An experimental evaluation of weather avoidance using route optimization as a decision aid

This paper describes an experimental plan for the summative evaluation of the AWIN decision support tool in an airline dispatch setting. The evaluation will assess if there are gains in (1) safety, (2) fuel efficiency, and (3) time efficiency when dispatchers must select routes for flights in the face of significant weather that impacts the initial, fuel-optimal route (calculated without consideration of weather intersection). Therefore the experiment will assess route dispatching subject to significant weather in two conditions utilizing the AWIN decision-aid: (1) Concept-A (integrated weather and auto-generated optimized route capabilities), and (2) Concept-B (modify route capability). During days with significant weather, it is the duty of the dispatcher to pull information from multiple, independent weather sources, and to integrate that information with the route planning results to assess the impact of weather on the flights that they are dispatching. Typically an airline will have a pre-defined set of "company routes" and dispatchers select the first company route that avoids weather, with little consideration for fuel or time optimality. In addition, weather avoidance criteria can differ from dispatcher to dispatcher, resulting in different outcomes and safety margins. The proposed paradigm shift to a free-flight environment offers an opportunity to better optimize flight routes when avoiding hazardous weather.