Supporting pilot decision-making in trajectory-based operations: card-sorting study

Air traffic management is evolving towards Trajectory-Based Operations (TBO) that will allow for strategic in-flight replanning. Pilots will need new tools to support their decision-making in a TBO environment. This article focuses on pilots’ information needs during in-flight trajectory negotiations within TBO. 10 pilots completed a card-sorting activity to identify and prioritize the information required for their decision-making. Our results showed that participants classified information requirements within the same category with a high degree of consensus. Most important information for their decision-making was related to fuel considerations, weather at destination, and landing performance. Thematic analysis of the verbatims revealed pilot’s perspective on critical factors guiding their decision-making; current procedures, tools and operational practices; their expectations regarding the information provided by dispatch; and their preferences for structuring and presenting information. Results of this study will inform the design of a TBO decision-support tool for pilots during in-flight trajectory negotiations.