2019 Aviation Meteorological Services' Customer Survey - Summary Report

June 2020 | Version 1.0

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Version number/type Date of issue 1.0

9 June 2020

© Commonwealth of Australia 2020 Published by the Bureau of Meteorology Disclaimer The material contained in this publication is made available on the understanding that the Commonwealth is not providing professional advice, and that users exercise their own skill and care with respect to its use, and seek independent advice if necessary. The Commonwealth makes no representations or warranties as to the contents or accuracy of the information contained in this publication. To the extent permitted by law, the Commonwealth disclaims liability to any person or organisation in respect of anything done, or omitted to be done, in reliance upon information contained in this publication

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Table of Contents

1 Introduction .................................................................................................................................... 1

2 Discussion...................................................................................................................................... 1

2.1 About survey respondents ....................................................................................................... 1

2.1.1 Question: Which one of the following aviation related activities/roles is your main role (i.e. the one that you spend the most time engaged in)? ..................................................... 1

2.2 Satisfaction Levels with the Bureau of Meteorology ............................................................. 2

2.2.1 Question: Overall, how satisfied are you with the Bureau's aviation weather services? ………………………………………………………………………………………………..2

2.2.2 Question: How would you rate the Bureau's aviation weather services on each of the following attributes? .................................................................................................................... 3

2.3 Weather Information in Use ...................................................................................................... 4

2.3.1 Question: How often do you access weather information from each of the following sources? ………………………………………………………………………………………………..4

2.4 Bureau Services needing improvement .................................................................................. 5

2.4.1 Question: In your view, which of the following Bureau aviation weather services need improvement? .............................................................................................................................. 5

2.5 The Bureau's Forecasting Conservatism ................................................................................ 6

2.5.1 Question: Do you believe that the Bureau's current aviation weather forecasts? ....... 6

2.6 Weather Phenomena Concerns Affecting Operations........................................................... 7

2.6.1 Question: What airports are the most in need of improved aviation weather services and for which types of weather? ................................................................................................. 7

3 Summary ........................................................................................................................................ 8

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1 Introduction

The Bureau conducted a survey of its aviation meteorological service customers in early 2019 and received 681 responses. This report provides a summary of those responses.

The 2019 survey differed to previous surveys conducted with aviation customers by:

• Targeting all Bureau aviation customers rather than focusing on industry segments (e.g. regional or major airport users).

• Utilising a new survey software tool to facilitate survey completions and data collection.

The Bureau appreciated the time taken to fill out the survey by survey respondents. Surveys provide key insights into how the Bureau can improve services for customers.

2 Discussion

2.1 About survey respondents

2.1.1 Question: Which one of the following aviation related activities/roles is your main role (i.e. the one that you spend the most time engaged in)?

Figure 1: Industry sector representation

A total of 681 survey responses were received with 474 respondents completing all questions in the survey (representing a response rate increase on previous year of some 150%). Respondents came from several sectors across the industry including pilots, air traffic controllers, airport and airline operations and people involved in flight training and certification.

9%

4%

4%

5%

1%

4%

42%

2%

29%

Respondents by Role2019 Aviation Meteorological Services' Customer Survey Air Traffic Control/Services

Airline Operations

Aviation Sports/Recreation

Flight Training or Certification

General Airport Operations/Services

Other Aviation related activity/role

Pilot - Commercial Aviation

Pilot - Military Aviation

Pilot - Private/Recreational

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2.2 Satisfaction Levels with the Bureau of Meteorology

2.2.1 Question: Overall, how satisfied are you with the Bureau's aviation weather services?

Figure 2: Satisfaction levels with Bureau services across aviation industry segments

86% of respondents reported that they were satisfied or very satisfied with the Bureau's aviation meteorological services. Differences were recorded across industry segments.

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

Satisfaction Levels with Bureau Services Across Industry2019 Aviation Meteorological Services' Customer Survey

Not at all Satisfied Not Satisfied Satisfied Very Satisfied

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2.2.2 Question: How would you rate the Bureau's aviation weather services on each of the following attributes?

Figure 3: Aviation industry perceptions of Bureau performance

0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%

Trustworthiness

Timeliness

Accuracy

Reliability

Operational Value

24%

22%

9%

14%

25%

55%

53%

56%

58%

50%

15%

19%

27%

22%

17%

Industry's Perception of Bureau Performance2019 Aviation Meteorological Services' Customer Survey

Excellent Good Average Poor Very Poor

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2.3 Weather Information in Use

