AALOPS Dispatch Pilot Guide
American Virtual's company dispatch by telex: what it is, the one-time setup for your aircraft, and every message you'll get and can send. Short version first, details after.
AALOPS in 60 seconds
- AALOPS is our dispatch office. It talks to you by telex (ACARS) on every flight, like a real airline: your release, loadsheet, takeoff data, weather, fuel checks and more.
- You need SayIntentions on your PC, but no subscription. Open a free trial once, install the app and fly one flight with it. That's it.
- Set your aircraft's ACARS to SayIntentions (once). Every aircraft does it differently: see your aircraft.
- On every flight, the flight number on your MCDU must be exactly your bid callsign, for example
AAL1680. Otherwise no telex reaches you. - Start Stratos at the gate, before fueling and boarding. The RELEASE arrives a few minutes later.
- Send everything TO:
AALOPS, and be patient: replies take up to a couple of minutes. - Your aircraft can't send free text? SayIntentions subscribers can answer from the PocketSky app.
Answer dispatch the way a real crew does and the flight is clean: +500 AAdvantage miles and +30 min. That's in the Clean Flight Guide.
On this page: What it is · What you need · Your aircraft · Every flight · What dispatch sends you · What you can send · Cabin reports · Not getting telexes? · Checklist
What AALOPS is
At a real airline, the crew is never alone: a dispatcher plans the flight, sends the paperwork to the cockpit, and keeps an eye on it until it's at the gate. They talk by telex: short text messages over ACARS, printed or shown on the MCDU.
AALOPS is American Virtual's dispatch office. It follows your flight live through Stratos and sends you what a real dispatcher would. You can also ask it things, like the weather at your destination or your arrival gate.
Think of it like a group chat with the airline: they message you at the right moments, and you can message them back.
The telexes travel over the SayIntentions ACARS network. That's why it needs SayIntentions on your PC, and your aircraft's ACARS set to SayIntentions.
What you need (one time)
No SayIntentions subscription needed. You only need to have used SayIntentions once, so the files AALOPS needs exist on your PC. (The one exception is PocketSky, for aircraft that can't send free text.)
- A SayIntentions account. Open the free trial once, if you've never had one.
- Install the SayIntentions app and fly one flight with it. This creates the SayIntentions folder on your PC, with your personal API key inside. You don't need to run the app again afterwards.
- Your SayIntentions API key (from your SayIntentions account). Some aircraft ask for it in their settings.
- Stratos with American Virtual's Live Data Extractor plugin, with these two settings (both are already like this by default):
- Share SayIntentions Key With Dispatch: On.
- ACARS Delivery: Standard. "Off" switches dispatch telexes off.
Why the key? SayIntentions delivers a telex only to the key it was sent with. The plugin reads your key from the SayIntentions folder on your PC and gives it to dispatch for the flight, so dispatch can reach your aircraft. The key is only held while the flight is active, and is never written to any log.
Your aircraft: set ACARS to SayIntentions
Every aircraft does this differently. Do it once; most keep the setting.
Fenix A319 / A320 / A321 EFB
- In the EFB settings, select SayIntentions as the ACARS network.
- After landing: the Fenix wipes the MCDU, flight number included. Re-enter your flight number on the INIT page before you send your arrival report.
FlyByWire A32NX flyPad
- flyPad → Settings → ATSU / AOC.
- ACARS Provider: SayIntentions.AI, and SAI API Key: your SayIntentions key.
- Send messages from the MCDU: ATSU → AOC MENU → FREE TEXT, TO:
AALOPS. The page shows the network as HOPPIE: leave it. That's FBW's name for your provider, so it goes through SayIntentions.
PMDG 777 EFB receive only
- In the EFB, enter your SayIntentions API key for ACARS.
- Receives telexes, but can't send free text: reply with PocketSky.
BlueBird 757 EFB send from the toolbar
- In the EFB, enter your SayIntentions API key.
- Receives telexes, but can't send free text: answer from the ACARS tab of the American Virtual toolbar app, or with PocketSky.
