A.6.1 Dispatch Information Sources – Fundamental and Most Valuable Rating
The following information sources used by dispatchers are viewed as fundamental to the flight planning process. An effectiveness rating is also provided based on survey results.
Dispatch Information Sources – fundamental and most valuable rating:
• Convective weather info – all want accurate, timely info – viewed fundamental
• Airspace status – all want accurate and timely info – viewed fundamental
• Wind speed, direction, temperature (80+%) – also rated high as a fundamental need
• Airport facility status, weather / traffic info (80+%) also rated high as a fundamental need All seek better information, not clear how good it is for them today from survey.
A.6.2 Importance of Information Sources for Dispatch
The following rate the importance of information for Dispatch in-flight re-planning (by decreasing order of priority):
• Accurate Convective Weather Forecasts and updates (58.3%) – Priority 1 – Some rated it 2 (25%), 4 and 5 at 8.3% each
• Wind speed, direction temperature – Priority 4 (50%), some also 1, 2, 3, with 3 more prominent (25%) than 2 (16.7), and 1 (8.3%)
• Airspace Status was priority 2 and 3 (33.3%, 41.7%, respectively)
• Airport facility status, weather, traffic info – broad 1,2,3,4 priority with 3 (33.3%) the highest, and 2 and 4 right behind (25%).
General Observation:
• Convective Weather is the highest priority source; airspace status and airport facility information sources are approximately equal as the next highest priority, with wind rated of lowest priority.
A.6.3 Effectiveness of Information Sources for Dispatch
The following ratings were received regarding the effectiveness of information sources for in-flight re-planning.
Effectiveness of Information Source:
• Airspace Status - 5.7 of 7 (7 being most important)
• Accurate Convective Weather Forecasts and updates - 5.4 of 7
• Wind speed, direction temperature – 5.2 of 7
• Airport facility status, weather, traffic info – 5.1 General Observation:
• Airspace status is 1, Convective Weather 2, Wind 3, Airport facility 4 in terms of order of decreasing order of effectiveness. There is not a lot of differentiation among these sources per survey results.
A.6.4 Deficiencies of Information Sources
The following identifies what information is currently either lacking or of insufficient quality (e.g., in terms of its availability, accuracy, and/or timeliness), that prevents Dispatch from achieving effective en route re-planning to enable the unconstrained flight in changing environmental conditions.
Lacking info / insufficient quality rating of Information Sources for Dispatch:
• Convective Weather (Collaborative Collective Forecast Product – CCFP) – More frequent updates desired
– Coverage of forecast areas often quite large – Level of resolution could be refined further – Anywhere in oceanic airspace
Suggests weather information improvement opportunities.
• Winds, speed/direction, temperature
– Great value to have actual winds to utilize while in flight
• Sabre Flight Plan Manager already provides updates 4 times a day (averages the 12 hour reading twice)
Suggests an opportunity for improved information.
• Airspace status (SUA, traffic management initiatives, etc.) – Real time information would be excellent (Opportunity?)
– Better integration with Flight Explorer or other Aircraft Situation Displays (Opportunity?) – This is more a Ground Display of the big picture, not a flight deck display.
– Information changes so rapidly, it is difficult to keep up when monitoring 10 to 25 flights
– Delays due to Overhead stream, aircraft limiting altitude
• When aircraft re-file coming out of Airspace Flow Program (AFP), how does one know what routes may become available? (Opportunity?)
• Airspace facility status, weather, traffic
– Real-time Airport Facility Braking Action web-site (similar to Runway Visual Range (RVR)) would be excellent; during snow storms
– While improved, still have time lags in information pushed out to Users and Operations Control Center
• This is probably due to validation processes required (Opportunity?) – Inbound holds – are they the result of just switching runway configurations or is
there something bigger going on?