2.3.1 Question: How often do you access weather information from each of the following sources?

Figure 5: Sources of weather information in the aviation industry

49

%

46

%

15

%

27

%

27

%

24

%

32

%

17

%

11

%

27

%

14

% 17

%

25

%

5%

20

%

7%

3%

23

%

8% 9%

6%

1%

20

%

50

%

18

%

A I R S E R V I C E S A U S T R A L I A

B O M W E B S I T E B O M - M E T B R I E F I N G S E R V I C E

A I R L I N E F L I G H T P L A N

O T H E R S O U R C E

Weather Informat ion Sources Used2 0 1 9 A v i a t i o n M e t e o r o l o g i c a l S e r v i c e s ' C u s t o m e r S u r ve y

Very Frequently Frequently Occassionally Rarely Never

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2.4 Bureau Services needing improvement

2.4.1 Question: In your view, which of the following Bureau aviation weather services need improvement?

Aerodrome Forecast (TAF), AIRMET, Airport Warnings, Airport Weather Briefing, Automated Thunderstorm Alert Service (ATSAS), Climate Data, Graphical Area Forecast (GAF), Meteorological Collaborative Decision Making (Met CDM), METAR / SPECI, SIGMET, Trend Forecast (TTF), Volcanic Ash Advisory (VAA), Wind Shear Warning and Other

Figure 6: Suggested improvements to Bureau services by aviation segments

Figure 6 highlights that approximately 22% of respondents thought the Aerodrome Forecast (TAF) and 16% thought that the Graphical Area Forecast (GAF) needed improvement.

679 comments were received from respondents to the question "Do you have any suggestions about how the Bureau can improve its aviation weather services?". These comments will be further analysed to better understand how these services can be improved.

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2.5 The Bureau's Forecasting Conservatism

2.5.1 Question: Do you believe that the Bureau's current aviation weather forecasts?

Figure 7: Conservative forecasting requirements by aviation industry segments

57% of respondents thought the Bureau's current level of forecasting conservatism was appropriate however as can be seen in Figure 7, there is a spread of opinion across the industry.

0%10%20%30%40%50%60%70%80%90%

100%

64% 50%

77%45%

57% 56%56%

69%60%

Forecasting conservatism - industry requirements2019 Aviation Meteorological Services' Customer Survey

Should be a lot more conservative Should be a little more conservative Should stay about the same

Should be a little less conservative Should be a lot less conservative

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2.6 Weather Phenomena Concerns Affecting Operations

2.6.1 Question: What airports are the most in need of improved aviation weather services and for which types of weather?

Figure 8: Weather concerns by state

Weather concerns by aerodrome location 2019 Aviation Meteorological Services' Customer Survey

Location Fog Low cloud Low visibility

(other than fog) Other Thunderstorms Wind

NSW-E 36 42 14 10 72 32

NSW-W 7 4 4 2 3 5

NT 2 4 28 OFFSHORE 3 4

QLD-N 3 15 7 3 28 10

QLD-S 14 19 5 7 48 12

SA 3 15 1 1 6 7

TAS 8 11 2 2 1 10

VIC 21 53 26 4 29 34

WA-N 4 2 5 8 1

WA-S 27 18 7 2 5 20 Table 1: Weather Concerns by states

Survey respondents identified the following top 5 locations for each weather phenomenon:

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

NSW NT OFFSHORE QLD SA TAS VIC WA

Weather phenomena of concern by aerodrome location2019 Aviation Meteorological Services' Customer Survey

Fog Low cloud Low visibility (other than fog) Other Thunderstorms Wind

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Fog

Aerodrome Number of responses

Perth - YPPH 20

Sydney - YSSY 13

Melbourne - YMML 10

Launceston - YMLT 7

Canberra - YSCB 6

Low Cloud

Aerodrome Number of responses

Moorabbin - YMMB 12

Wollongong - YWOL 7

Camden - YSCN 5

Essendon - YMEN 5

Wagga Wagga - YSWG 5

Ballarat - YBLT 5

Bunbury - YBUN 5

Low Visibility (other than fog)

Aerodrome Number of responses

Melbourne - YMML 6

Moorabbin - YMMB 4

Wagga Wagga - YSWG 4

Cairns - YBCS 4

Wangaratta - YWGT 3

Thunderstorms

Aerodrome Number of responses

Sydney - YSSY 52

Brisbane - YBBN 30

Melbourne - YMML 14

Darwin - YPDN 10

Cairns - YBCS 9

Wind

Aerodrome Number of responses

Melbourne - YMML 10

Perth - YPPH 8

Moorabbin - YMMB 7

Sydney - YSSY 6

Hobart - YMHB 5

Pearce - YPEA 5

Other

Dust, smoke, turbulence temperature and wind shear were also identified as a concern at some airports.

3 Summary

The Bureau's 2019 survey had more respondents than has been previously received. Respondents also took the opportunity to provide more unstructured feedback, with well over 1000 valuable comments to further analyse.

This rich stream of information will provide for a deeper understanding of our customers and their needs.

The survey will be used to identify areas for improvement and emerging problems that may require future investment and focus.