Originally Posted by
MADPhil
I believe that the paperwork has to be complete and the door closed before the flight can be declared ready to leave and get a take off slot from the FAA. Re-opening the door would reset all of that, although in these days of electronic "paperwork" some flights seem to have set off and then had to pull aside to wait for it to be delivered!
I was a controller for 30 years. There is no paperwork that the FAA knows if you have or don't have before you can get a take-off slot. It is first-come, first-served with a few exceptions, e.g. miles-in-trail out a departure gate, EDCT program in effect, etc. The only thing close would be if there is an Enroute Spacing Program in effect and the tower can not call for a time until the aircraft has started taxiing, because they have to have a departure time window to work with. Whether there is any required paperwork, that would be a company thing. However, my experience as a ground controller before I retired and also taking numerous familiarization flights in the cockpit, is that AA never had their numbers until almost at the runway end which is why they taxied so slow (they were waiting for them to come in over ACARs) and SW has theirs already written on a napkin ready to be entered in when they left the gate and that is why they taxied so fast.