For United Airlines, being a global carrier means being a global provider of weather information to 9,000 pilots, flying over 2500 flights a day. Providing that information economically to over 200 locations worldwide is a challenge that's being made easier through the internet.
For many years the Weather Briefing Message, the opening pages of the flight plan, provided much of a pilot's weather planning information, mainly along the route of flight. At hub stations, NAFAX and now DIFAX adds radar, satellite and significant weather charts. At smaller airports, the fax machine is used to deliver limited numbers of weather maps. However, international flying, and the continued expansion of air travel since deregulation has increased the locations and costs of delivering weather graphics to the pilot. Recently, the internet was looked at as a vehicle to provide that information. High quality images and simple access could be provided inexpensively through a PC and a modem.
The problem? FAR 121.101 and FAR 121.119 both require that weather information for flight planning and forecasting come from sources approved by the NWS or the FAA. That means secure, reliable and verifiable sources. While there is a tremendous wealth of weather products available on the internet, there can also be frustrations with server downtime, missing data, or just plain sluggishness when accessing a busy web site. A problem with a vendor you can solve with a phone call. But whom do you call when you have trouble with a web site, especially one you don't really pay for?
Enter Pilotbrief. The product database was designed by a committee of pilots, dispatchers and meteorologists, and implemented through WSI. Pilotbrief serves the pilot's desire for more access to graphical weather information during the flight planning process. It meets United's need to provide information worldwide in a cost-effective manner. It meshes well with support currently provided by United's in-house meteorology department. And Pilotbrief has FAA approval.
Access is simple. At hub airports, information is automatically downloaded via satellite to dedicated PCs. At smaller stations and international locations, an internet connection is used to download radar, facsimile charts, satellite images or text data on demand. With password security, United personnel can access Pilotbrief from home, a hotel, or wherever an internet connection is available.
The trend will continue away from text based dissemination of weather to users in the field. Pilot feedback makes it clear that graphical weather information is much easier to understand than text descriptions of weather events. Having the "big picture" also yields a better understanding of the complete weather situation, not just what is happening along the route of flight. The end result is better flight planning, yielding higher margins of safety and more efficient flights. Tools like Pilotbrief will undoubtedly be part of the future of weather dissemination.