NextGen Goal: Performance-Based Navigation

RNAV and RNP Evolution Through 2025

The Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) is the Federal Aviation Administration’s plan to modernize the National Airspace System (NAS) through 2025. Through NextGen, FAA is addressing the impact of air traffic growth by increasing NAS capacity and efficiency while simultaneously improving safety, reducing environmental impacts, and increasing user access to the NAS. To achieve its NextGen goals, FAA is implementing new Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) routes and procedures that leverage emerging technologies and aircraft navigation capabilities.

What is Performance-Based Navigation?

Performance-Based Navigation (PBN) is comprised of Area Navigation (RNAV) and Required Navigation Performance (RNP) and describes an aircraft’s capability to navigate using performance standards.

What Is RNAV?

RNAV enables aircraft to fly on any desired flight path within the coverage of ground- or spaced-based navigation aids, or within the limits of the capability of aircraft self-contained systems, or a combination of both capabilities.

What Is RNP?

RNP is RNAV with the addition of an onboard performance monitoring and alerting capability. A defining characteristic of RNP operations is the ability of the aircraft navigation system to monitor the navigation performance it achieves and inform the crew if the requirement is not met during an operation. This onboard monitoring and alerting capability enhances the pilot’s situation awareness and can enable reduced obstacle clearance. 

Certain RNP operations require advanced features of the onboard navigation function and approved training and crew procedures. These operations must receive approvals that are characterized as Authorization Required (AR), similar to approvals required for operations to conduct Instrument Landing System Category II and III approaches.

Global Support

In March 2007, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) completed the PBN Manual which involved collaboration with technical and operational experts from several countries. The ICAO PBN Manual provides global harmonization of RNAV and RNP requirements – a leading priority of the aviation stakeholder community worldwide. To promote global awareness and understanding of the new Manual, FAA and the European Organization for the Safety of Air Navigation (EUROCONTROL), with the ICAO PBN Program Office, have presented seminars throughout the ICAO Regions. All of the10 planned seminars were completed as of December 2008.

Benefits

RNAV and RNP specifications facilitate more efficient design of airspace and procedures which collectively result in improved safety, access, capacity, predictability, operational efficiency, and environment. Specifically, improved access and flexibility help to enhance reliability and reduce delays by defining more precise terminal area procedures. They also can reduce emissions and fuel consumption.

RNAV procedures can provide benefit in all phases of flight, including departure, en route, arrival, approach, and transitioning airspace. For example, Standard Terminal Arrivals (STARs) can:

• Increase predictability of operations
• Reduce controller/aircraft communications
• Reduce fuel burn with more continuous vertical descents
• Reduce miles flown in Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) airspace
• Reduce interaction between dependent flows in multiplex airspace

NextGen in Motion:  Optimized Profile Descent (OPD)

As a component of its Trajectory-Based Operations NextGen initiative, FAA has authorized development of arrival procedures with vertical profiles optimized to facilitate a continuous descent from the top of descent to touchdown. OPD is designed to reduce fuel consumption, emissions, and noise during descent by allowing pilots to set aircraft engines near idle throttle while they descend. OPDs use the capabilities of the aircraft Flight Management System to fly a continuous, descending path without level segments. Where possible, we are implementing OPDs with RNAV to make them environmentally-friendly or "green."

OPD in Action

The FAA successfully conducted OPD procedure tests at Anchorage, AK (ANC) in June 2009. This OPD procedure will reduce radio clutter, offer predictable profiles, and increase safety. Flight simulation modeling estimates an average of 1,000-1,300 pounds of fuel saved per flight, thereby leading to a reduced carbon-footprint. Similarly, a second OPD/RNAV STAR procedure was a tested in August 2009. This Southeast arrival will afford OPD savings and reduced congestion for those aircraft arriving from the lower-48 states.

Operationally, for an OPD, the participating aircraft is issued a "Descend via" clearance from the Air Route Traffic Control Center allowing the aircraft pilot to select the top of descent point that provides the best operating efficiency for the arrival. Following the transfer of control to the Terminal Radar Approach Control facility, aircraft receive a clearance for the instrument landing approach. Subsequently, the aircraft is instructed to contact the tower outside the final approach fix. During this procedure, the aircraft throttles are at "flight idle" from the top of descent until just prior to configuring for landing on final. The reduction in radio communication as a result of OPD affords the controllers extra time to scan the operational environment and work other traffic.

RNAV STAR OPDs have been implemented at Phoenix, AZ; Los Angeles, CA; San Diego, CA; Atlanta, GA; and Las Vegas, NV with development underway in Anchorage, AK; Honolulu, HI; Charleston, SC; and Reno, NV.

Phoenix(PHX) RNAV Arrivals

Since the implementation of two RNAV STARs at PHX in October 2006, significant benefits have been noted:  38 percent reduction in the time aircraft remain in level flight; user benefit savings estimated at $4 million through 2008; and reductions in carbon dioxide emissions estimated at 2,500 metric tons annually.