- Takeoff data: SimBrief's numbers, or send your own with the TPS request (
TPS 26L F5 V1 141 VR 146 V2 151 SEL 42). See the Clean Flight Guide.
iniBuilds A350 EFB receive only
- In the EFB settings, select SayIntentions.
- Receives telexes, but can't send free text: reply with PocketSky.
iniBuilds A300-600 (A306) EFB receive only
- In the EFB settings, select SayIntentions.
- Receives telexes, but can't send free text: reply with PocketSky.
Leonardo Maddog external app
- Select SayIntentions as the ACARS network in the Maddog's external app (not in the cockpit).
FSLabs A321 external app + MCDU + RMP
The one with the most steps, all three needed:
- Control Center (external app): select SayIntentions as the ACARS provider. Don't enter a Hoppie logon code as well: Control Center then overwrites your SayIntentions key with it.
- On the MCDU:
- ATSU → COMM → VHF3 DATA MODE: ACARS = SAYINTENTIONS.
- ATSU → COMM → MAINTENANCE: Silent Telex Mode = DISABLED.
- AOC INIT: FMC FLT NO = your bid callsign (for example
AAL1680), then INIT DATA REQ.
- RMP: VHF3 ACTIVE must show "DATA". If 121.500 is active, the ECAM shows VHF3 VOICE: there's no datalink, and incoming telexes are never collected.
PMDG 737 EFB + CDU + radio send from the toolbar
All of these are needed:
- Tablet EFB settings: ATC Network = Say Intentions, and your Say Intentions API key.
- CDU: DLNK → TECHNICAL: ATC NETWORK = SAY INTENSIONS, SAYINTENTIONS KEY filled in (NO SIAI KEY = the key is missing).
- Radio tuning panel 3: VHF 3 on DATA. On a voice frequency there's no datalink, and incoming telexes are never collected.
- Every flight: RTE page FLT NO = your bid callsign, then ACARS → PREFLIGHT → INIT DATA → INIT REQ. The 737 collects nothing until its first datalink request.
- Every flight, log on to KUSA: in the CDU open the downlink ATC menu, select LOGON, then log on to KUSA and establish the connection. The aircraft downloads no message until this is done, even if Stratos is already running and INIT REQ is already done.
- Telexes land in the DLK ATC MSG LOG (ATC menu) or the DLK ATS MSG LOG (ATS menu): check both.
- The CDU can't send free text to a company station: answer dispatch from the ACARS tab of the American Virtual toolbar app. Full steps in the Clean Flight Guide.
iFly 737 MAX 8 no ACARS read and send from the toolbar
- The iFly has no ACARS: nothing to set in the aircraft, and no telex reaches it.
- Every flight: start Stratos, then open the ACARS tab of the American Virtual toolbar app. You read dispatch's telexes there and answer from there. Without a SayIntentions key, dispatch starts sending only once the tab is open.
- Takeoff data: with the iFly plugin running (start it before the sim), dispatch reads your CDU TAKEOFF REF page, like on the PMDG. Without it: SimBrief's numbers, or send your own with the TPS request. Needs the Stratos plugin 2.1.12 or later. Full steps in the Clean Flight Guide.
Aircraft that can only receive: PocketSky
Some aircraft show dispatch's telexes but have no way to send a free-text message: the iniBuilds A350, the iniBuilds A300-600, the Bluebird 757 and the PMDG 777. Without a way to answer, you can't sign the release or accept the TPS, so the flight can't be clean.
PocketSky fixes that. Active SayIntentions customers can use SayIntentions' PocketSky app to send ACARS messages to
AALOPS, whatever the aircraft can or can't do. Your aircraft receives the telexes, and you answer from PocketSky. That makes a clean flight possible with any aircraft that can receive telexes.
- Send exactly the same messages as from the MCDU (
SIGN,TPS,ACCEPT,ACK,BRK … ARR FUEL …), from your flight's callsign, TO:AALOPS. - PocketSky needs an active SayIntentions subscription. Everything else in this guide doesn't.
- Your aircraft can send free text? You don't need PocketSky, but you can use it too.
