— Brad Asselin, Director of Weather and Flight Planning Services

Ten Reasons You Can Trust In FPI’s Weather Expertise for Your Trip Management

Clear situational awareness is always a good thing; however in aviation, it’s the core element that determines a trip’s success.

Aside from obvious safety concerns, a single misstep in situational awareness regarding weather can lead to an uncomfortable (and costly) client experience.

Brad Asselin, FPI’s resident aviation-specific meteorology expert, highlights the top 10 reasons FPI’s weather-analysis readiness can be trusted for your trips:

1. FPI’s 24/7 Meteorology/Flight Planning team is fully in-house with experience exceeding 150 years collectively, specifically within aviation. The team’s unique history of having worked together in prior roles over the last 30+ years adds to their polished and professional performance in the rapidly changing landscape of weather’s impact on aviation.

2. No expense was spared when procuring top-of-the-line global weather monitoring software specific to aviation. FPI has continued to develop their utility of this technology over the past 12-24 months, and the platform is considered by many meteorological experts to be the best in the world.
   
   “We’ve determined to stay on top of the best analysis software as soon as it becomes available. Everyone on our Meteorology/Flight Planning team is expected to utilize the software for the benefit of our clients in the best way we can,” states Brad.
   
   “The extremely detailed temperature and conditions analysis is especially useful in situations such as Winter in Europe, where the nuances between rain, freezing rain, freezing fog, or snow are clearly defined so we can understand how each clients’ aircraft will perform, if the plane needs to park in a hangar, or whether a divert airport is necessary.”

3. FPI’s Meteorology team claims lengthy expertise in manually gauging global weather trends, a skill that adds an important edge to machine-driven assessments.
   
   “We consult a blend of tech and human sources when forecasting. Clients routinely ask us to provide 24-72 hour outlooks to “get ahead” of potentially impactful weather situations which can easily disrupt the passengers’ tight schedules. However, computer models can vary slightly with nuances perhaps less important to the average person but highly critical to pilots and passengers,” Brad says.
   
   “Therein lies the human expertise that makes the difference.”

4. FPI’s team exercises regular monitoring of many domestic and global bulletins, often up to 4X per day. Sources include information provided by groups including Euro Control and the FAA, among others. The entire team is responsible for monitoring bulletins related to client trips so that clients don’t have to keep tabs on global alerts regarding storms, strikes, traffic, capacities, rocket launches, delays, uprisings, volcanoes, and much more.

5. FPI’s team routinely interfaces with their in-country experts regarding weather impacts on their airspaces and possible re-route options if required. Whether on a repetitive travel schedule or trying a new set of destinations, the weather impact guesswork can be removed by relying on FPI’s global relationships to verify safety, comfort, convenience, and legal alternative solutions.
   
   “Regulations regarding what can and can’t be done during inclement weather vary greatly from region to region, airport to airport,” Brad notes. “We keep our finger on the pulse of these variances.”

6. FPI maintains a current and fully-vetted portfolio of divert airport options with which to strategize inclement weather situations. With only days (sometimes hours) to execute decisions, much time can be saved by leaning on FPI’s knowledge of surrounding airports so that one negative weather situation is not traded for another negative situation, especially with the rapidly changing nature of weather repercussions.

7. FPI’s Special Services Network (SSN) can turn a potentially frustrating weather-related itinerary change into yet another seamless experience. If a divert city is required, FPI’s Ops team can quickly deploy SSN’s vast network of ground handling and regional agents so that trip fluidity is maintained as closely as possible with the least amount of hassle to crew and passengers.

8. At least 3X per week, FPI publishes a variety of global weather and atmospheric notices on their LinkedIn channel, which can be found HERE. Whether a client or colleague, you’re encouraged to follow FPI’s LinkedIn page in order to receive these updates.

9. Upon any plan changes, flight brief packages are updated in real-time within FPI’s custom trip management software “FPC” (FlightProConnect.com), which is free for all FPI clients. The organization of the platform greatly eases the burdens of short-notice paperwork changes, including permits, customs, flight plans, crew data, manifests, and more. More information on FPC can be found HERE.

10. Last but certainly not least is FPI’s client onboarding process. “We want to know: What’s important to you?” states Brad. “We’ll get to know your aircraft, fuel preferences, frequent destinations, wishlist destinations, and much more.”
    
    “We absolutely aim to hit logistics and safety targets, but we also want to achieve preferred benchmarks for flight comfort, time of day/season travel, security, and fuel stops so that when weather-related changes are necessary, we can quickly tailor recommendations per the client’s preferences.”

Regardless of your destination or the weather along the way, FPI has you covered.

“We’re always looking at potential issues far in advance so there are no surprises, and so our clients can make well-informed change decisions, if necessary,” Brad notes. “We’re here to minimize schedule disruption, maximize client safety and comfort, and become an extension of your team so that you can focus on what you do best.”

President and CEO, Matt Pahl concludes, “FPI has always sought to bring the “best of the best” Meteorology and Flight Planning experts to the table so that our clients experience a ‘best in class’ encounter on every trip.”

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To learn more about FPI regarding the Weather, Compliance, Operations, Regulatory, and other Special Services Network (SSN) teams, please contact our Operations staff here at Flight Pro International.

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