How Today’s Aviation Technology Boosts Safety and Efficiency

It is almost 120 years since the Wright brothers achieved the first powered, sustained, and controlled airplane flight. Aviation technology has made many incredible advances in that time. However, despite all that progress, there continue to be problems that make the experience of flying less than comfortable at times for airline personnel and travelers alike.

If you are one of those with a career in the aviation industry whose responsibility is to minimize such inconveniences, you have my sympathy. Inconveniences such as flight delays and discomforts such as inflight turbulence are not easy problems to work around. The good news is that aviation technology’s latest developments can help.

This article will look at how aviation technology that supplies accurate weather information in advance can help improve your flights’ safety and the efficiency of your operations. 

One way to stay ahead of disruptive events and developing weather conditions is to use the DTN patented aviation forecast applications. These solutions combine public and proprietary weather information with accurate and detailed preflight and inflight decision support.

 

Aviation technology using artificial intelligence (AI)

Recent developments in commercial aviation technology can improve both your flight and ground operations, resulting in a more robust operation, more fuel and environment efficient flights and, in the end, a satisfied customer. 

2020/21 has been a testing time for the airline industry, to say the least. However, on the plus side, there has been a significant increase in technology implementation across the board in the aviation industry.

One fast-moving technology is Artificial Intelligence (AI), and this machine learning technology has been transforming the operations of the aviation industry during the pandemic. For example, AI has been used to gather flight data for route optimization and provide detailed weather forecasting. 

AI through sophisticated machine-learning algorithms has given rise to automated systems. These systems have the capacity to process vast amounts of data allowing for advanced warning of anomalies that could otherwise lead to potential accidents.

 

Route planning and alerting applications

More than all other challenges that you face, adverse weather can compromise the safe transport of your passengers, crew, and cargo. A flight planning application can let you plan your routes in the greatest possible time window and efficiency. In addition, near real-time weather forecast updates can be accessed before takeoff or even during flight as we see the industry moving to more and more online EFB (Electronic Flight Bag) capabilities. 

The key benefit is that you will be armed with the information you need to quickly and with certainty decide if a specific flight will be affected by the weather. When your weather information is too generic, this can result in unexpected flight delays, inefficiency, damage to your aircraft and an unhappy passenger.

Flight  planning and alerting applications help commercial airlines, corporate aviation, and helicopter operations minimize losses and improve the safety and efficiency of their operations.

Having access to information about airports and flight routes is a real advantage. Timely updates will help pilots get the most up-to-date weather information that they need. This can allow them to make better informed decisions if they need to make changes to their flight route.

Insights afforded by advanced flight planning technology include accurate weather longer-term forecasts  to hourly forecasts for the immediate 72 hours. These particular aviation technology advancements offer the following benefits:

• Better advance flight planning.
• Pilots will be able to anticipate on adverse weather enroute.
• Pilots can provide accurate information about weather conditions to passengers.
• Pilots can utilize accurate (weather) route alerts right in the cockpit. These alerts keep the pilots in control and the passengers and cargo safe.
• Flight planners can make better informed and cost-effective route decisions.
• Continuous flight and weather monitoring until the aircraft safely reaced it’s destination. 
• Breakdown of each flight route into segments with information on vertical and horizontal tolerances. This creates a virtual flight corridor, which means alerts can be limited to those directly in the aircraft’s path.
• Receive instant feedback on expected weather events that exceed safety parameters from your filled flight plan. Add your chosen weather requirements for each route and your possible airport destinations for a more comprehensive analysis.
• Dispatchers can select alternate routes that offer the best fuel efficiency and the slightest chance of weather-related disruptions.

 

Benefits of aviation technology programs

Specific applications can give you the capacity to track and predict micro weather, allowing you to offer a significantly better passenger experience. Knowing exactly what to expect from the weather and precisely when to expect it will enable you to share that information with travelers accurately.

This information affords increased transparency, fewer delays, or a more significant period of notice regarding potential delays. Today’s modern traveler expects transparency, and you can give your pilots the tools to be able to maintain their confidence throughout the flight. As well, many passengers have been waiting to return to traveling. Everything your airline can do to create a positive experience will bolster your brand’s reputation.

While safety is the top priority, you will also benefit from the operational efficiencies that are created using aviation technology.  From lower fuel waste to more efficient schedules, airlines can use technology to grow their profit margins and streamline their processes.

 

Safer Flights And More Efficient Operations

Safety is the top priority when your flight crews are up in the air, and you need the right tools in place to be able to support them.  With the right information, you can make sure that your pilots have a clear picture of what weather they’re up against.

You can make timely re-routing decisions to circumvent a storm or adjust flight plan details to avoid turbulence with the right technology in place. The right suite of applications can also provide you with the data you need to make better and faster decisions about departure and landing times. 

Our patented aviation forecast applications allow you to track and survey global flight operations. We combine public and proprietary weather information with accurate and detailed preflight and inflight decision support.

DTN weather models and 4D flight route alerting solutions give you relevant and up-to-the-minute airspace data in a single view. With DTN weather applications and solutions, you’ll have the capability to stay ahead of developing weather conditions and disruptive events.