AOC/ACARS AND THE FM BOUNDARY
AOC, Airline Operational Control, exchanges company information through supported communications functions. ACARS carries operational messages; a received loadsheet or route response still needs interpretation and the appropriate cockpit update. The source Thales guide describes optional data-link functions controlled by its configuration. A visible menu title or an old manual's uplink page does not establish that every dispatch/performance option is available in Fenix. [66, PDF pp. 517-530,543-550] [93]
1. Establish the flight identity and message context. Compare sector, date, registration and edition with the actual flight before accepting operational data. Distinguish a preliminary loadsheet from the latest final/revised one. A message stored in the received list can be valid history while no longer being the current authority for mass preparation. Keep message acceptance and actual data application as separate recorded tasks. [66, PDF pp. 517-530,543-550] [93]
2. Read what the message supplies. Company route, weather, mass and performance messages serve different jobs. Identify which field or calculation should change and which should remain independent. A final loadsheet acceptance does not by itself prove that INIT B/FUEL PRED and the aircraft loading now match. Perform the readback and update required by the actual current data. [66, PDF pp. 517-530,543-550] [93]
3. Control pending requests. Read request and response status before making competing revisions. The source distinguishes data being processed, completed uplink, invalid data and no response; current service timing and available prompts must be checked on the actual installation. If a response lands in SEC, inspect that plan deliberately instead of treating reception as automatic primary-route replacement. [66, PDF pp. 517-530,543-550] [93]
4. Keep weather and performance authority clear. An uplinked wind profile can support the predictor while current destination reports and the actual performance calculation still require their own checks. The guide's optional takeoff-data uplink is not evidence of a universally supported Fenix remote performance service. Use the actual supported EFB calculation and readback unless a current documented alternative establishes the intended capability. [66, PDF pp. 517-530,543-550] [93]
5. Close the operational communication loop. Sending a company diversion message and changing NEW DEST are distinct actions; accepting a loadsheet and entering its values are distinct too. Verify the actual relevant result at each interface. The OPS companion section expands the dispatch/printer workflow; this MCDU chapter keeps the core boundary explicit so no external message is mistaken for a silently completed flight-management revision. [66, PDF pp. 517-530,543-550] [93]