Similarly, RNAV Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs) can:

• Reduce departure delay via diverging departure routes off the runway
• Reduce interaction between dependent flows
• Reduce controller/aircraft communications
• Reduce miles flown in TRACON airspace
• Increase predictability of operations

Atlanta (ATL) RNAV Departures

Atlanta implemented RNAV SIDs in 2006 and 2007, allowing an additional diverging departure course with measured benefits of:

• 24-43% reduction in departure delays
• $105 million in operator benefits through 2008
• 6 additional departures per hour when no wake separation is required

Dallas-Fort Worth (DFW) RNAV Departures

Utilizing RNAV, DFW implemented initially diverging, fanned routes in September 2005. These new RNAV SIDs resulted in benefits of:

• 45% reduction in delay during peak demand
• $25 million in operator benefits through 2008
• 10 additional departures per hour per runway

Utilizing curved leg segments supported by RNP could increase savings at DFW by approximately $1 million per year through reduced track length and time-in-flight.

RNP AR

RNP AR approach procedures offer design flexibility and enhanced performance, allowing us to de-conflict traffic, mitigate obstacles, and stabilize vertically-guided approaches as illustrated in the approach to Colorado’s Garfield County Regional Airport (RIL) depicted below.

High terrain on both sides of approach path to RIL Runway 8

Similarly, RNP AR approaches at New York’s John F. Kennedy International Airport would help to decouple traffic to Runway 13L , eliminating conflicts with traffic using the Instrument Landing System on Runway 4 at LaGuardia.

To date, FAA has authorized more than 340 RNAV procedures at 118 airports in 30 states and territories.

Source: FAA

Next Generation Air Transportation System

The Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen, is the transformation of the radar-based air traffic control system of today to a satellite-based system of the future. This transformation is essential in order to safely accommodate the number of people who fly in the United States.
New, satellite-based technologies will significantly improve safety, capacity and efficiency on runways and in the nation’s skies while providing environmentally friendly procedures and technologies that reduce fuel burn, carbon emissions and noise.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is leveraging existing technologies and expanding their capabilities to bring the benefits of NextGen to the flying public today. In order to make the NextGen concept more easily understood, this fact sheet explains NextGen through the different phases of flight, describing some of the technologies being used as the foundation for NextGen. A list at the end shows a few of the many aviation community partners joining forces with the FAA to help transform the airspace system. These partners include airlines, manufacturers, state, local and foreign governments, universities and associations.
The FAA’s safety management systems approach, which is more proactive and data-driven, will help the agency achieve the next level of safety for the flying public. Ongoing investments in airport infrastructure – runways, terminals and technology – will ensure that maximum benefits will be gained from transforming the air traffic system and renovating aircraft fleets. The investment in advanced engines, airframes and sustainable fuels, along with new procedures, will help to reduce aviation’s environmental footprint.

Before Takeoff

The safe transportation of any air traveler begins on the ground. The FAA has different systems that allow air traffic controllers to see the location of aircraft and vehicles on airport runways and taxiways and keep them safely separated. One of these systems, called Airport Surface Detection Equipment – Model X (ASDE-X), gets its information from a variety of surface surveillance sources, including radar, automatically transmitting the most accurate targets to monitors in the tower. The biggest improvement over systems that derive information solely by radar, which might show false targets during bad weather, will be the introduction of Global Positioning System (GPS) locations of both aircraft and surface vehicles. ASDE-X is fully operational at 27 airports.
A software tool called Surface Management uses ASDE-X to extend airport surface monitoring beyond runways and taxiways to the ramp areas. This extended coverage will improve common situational awareness, making pilots, controllers and airport operators better aware of the precise location of every aircraft, vehicle and obstacle on the airport surface.

After Takeoff

Aircraft flying in the U.S. today are tracked, for the most part, by radar. A new system called Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B) uses GPS satellite signals to more accurately identify the aircraft’s location throughout the flight. In the near future, controllers will be able to safely reduce the separation standards between aircraft, which will provide increased capacity in the nation’s skies. The FAA first rolled out ADS-B in Alaska, a site chosen because the rugged terrain severely limits radar coverage. Aircraft were equipped with ADS-B avionics, including a cockpit display. This display provided the pilot with the aircraft’s location, the location of other aircraft, and graphical and textual weather information on a moving map.
ADS-B now covers the Gulf of Mexico, where the FAA, in partnership with the Helicopter Association International, installed a network of ADS-B ground stations on oil and natural gas platforms and the surrounding shoreline. This brings air traffic surveillance services, more precise aircraft locations and weather data to both low-altitude helicopters servicing the platforms and high-altitude commercial flights operating beyond radar coverage in the Gulf.
The FAA also rolled out ADS-B in Louisville and Philadelphia, with Juneau coming on-line shortly. Louisville was chosen as a key site in part because United Parcel Service (UPS) voluntarily equipped 107 of its aircraft with ADS-B avionics in order to save time, fuel and carbon emissions on flights to and from its Louisville hub. The system is being used by controllers in the tower at Louisville International Airport and at the Louisville Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) facility.

