The 8th Conference on Aviation, Range, and Aerospace Meteorology

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WEATHER SUPPORT FOR A GLOBAL AIRLINE

David L. Kleckner, United Airlines, Chicago, IL

Let's start by deciding which "typical" day we're talking about. Midnight shift on Christmas Eve? How about the Sunday afternoon shift during the Super Bowl? Or Thanksgiving dinner with Flight Dispatch? You get the picture. The first rule about aviation meteorology for a global airline is that the airline is always flying. That means the weather center is always working.

Your shift starts with the standard "in" briefing, a review of current forecasts, equipment status, and any problems that may have developed. From there, it's right to work. Conference calls with ATC or with different United departments punctuate the early portion of the shift, as everyone tries to decide the day's operating plans. There's of course, the standard chart analysis, the hub TAFs issued midway through the shift, and extended outlooks at the end of the shift. Flight level wind forecasts and turbulence also must be dealt with. Incoming dispatchers will come in for a briefing at the start of their shift, and finally, you brief your relief and call it a day. Or a midnight as the case may be.

In between the "typical" is the stuff which makes the job both challenging and fun. United places a high priority on the "hubs". When several hundred flights are impacted, hours, even minutes add up quickly. United currently puts the cost of delays at several thousand dollars a minute. This includes everything from crew time and extra fuel, to the cost of passenger misconnections. So even a minor change, 20 or 30 minutes in timing is important, and you have to keep everyone in the system informed. Briefing messages to flight dispatch, system operations control and the stations are your primary tools of communication.

While the hubs get the headlines, the spoke stations are important too. That means knowing the weather throughout the region, not just the hubs. Your knowledge may be the difference between flying and canceling, so you'd better be prepared to quickly offer meaningful advice, even for a small station you may not be looking at closely. The airline can't always wait for you to decide on a forecast.

Your knowledge has to be global. You may normally deal with snow in Denver, but you may have to cover a shift that's dealing with a typhoon near Japan. Or the nuances of fog in Santiago. For a real challenge, you may have to deal with a volcano eruption and the subsequent ash plume.

Like any forecasting position, the job is always varied. No two days are really alike. Even a quiet day can turn hectic with just one well placed thunderstorm. It's a small field, as only 6 major U.S. airlines currently staff their own departments. Job openings are few, the competition is high, but the satisfaction is well worth it.

The 8th Conference on Aviation, Range, and Aerospace Meteorology