Author Topic: Where is the gate agent?  (Read 1418 times)

Ray Proudfoot

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Where is the gate agent?
« on: November 05, 2022, 08:17:41 pm »
When I was showing a friend the features in GSX today he noticed that whilst the flight crew, flight attendants and passengers boarded there was one noticeable absentee. The gate agent.

Shouldn’t there be one? Not complaining but it does seem like a valid point.
« Last Edit: November 06, 2022, 12:16:13 pm by Ray Proudfoot »
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Captain Kevin

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Re: Where is the dispatcher?
« Reply #1 on: November 06, 2022, 03:01:44 am »
The dispatcher sits in an office at the airline's operations center and is in charge of multiple flights, so no, you wouldn't see the dispatcher boarding the plane at all, given that they could easily be hundreds or thousands of miles away from the plane. Even if the flight departed from the city where the airline's operations center is, chances are it's nowhere near the terminal.
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Ray Proudfoot

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Re: Where is the dispatcher?
« Reply #2 on: November 06, 2022, 09:43:11 am »
Kevin, the dispatcher hands a document to the captain which he has to sign as it’s a legal document. Every major airline surely has this requirement.

Not sure what person you’re referring to.
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Ray.

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Captain Kevin

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Re: Where is the dispatcher?
« Reply #3 on: November 06, 2022, 11:48:37 am »
Ray, the person who hands the document to the Captain to sign is actually the gate agent, not the dispatcher. The dispatcher is responsible for multiple flights at once and is the point of contact for the pilots should anything go wrong at any point during the flight. I know this because aside from the fact that I'm a certified flight dispatcher myself, I had the chance to observe what it is a dispatcher does, as somebody else in my flight dispatch class is also a flight dispatcher. We were nowhere near the airplane, as the operations center is just north of the airport.
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Ray Proudfoot

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Re: Where is the dispatcher?
« Reply #4 on: November 06, 2022, 12:08:59 pm »
Hi Kevin,

I bow to your greater knowledge but I know I've heard the term used in the UK and a fellow flight sim enthusiast who is also a qualified private pilot asked me this yesterday.

After some web searching it would appear the gate agent is the term used. My apologies.

So Umberto, where's the gate agent?  ;D
Cheers,
Ray.

P3Dv5.3HF2, i9-13900K @ 5.5Ghz, RTX4090, 32Gb RAM, 4Tb Crucial T700 NVMe SSD, BenQ 32” 30Hz monitor at 3840*2160 with VSync.

Ray Proudfoot

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Re: Where is the gate agent?
« Reply #5 on: November 06, 2022, 12:16:39 pm »
Title of topic amended.
Cheers,
Ray.

P3Dv5.3HF2, i9-13900K @ 5.5Ghz, RTX4090, 32Gb RAM, 4Tb Crucial T700 NVMe SSD, BenQ 32” 30Hz monitor at 3840*2160 with VSync.