me with that information instead of painting us in a corner at FL330 at that fuel load and he said he didn't have time. How much money would it have cost when we decided that we couldn't handle turbulence at FL330 and gone down to FL270 like we were eventually forced to; then had an unplanned diversion for fuel? Without having taken my own initiative this would have been the result. Dispatch is a mess. Either they aren't being professional and proactive or they are simply understaffed. Either way we are constantly doing our job and their job. I don't know of a single pilot at this company who feels that they are properly looked after by dispatch. Anyone can come into an office and update mels. What is needed is someone who will take ten minutes and look at pireps; wind charts; sigmets and tafs and adjust flight plans accordingly. It simply isn't being done now and without the pilots taking their own time to make it work it would be costing this company lots of money.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: An air carrier First Officer reported he was planned on a route and altitude that were unworkable because of forecast turbulence. He called Dispatch and changed the altitude; wondering why he was not called by Dispatch.

Narrative: While looking at computer for the winds aloft and SIGMETs I then looked at our flight plan. We were routed exactly over our canned route of at FL330. Reports had continuous moderate turbulence on that route with a severe turbulence segment [along our route] surface to FL390. Also there was a tremendous wind gradient all along our route with us on the edge of a band of wind that went from 20-30 KTS to over 130 KTS only 100 miles south of that point. I called Dispatch and after being on hold for four minutes he finally came on. I asked why we were routed on a canned flight plan at a canned altitude of FL330 with the current conditions. Why not fly us south and away from the severe SIGMET and with the tailwind? He said he had reports of turbulence all along that route and that we should fly lower and take more gas. I asked why he didn't call me with that information instead of painting us in a corner at FL330 at that fuel load and he said he didn't have time. How much money would it have cost when we decided that we couldn't handle turbulence at FL330 and gone down to FL270 like we were eventually forced to; then had an unplanned diversion for fuel? Without having taken my own initiative this would have been the result. Dispatch is a mess. Either they aren't being professional and proactive or they are simply understaffed. Either way we are constantly doing our job and their job. I don't know of a single pilot at this company who feels that they are properly looked after by Dispatch. Anyone can come into an office and update MELs. What is needed is someone who will take ten minutes and look at PIREPs; wind charts; SIGMETs and TAFs and adjust flight plans accordingly. It simply isn't being done now and without the pilots taking their own time to make it work it would be costing this company lots of money.

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.