Dispatch and fuel planning

Confirm the flight number, aircraft variant, registration profile, weights, route, cruise level and weather cycle. A polished SimBrief document can still be wrong if its aircraft profile or departure time is wrong.

Trace the route on a chart, identify constrained airspace and review departure, destination and suitable alternate weather. Open operationally important NOTAMs rather than counting them.

Read the plan as separate protections: taxi, trip, contingency, alternate, final reserve and any discretionary extra fuel. Do not treat the block figure as one undifferentiated number.

Weather, runway choice, anti-ice use, expected holding, remote alternates and oceanic uncertainty can change the margin. Use the planning policy represented by your aircraft profile and avoid inventing airline quantities.

Calculate takeoff and landing performance using the correct weight, runway, intersection, wind, temperature, pressure, surface condition, anti-ice state and configuration.

Recalculate after a runway change or meaningful weather update. Check that the resulting thrust, speeds and flap setting agree across the performance tool, flight-management system and takeoff brief.

At regular waypoints compare actual time and fuel with the operational flight plan. Investigate a trend rather than waiting for the destination prediction to become critical.

‘Minimum fuel’ advises ATC that further delay could erode the protected reserve; it is not itself an emergency. If the protected final reserve can no longer be maintained to a safe landing, use the applicable fuel-emergency declaration.