• Other
– Current Pilot Reports (PIREP) information from other flights (Opportunity?) – Time due to workload is an issue for dispatch. Dispatch requires easy to use
information systems with associated tools. This is consistent with feedback that Dispatch tends to focus on flights pdeparture and not as much for en route re-planning due to workload.
General Observation:
• Timeliness, accuracy, and breadth/extent of information must continue to improve to enable effective flight re-planning. At the same time information management is required to avoid dispatcher information overload of excessive information detail and rapidity of updates. This requires intelligent automation to support dispatchers to allow them to “manage” the planning and re-planning of flights while keeping workload at reasonable levels.
The following represent factors identified by dispatchers surveyed that constrain re-planning of the current flight (in decreasing order of severity):
• Fuel reserve is most significant constraint factor (4.4 of 7, with 7 as most severe impact)
• Lack of accurate and timely weather information (4.2 of 7) – TASAR Opportunity
• Lack of sufficient information on airspace status (3.6)
• Lack of sufficient flight status information (3-)
• Connecting flight (2-) General observation:
• Clearly both Dispatch and the aircraft can benefit from improved information, particularly related to weather. Airspace information seems to be less of a factor. TASAR likely plays a tactical role in re-planning of the flight, while Dispatch is more strategic.
Effectiveness of Current Flight Optimization Capabilities (and available time):
• Only moderately effective (4+ of 7)
– Slightly better for Minimally Impacted, slightly worse for Extremely Impacted Weather
General observation:
• Dispatchers overall rate current flight optimization capabilities, and available time to do so as moderately effective (~4 out of a best rating of 7).
A.6.5 Information that Would Significantly Improve the Flight Re-Planning Process The following information elements and associated improvements were identified by dispatcher survey respondents that they believe would significantly benefit the flight re-planning process.
Beneficial Information Elements for Flight Re-Planning:
• Accurate convective weather forecasts, i.e., updates on already occurring weather – Areas of moderate to severe/extreme turbulence
– When convective activity is expected to affect route
• Movement and speed of storms
• Winds, speed and direction, temperature
– Large change over short distances may help with turbulence forecast for a specific route
• Airport status (SUA, traffic management initiatives, etc.) – Real-time updates would be excellent
– Airspace congestion, constraints, closure – Overhead stream issues
• How long a wait versus filing another route; stuck in conga line – or another, better route for $100 to $200 additional cost
• Airport facility status, weather, and traffic
– National Airport Facility Braking Action website
– Aerodrome closures, take-off and landing runways in use; RVR information;
Navigation and runway NOTAMS
– If airport back-ups occurring, would like to know so could slow down and save fuel General Observation:
• A number of improvement opportunities are identified. It would be beneficial to more closely evaluate the major aspects of flight planning / re-planning processes and how they translate into successful conduct of the flight. Further analysis on which and how improvements in information quality will provide improved flight planning and in-flight re-planning is warranted.
Additionally, the roles of Dispatch in planning and in-flight re-planning, in conjunction with the role of the flight deck (applications and flight crew capabilities) in performing in-flight re-planning using tools such as TASAR, should be clearly delineated and allocated synergistically for maximum benefit. In addition, re-planning in the presence of changing environmental
factors needs to be accomplished in a consistent way with current and future ATC processes and procedures, again to be synergistic in nature.
General observation:
• Tools are generally employed. Without tools, any support is not viewed as effective. Hands-on company support is used significantly (80+ %) and is moderately and at times very effective. Automated monitoring and advisory services are used less frequently but when used, are effective. Most (80%) do not use 3rd party automated monitoring and advisory service support. Effectiveness is always best for the more impacted flights (extremely and moderately challenged). Pilot in-flight re-planning with tools is heavily used (90%) and very to moderately effective (perhaps used a bit less when extremely challenged – perhaps due to pilot workload (?)). Without tools, pilots still attempt to try to consider re-planning, but only with somewhat effectiveness at best.
A.7 Flight Re-Planning Organizational Policies, Constraints, and Cost Factors