Jim Logajan wrote:
Jay Maynard wrote:

On 2008-03-28, Mike Gilmour wrote:

Listening to Boston ATC at various times the Tower controller asks a
flight if they 'have got their numbers" (?) or a flight will say
they're not ready to proceed because they "don't have their numbers".
What does this mean as it doesnt translate here in the UK?

This refers to the flight performance data (primarily, weight and
balance) that the flight crew needs to enter into the flight
management system. The crew usually has that before they push back
from the gate, but occasionally the airline doesn't get it to them
until later. They can't take off without it, because they can't verify
that the aircraft is within its center of gravity range or that the
accelerate-stop distance is shorter than the available runway length.


The poster said these were ATC transmissions, not internal company
communications. Since ATC doesn't concern itself with weight, balance,
or any other flight performance factors, your explanation is almost
certainly wrong.
/snip/
Jim, the answer Jay gave is almost certainly *correct*. ATC absolutely
cares about weight & balance, if, said aircraft is number one for
takeoff, but unable to do so since they don't have the necessary data.
Now you've got the guy at the front of the line holding up the whole
airport! I've heard several heated exchanges take place in these
situations between ATC and the offending airliner. If a ground
controller knows that a departing flight doesn't yet have their
"numbers", he may taxi them via an alternate route, so as not to
obstruct the other departures.

As for the ATIS "numbers", this is typically verified when the flight
receives it's IFR clearance, so Ground Control can assume they already
have this information.

Happy Flying!
Scott Skylane