Questions about "company"

ScottK

Pre-takeoff checklist
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ScottK
I hope this doesn't come off as a stupid question, but I've seen and heard plenty of references to calling your company and wondered just how that was done.

I know what company is referring to, but am curious how you contact them. Is is a special frequency or more of a direct to phone line? Most of the time I hear it on liveatc.net and it's about verifying gate locations.

What other kind of info can be had with the company line?
 
Its an airline thing.. say I was an AA pilot, "company" is someone at AA flight operations
 
Also, ATC will often refer to traffic for a plane, if it's the same carrier, as "Company" - or example, "Southwest one thirty two, cleared to land, traffic is a Company 737 short final..."

When I was in the flying club, controller at ADS would occasionally call "Company" traffic if another club plane was in the pattern... just being funny.
 
The ATC around my flight school accept that term when we are using our call-signs. They'll use it for traffic alerts, and we would usually use it for air-to-air and air-to-ground transmissions when we're not contacting a specific aircraft or ground station. Basically used the same way as mentioned above; whenever referring to an aircraft/person/station that you're associated with.
 
"Calling company" can be done in any number of ways. All of the stations that the airlines go into have their own AIRINC freq. Kind of like a unicom for airline ops. So you can call them VHF on that. Some planes have SELCAL. You can call them on that. Some have ACARS. You can email them on that. Some have sat phones. You can call them on that. And if all else fails, there's always the AIRINC network (San Francisco radio - or New York in a VERY small part of the world) who can facilitate a VHF-phone patch.
 
"Calling company" can be done in any number of ways. All of the stations that the airlines go into have their own AIRINC freq. Kind of like a unicom for airline ops. So you can call them VHF on that. Some planes have SELCAL. You can call them on that. Some have ACARS. You can email them on that. Some have sat phones. You can call them on that. And if all else fails, there's always the AIRINC network (San Francisco radio - or New York in a VERY small part of the world) who can facilitate a VHF-phone patch.

Yup. There are many ways to do it most of the time on the ground you can just call them on company frequency. And then if all else fails the old cell phone cam call company also.


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It depends on whether you mean the DO at "The Company" (HDQ in Langley, VA), not to be confused of course with "The Business" (HDQ in Ft Meade). ;)
 
What other kind of info can be had with the company line?

basically anything you want to know...but most use ACARS (text messaging in th e FMS) as long as the thing will work.
 
What other kind of info can be had with the company line?

Whether you have any "specials" on the inbound (eg: wheelchairs, blind assist, unaccompanied minors, etc). Communicating delay codes, EDCTs, or requesting maintenance or a gate agent at the plane. Asking for catering, fuel, or a bug wash. Asking for permission/numbers for a divert. Any number of things!
 
Many airliners can call the company ops center using satcom. I think each plane has a phone number too. Last week, one of the guys in a training class told a story about using his own free long distance to check a satcom link was working. I guess each call wound up costing $40.
 
Also, ATC will often refer to traffic for a plane, if it's the same carrier, as "Company" - or example, "Southwest one thirty two, cleared to land, traffic is a Company 737 short final..."

When I was in the flying club, controller at ADS would occasionally call "Company" traffic if another club plane was in the pattern... just being funny.

We used to get other aircraft from my flight school called out as company traffic at PNE.
 
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