Potential Regional AMDAR Programs:Caribbean, Central and South America

David R. Helms

Office of Science and Technology

NOAA National Weather Service

AMDAR Regional WorkshopMexico City, MexicoNovember 8, 2011

Potential Regional AMDAR Programs:Caribbean, Central and South America

• WGAP Task: Study on AMDAR Coverage and Targeting for Future Airline Recruitment• Coverage Gaps • Challenges of Regional Programs• Partnerships • Filling Gaps:

• Leveraging Existing AMDAR Programs• Airlines and aircraft operating in the region

Table of Contents

WMO Global AMDAR Programme (WGAP) Study on AMDAR Coverage and Targeting

• Task: • Develop an implementation plan for the evolution of the AMDAR Program for the next 10 years• Identify WMO, National and Industry Requirements for AMDAR • Analyze and define the current status of the WGAP, focusing on coverage gaps• Survey the airline industry to determine and define those airlines and aircraft that are technically suitable candidates for AMDAR

• Project commenced by December 2011 and completed by mid-2012

Regional AMDAR:Coverage Gaps

• Recent AMDAR Coverage

Regional AMDAR:Coverage Gaps

• Recent AMDAR Coverage – 24hrs Obs Counts

Regional AMDAR:Challenges

• Issue: Limited recent success in growing AMDAR into south/east Asia, Africa, Caribbean, Central and South America- Case Study: WMO AMDAR Workshop in Santiago, Chile,

2005• Challenges and Potential Barriers:

- Language barriers between WMO and Host Country- Outreach/Programmatic understanding- Perceived threats to incumbent observing systems- Air Carrier Destinations verses Political Boundaries - Aviation verses Weather Federal Agency Competition- Limited knowledge of AMDAR by Air Carriers- Availability of AMDAR capable aircraft

Regional AMDAR:Building Partnerships

• Paradigm Shift: Owning an observing system

verses Building Partnerships • Users

- Federal Aviation- Numerical Weather Prediction - Air Quality- Dispersion/Volcanic Ash Plume Prediction- National Met Service Public Weather/Hydrology- Defense- State Department Capacity Building

• Build the case for cost sharing and for a Regional AMDAR budget

Regional AMDAR:Leveraging Existing AMDAR

• USA and E-AMDAR participating Air Carriers fly into RA III and IV airports

• Most of these carrier’s aircraft operating in the Caribbean, Central and South America are not providing AMDAR data

• While number of airports available may be limited, these aircraft have the potential for providing a large amount of upper-air observations in the region:

- USA/NOAA added Alaska Airlines to its MDCRS Program, to support SMN - E-AMDAR Program could use its optimization capability to collect observation from selected airports

Regional AMDAR:Considerations for Selecting an Air Carrier

Partner

Fleet Technical Characteristics:a. Aircraft, type, seriesb. Modern avionics (ARINC 620 capable)c. Cost of configuring avionics to create and send AMDAR messagesd. Air Carrier Routes as gap filling capability

Air Carrier:a. Staff understanding of AMDAR as benefit to operationsb. Full-time meteorology staff in dispatch (potential role as advocates)c. Lead Pilot support for AMDARd. Ability for natural advocates (e.g., meteorologist and lead pilot) to influence

corporate decision makerse. Potential for cost sharing (e.g., use of latent bandwidth on air-to-ground

contract) with governmentf. Availability of communications contract with ARINC and/or SITAg. Corporate Growth, revenue and profits, projected new aircraft and routes

Regional AMDAR Program

A Partial List of Potential AMDAR Partnersin Caribbean, Central and South America

RA III and IV:LAN Airlines

• Based in Chile (Brazil)• $11.5 billion (US) in revenue, • 240 aircraft (mostly Airbus 319-100 and 320-200), • 100+ destinations

RA III and IV:TAM Airlines

RA III and IV: GOL – Linhas Aereas

• Based in Sao Palo, Brazil• $4.3 billion US in revenue• 124 aircraft (mostly B737-700 and 800 series)• 64 destinations• Subsidiary - WebJet

RA III and IV: AviancaAirlines

• Based in Bogata, Columbia• $2.4 billion (US) in revenue

•major shareholder:  Synergy Group), • 64 aircraft (mostly Airbus 320-200 and 319-100)• 69 destinations• Subsidiary - TACA, Lasca

• Based in Buenos Aires, Argentina• Operating loss in most recent fiscal year (national airline)• 70 aircraft

• mostly B737-700, purchasing 20 Embraer regional jets, financed by Brazil),

• Subsidiary - Austral

RA III and IV:Aerolinas Argentinas

RA III and IV:Copa Airlines

• Based in Panama City, Panama• $1,000 million (US) in revenue• 71 aircraft (mostly B737-700 and 800 and Embraer E-190)• 59 destinations• Subsidiary - AeroRepublica (Columbia)

RA III and IV:Caribbean Airlines

• Based in Trinidad and Tobago • $250 million (US) in revenue • 22 aircraft (mostly B737-800) • Purchased - Air Jamaica in 2011

Potential Regional AMDAR Programs:Caribbean, Central and South America

David R. Helms

Office of Science and Technology

NOAA National Weather Service

email: david.helms@noaa.gov

Questions?