Originally Posted by viktorbravo

IMO the LIDO flight plans can be very good, if they are generated close to when the flight actually departs.

I've seen instances where a UPS aircraft going to the same destination, same 555 cost index, some miles ahead of us was going direct, and we were following all the twists and turns in the LIDO flight plan. I'll be damned if we didnt actually pass him up and arrive at destination a full 5 minutes ahead of him.

Of course I've seen this work the other way around also.

From what I've seen the LIDO flight plans generated to avoid large areas of weather are very screwed up. Have found that if there is no center weather reroute (which there rarely is at night), you save a hell of alot of time by going direct and driving right up to the weather then deviating as necessary, just like the old days.

I think all said and done, the LIDO stuff doesnt really save the company anything. JMO and of course YMMV.