Pilot Views of Montgomery County, Texas Automated FSS Services

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Pilot Views of Montgomery County, Texas Automated FSS Services

C. A. Manning / D. J. Schroeder

The FAA has seldom assessed the satisfaction of pilot 'customers,' with the services provided by its air traffic facilities. Most available information about pilots' satisfaction with air traffic control services is anecdotal; thus, decisions affecting the users have been based on management's perceptions rather than on an objective measure of the flying public's satisfaction with the services provided. The purpose of this study was to assess user satisfaction with the services provided by one air traffic facility, the Montgomery County, Texas Automated Flight Service (AFSS). The study also provides the FAA with a model for assessing user satisfaction with other ATC services. Overall, pilots who responded to the survey were very satisfied with the performance of the specialists at the Montgomery County AFSS, and were slightly less satisfied with the services provided by the facility. Private pilots were more satisfied than were airline transport pilots with most of the services. The pilots' perceptions of how the FSS weather briefers performed their jobs affected ratings of satisfaction with the facility's services. A significant area of dissatisfaction to pilots was the amount of time they thought was required to reach a pilot briefer, especially during inclement weather.