Every aircraft, every flight: the flight number on the MCDU (INIT page or AOC INIT) must be exactly the callsign on your bid:
AVC8619, not AAL8619 or 8619. Dispatch sends every telex to that callsign.
Every flight, step by step
1Flight number
MCDU: your flight number exactly as your bid callsign. Your ACARS is now connected.
2Start Stratos
At the gate, before fueling and boarding. Start just before pushback and there's no time left to sign.
3RELEASE
Arrives 2 to 3 minutes later. Read it to the end and send SIGN + your pilot ID.
4Loadsheet & TPS
The loadsheet comes after you sign. Ask for takeoff data with TPS + runway, then ACCEPT it.
5Fly
Dispatch follows you: climb, cruise, fuel checks, descent package. Answer any PLZ ACK.
6Arrival
After landing, send your braking action and fuel in one message, wait for the ARR REPORT, then file.
The exact messages for steps 3, 4 and 6, with real screens, are in the Clean Flight Guide.
What dispatch sends you
Most of these come by themselves. You only answer the ones marked reply.
| When | Telex | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| At the gate | RELEASE (reply) | Your flight release, several pages: aircraft, route, flight level, fuel, alternates, and the aircraft's tech log. Ends with SIGN RELEASE BY TELEX. |
| LOADSHEET | Passengers, cargo and weights, after you sign. On the Fenix and the FBW a PRELIM first, then the FINAL when loading is complete. | |
| NOTOC | On flights with cargo in the hold: about 1 flight in 4 on most routes, and about 3 in 5 between the Americas and Europe, Africa or the Middle East. It can be dangerous goods, a special load such as live animals or perishables, or a passenger's wheelchair with a battery (name, seat, weight, and whether the battery is in the cabin or the hold). Where the aircraft has hold temperature controls (A380, A350, 777, 787) it also tells you what to set; on other aircraft it doesn't. Sometimes cancelled before departure. | |
| TPS (reply) | Your takeoff data, when you ask for it: V-speeds, flaps, flex. Ends with REPLY: ACCEPT + a number. | |
| OCC SPARE ASSIGNED | On the release, only if Operations Control gave you a spare aircraft. | |
| After takeoff and in cruise | CLIMB, CRUISE | Your progress: level, speed, distance flown and to go, fuel on board. |
| Fuel advisories (reply if asked) | When your fuel is 500 lbs or more off the plan. A serious one (fuel low, no holding fuel, diversion reserve low) ends with PLZ ACK MSG + a number. | |
| Before descent | DESCENT | About 15 minutes before top of descent: live weather and ATIS at your destination, the runways in use, and your ETA. |
| RWY CHANGE | Your planned runway isn't the one in use. | |
| GATE CHANGE ALERT | Your arrival gate changed after you asked for it. | |
| If ATC sends you elsewhere | DIVERSION (reply) | SayIntentions ATC re-cleared you to another airport: can your fuel get you there with the final reserve intact, and the weather there. Ends with PLZ ACK MSG: answer it. |
| After landing | ARR REPORT | The answer to your arrival message. THANK YOU, CLEAN FLIGHT means all done: file your PIREP. |
| RECAP | Your flight, actual against plan: block time, fuel used, landing. | |
| Any time | 2ND REQUEST | A reminder: dispatch is still waiting for an answer (to SIGN, ACCEPT or a PLZ ACK). |
A telex with
PLZ ACK MSG 4821 must be answered: send ACK 4821 (your number). Most flights never get one.
What you can send
Always TO: AALOPS. Send HELP any time and dispatch sends you this list (HELP 2 for the second page).
