The Value of Aviation Weather Information: Value Chains for NWS Products and Services

This presentation will describe an ongoing study of the value of the services provided by the National Weather Service (NWS) to the aviation industry. NWS supports the safe and efficient operation of aviation across the country through customized products and services delivered by its national, regional, and local offices.

A key objective of this study is to develop value chains that document how NWS supports passenger, cargo, and general aviation. These value chains will:

• Map the flow of information within and from NWS offices (local Weather Forecast Offices, the National Centers for Environmental Prediction (especially the Aviation Weather Center), and the Center Weather Service Units (CWSU) that provide weather forecasts and advisories to the nation’s 21 Air Route Traffic Control Centers operated by the Federal Aviation Administration.
• Describe how and when users employ weather products and services to prepare for and respond to hazardous weather conditions across various event lifecycles and weather hazards.

To capture the complexity of these networks, the study will expand on the traditional linear value chain model into "value distributaries," recognizing that a single aviation weather product often informs different actions taken by different individuals or organizations at different times. The study will also assess and compare the actual needs of the aviation industry to those perceived by NWS. In addition, it will qualitatively describe the potential negative consequences of any degradation in NWS aviation services provided by CWSUs.

The framework and information generated in this study will provide a basis for a future quantitative analysis of the value of products and services provided by the CWSUs.