A319
Flight Crew Air Transport Pilot (ATP)
Flight Crew Type 8568
Deviation / Discrepancy - Procedural Published Material / Policy
General None Reported / Taken
Company Policy
When ground crew was ready for pushback they announced to crew to 'release brakes because we need to pull you up on the tug.' This was a newer model tug in where the aircraft is pulled on to a hydraulic plate by an attached strap to the nose gear. While this request certainly makes sense; it breaks with pilot SOP of only releasing brakes when a clearance has been received.
A319 Captain reported a contradiction from standard operating procedures when asked to release the brakes prior to push clearance to facilitate use of a new style tug.