Just a few years ago, airlines got their weather reports by telex. Pilots pored over reams of paper and compared the forecasts with their flight plans. Once airborne, they depended on radio communications and rudimentary radar to avoid bad weather.

Now, pilots download detailed flight plans and weather reports full of intricate graphics onto tablet devices. Flight dispatchers track aircraft in real time and provide up-to-the minute weather data. New generations of airplane radar systems allow for easy in-flight adjustments.

The result? Fewer of the bumps, jolts and spilled drinks that have been a part of flying ever since the Wright Brothers.

“The secret sauce is how you use the information,” said Tim Campbell, senior vice president for air operations at American Airlines. “Fundamentally, it’s only a forecast and it’s still weather.”