Commercial Fixed Wing
Dispatch Dispatcher
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Other / Unknown
General None Reported / Taken
Company Policy; Human Factors; Procedure
Boeing Direct ACARS messages are being mistaken by the crews as messages sent from the dispatchers. Three times today alone the crews have replied to me after these messages were received and thought Dispatch was the sender. This is creating confusion because the crews believe Dispatch has verified the route; winds; time; fuel; weather on this suggested re-route from Boeing when; in fact; I was unable to check any of these suggested re-routes for fuel; WX; etc due to time constraints. The event occurred because Boeing Direct was instituted without much guidance or testing. Joint Operation Control between Dispatch and the PIC is being blurred by having an automated computer send messages to our flights in regards to suggested re-routes.
Dispatcher reports that Boeing Direct messages to flight crews are causing confusion because the crews believe they are coming from Dispatch.