The clean-flight messages
| You send | When | What it does |
|---|---|---|
SIGN AAL1234 | When the RELEASE arrives | Signs the release with your pilot ID. The loadsheet follows. |
TPS 28 | Before pushback | Takeoff data for your runway (here 28). |
ACCEPT 7081 | After checking the TPS | Accepts it (the number from its last line). REJECT 7081 if the numbers are wrong, then ask again. |
ACK 4821 | Only if asked | Answers a PLZ ACK MSG. |
BRK 5 ARR FUEL 6100 | After landing | Braking action code (0 to 6) and fuel on board to the nearest 100, in one message. |
Ask dispatch
| You send | You get |
|---|---|
WX or WX KSFO | Live weather: your departure before takeoff, your destination after (or the airport you name). |
GATE | Your departure and arrival gates. |
FUEL | Fuel on board against the plan, at your present position. |
ETA | Your ETA against the schedule. |
ALTN | Your alternate and its live weather. |
CHANGEOVER | After takeoff: your arrival gate. Add your estimated on-block time in UTC if you like: CHANGEOVER 0245. |
RELEASE | Your release again, if you missed it. |
DLY 03 15 | Reports a delay: code + minutes (here 15 minutes waiting for push clearance). The codes are in the Clean Flight Guide. |
MEL | The aircraft's current tech log. |
TECH + the fault | Writes a defect up in the aircraft's tech log, for example TECH PACK 1 FAULT (Airbus) or TECH BLEED TRIP OFF (737). Something serious, such as smoke, an engine failure or a bird strike, grounds the aircraft for an inspection. See the TechLog Guide. |
HELP, HELP 2 | The command list. |
Anything else you send is answered with MSG RCVD … LOGGED FOR DISPATCH: it's on record, but nobody replies to free text yet.
Cabin reports: SECURITY and SMOKE
Trouble in the cabin? Tell dispatch, like a real crew would. Start with SECURITY or SMOKE, or just describe it:
SECURITY UNRULY PAX RESTRAINED ROW 14
SMOKE PAX VAPING IN AFT LAV
Dispatch answers in one telex and arranges for police (or the fire service) to meet the aircraft. It goes on your PIREP and has no effect on your clean flight or on the aircraft's tech log.
Not getting telexes?
- Check your flight number first. On the MCDU it must be exactly your bid callsign. This is the number one cause.
- Is your ACARS connected? Connect it (flight number in) before you start the flight in Stratos. A telex sent before that is lost.
- Check the aircraft's ACARS network is SayIntentions (see your aircraft). FSLabs: is VHF3 on DATA? PMDG 737: is VHF 3 on DATA, did you send ACARS INIT REQ, and did you log on to KUSA (downlink ATC menu → LOGON)? It downloads nothing until you have. iFly 737 MAX: telexes never come to the aircraft; open the toolbar's ACARS tab.
- Check the Stratos plugin: Share SayIntentions Key With Dispatch On, ACARS Delivery Standard.
- Never used SayIntentions on this PC? Open the trial, install the app and fly one flight with it, then try again. Without the SayIntentions folder, dispatch can't reach you.
- Fenix, after landing: re-enter the flight number on the INIT page.
- Missed the release? Send
RELEASE. - Be patient. Replies take up to a couple of minutes. Don't resend: a 2ND REQUEST only means dispatch hasn't read your answer yet.
Checklist
Once
- SayIntentions trial opened, app installed, one flight flown with it.
- Stratos plugin: Share SayIntentions Key With Dispatch On, ACARS Delivery Standard.
- Your aircraft's ACARS set to SayIntentions (EFB, flyPad or external app).
- PMDG 737: SayIntentions key in the EFB and on CDU DLNK → TECHNICAL; VHF 3 on DATA and LOGON to KUSA (downlink ATC menu) every flight.
- iFly 737 MAX: nothing to set; open the toolbar's ACARS tab every flight and use it for everything.
- Aircraft that can only receive (iniBuilds A350 / A300-600, Bluebird 757, PMDG 777): PocketSky ready to answer dispatch.
Every flight
- MCDU flight number = your bid callsign.
- Start Stratos at the gate, before fueling and boarding.
- RELEASE →
SIGN+ your pilot ID. - Loadsheet →
TPS+ runway →ACCEPT+ number. - Any
PLZ ACK MSG→ACK+ number. - After landing:
BRK 5 ARR FUEL 6100(yours), wait for the ARR REPORT, then file your PIREP.