Narrative:

Our flight was planned as a re-dispatch operation. The majority of the flight route was planned to operate in a non-etops area under the premise that there were 'adequate' intermediate airports (ias) within 60 minutes of flight route. The crew questioned the dispatcher concerning ias rjck and pasy since the forecast weather during the associated weather windows was below the landing minimums for the available approaches. The crew was told by the dispatcher that it was a 'legal' dispatch since there weren't any weather requirements that needed to be applied to an 'adequate' airport.we understood the definition of an adequate airport; but questioned the sensibility of using an ia to define a flight route when that ia could not be a divert option due to [forecast weather] below landing minimums. The dispatcher repeated the definition of an 'adequate' airport. She said that as long as the airport was 'open' it would be a legal ia and thus a legal dispatch. Not questioning the legality of the dispatch; the crew asked the dispatcher why she would choose an ia to be a 60 minute airport knowing that it would not be a practical divert option.at that point; the dispatcher refused to discuss our concerns any further and on her own accord; transferred us to the duty manager who told us he needed to confer with the dispatcher first and would call us back. On the call back by the duty manager we were once again quoted the definition of an 'adequate' airport; what the requirements were; and told it was a legal dispatch. The crew came to the conclusion that the dispatch personnel were focusing on the legality of the dispatch and we perceived they were missing the big picture.the crew decided to operate the flight on the planned route but only with the understanding that we were going to add fuel and thus assure 'suitable' ias for the area of our concern. The crew fully understood the legal requirements for the route operating area and what made the dispatch legal; but we couldn't understand the sensibility of defining a non-etops operating area with ias that we could not use in case of a divert. I hope this is not the new dispatch mentality for our airline. I am sure one can always legally dispatch along a route which has adequate ias; which are 'open'; and are within 60 minutes. I just hope somewhere along that route there would be an adequate ia that was suitable if one was needed.

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Original NASA ASRS Text

Title: A B777-200 flight crew and their Dispatcher/Duty Manager debated the merits of declaring enroute ETOPS airports as suitable when they were forecast to be below landing minima during the time periods for which they might be required.

Narrative: Our flight was planned as a re-dispatch operation. The majority of the flight route was planned to operate in a non-ETOPs area under the premise that there were 'adequate' Intermediate Airports (IAs) within 60 minutes of flight route. The crew questioned the Dispatcher concerning IAs RJCK and PASY since the forecast weather during the associated weather windows was BELOW the landing minimums for the available approaches. The crew was told by the Dispatcher that it was a 'legal' dispatch since there weren't any weather requirements that needed to be applied to an 'adequate' airport.We understood the definition of an adequate airport; but questioned the sensibility of using an IA to define a flight route when that IA could not be a divert option due to [forecast weather] below landing minimums. The Dispatcher repeated the definition of an 'adequate' airport. She said that as long as the airport was 'open' it would be a legal IA and thus a legal dispatch. Not questioning the legality of the dispatch; the crew asked the Dispatcher why she would choose an IA to be a 60 minute airport knowing that it would not be a practical divert option.At that point; the Dispatcher refused to discuss our concerns any further and on her own accord; transferred us to the Duty Manager who told us he needed to confer with the Dispatcher first and would call us back. On the call back by the Duty Manager we were once again quoted the definition of an 'adequate' airport; what the requirements were; and told it was a legal dispatch. The crew came to the conclusion that the Dispatch personnel were focusing on the legality of the dispatch and we perceived they were missing the big picture.The crew decided to operate the flight on the planned route but only with the understanding that we were going to add fuel and thus assure 'SUITABLE' IAs for the area of our concern. The crew fully understood the legal requirements for the route operating area and what made the dispatch legal; but we couldn't understand the SENSIBILITY of defining a non-ETOPs operating area with IAs that we could not use in case of a divert. I hope this is not the new dispatch mentality for our airline. I am sure one can always legally dispatch along a route which has adequate IAs; which are 'open'; and are within 60 minutes. I just hope somewhere along that route there would be an adequate IA that was suitable if one was needed.

Data retrieved from NASA's ASRS site as of April 2012 and automatically converted to unabbreviated mixed upper/lowercase text. This report is for informational purposes with no guarantee of accuracy. See NASA's ASRS site for official report.