FC5425

At [airline] it has always been the case that the flight planning department would plan and file the most cost-effective routing to destination. Historically however, they were always happy to amend as required on request of the flight crew if they considered there to be hazardous weather that could readily be avoided. Recently there seems to have been a change in the attitude toward amending routing to avoid weather and turbulence with a much greater emphasis on flying the least cost routing. Having discussed the matter with other crews, I know that I am not alone in my experiences on this. For example, [during a recent trip when I made such a request], it was initially refused as it would be more expensive in overflight charges, even after it was pointed out that the request was being made for safety reasons. After asking to speak to shift manager, again emphasising the reason for route amendment there was still much resistance to make the requested changes. Only after insisting that the route be amended did they reluctantly do so. It’s very disappointing that an airline which otherwise has an excellent attitude to flight safety falls short in this instance, and some crew could easily find themselves pressurised by a cost driven department to put the aircraft in a [potentially] hazardous environment that could readily be avoided. 

I’m confident that I would not be subject to any punitive or unfair treatment, but having spoken with my local management team, although understanding of my issue, they suggested it is something that would unlikely change and I would just need to continue being assertive of my position when required in these instances.