Controllers in the Philadelphia area also have the capability to use ADS-B to track and separate aircraft. ADS-B coverage in Philadelphia extends 60 nautical miles out from Philadelphia International Airport and approximately 10,000 feet up. It also covers the surface area and the approach corridors to the runways.  Philadelphia was selected in part because UPS has equipped some of its aircraft with ADS-B and a large amount of their operations are conducted there.

Ground stations have been installed in South Florida, which means that pilots flying in aircraft equipped with ADS-B avionics in that region now receive free traffic and weather information on their cockpit displays.
ADS-B coverage will be nationwide in 2013.

A new software tool called Traffic Management Advisor (TMA) helps controllers sequence aircraft through high altitude airspace and into the airspace around major airports by calculating their precise routes as well as the minimum safe distances between aircraft. TMA is deployed at all 20 of the nation’s en route centers in the continental United States and 33 of the top 35 airports.

Over the Ocean

On flights over the Atlantic, the FAA and its partners (Single European Sky Air Traffic Management Research program, or SESAR; European air navigation service providers, aircraft manufacturers including Boeing and Airbus, and commercial airlines) are testing Oceanic Trajectory Based Operations (TBOs), which allow aircraft to operate the most efficient routes and altitudes. Seven test flights in May 2009 saved 330 gallons of fuel and 6,730 pounds of carbon dioxide. Tests in 2010 will also include Air France.

On Approach

The FAA has developed a toolbox of procedures to safely bring aircraft to their destination airport as quickly and efficiently as possible.
Beginning about 200 miles out, Tailored Arrivals allow controllers to look over your aircraft’s flight path and tailor it to avoid certain conditions that might otherwise slow it down, such as bad weather and restricted airspace. More than 250 Tailored Arrivals have been flown into San Francisco by 747 and 777 aircraft, saving an estimated 27,350 gallons of fuel.

As you approach your destination airport, an Optimized Profile Descent will keep your aircraft at its most efficient altitude for as long as possible before beginning a smooth, continuous approach to the airport. The type of descent – rather than the stepped-down approach required by current procedures – saves time and money while reducing carbon emissions and noise. Delta reduced carbon emissions by an estimated 200 to 1,250 pounds and saved 10 to 60 gallons of fuel per arrival into Atlanta during recent flights.

Optimized Profile Descents maximize satellite-based approaches called Area Navigation (RNAV) and Required Navigation Performance (RNP), which provide precise approaches to runways. The FAA has published 348 RNAV and 205 RNP procedures. Both RNAV and RNP, like the other tools in the toolbox, allow aircraft to safely land as quickly and efficiently as possible.

NextGen Advanced Technologies

Controllers and pilots communicate today largely by talking back and forth over radio. Data Communications (Data Comm) will improve safety and efficiency by replacing voice communications, which are labor intensive and susceptible to error. NextGen communications between controllers and flight crews will be handled by Data Comm transmissions, relieving radio frequency for more complex maneuvers and allowing complicated instructions to be provided electronically.

All of the FAA systems in NextGen will need to speak to one another – as well as to the systems used by other parts of the aviation community, including the airlines, the military and the Department of Homeland Security. System Wide Information Management (SWIM) is an information platform that will allow this to take place. SWIM is an essential part of NextGen, since the safe and efficient use of airspace depends on how well the different parts of the airspace system communicate with one another.
Weather accounts for 70 percent of all delays. NextGen Network Enabled Weather (NNEW) will improve aircraft operations over the nation’s skies by reducing the impact of weather. NNEW will provide better weather forecasts, particularly for severe conditions such as thunder storms and icing. This will allow FAA air traffic managers and those who use the system to better manage traffic flow in bad weather.

Other Places Where NextGen is Being Rolled Out

In addition to the technologies and procedures mentioned above, a NextGen test bed in Florida allows the agency to evaluate integrated technologies and procedures for nationwide NextGen deployment. The test bed features RNAV routes between Florida airports (including Miami, Orlando and Daytona) and New York area airports (Teterboro, JFK, LaGuardia and Newark). The precision allowed by RNAV routes improves the efficiency of operations along the crowded East Coast corridor, saving time and money for airlines serving those routes and reducing delays for passengers. Optimized Profile Descents and Tailored Arrivals are being used in Miami. Both operational maneuvers allow aircraft to descend in a more direct alignment with runways, increasing predictability while reducing emissions and fuel burn.

The FAA is also using JFK and Memphis to test new Surface Management programs in order to facilitate better aircraft flow on the ground. This will enhance runway safety on runways, taxiways and ramp areas and reduce delays, while also lowering emissions and fuel use.

The FAA has also entered into agreements with international partners across the Atlantic and Pacific to accelerate the deployment of NextGen technologies and procedures to improve aviation safety, efficiency and capacity while reducing the environmental footprint during all phases of flight. The Atlantic agreement, reached between the FAA and the European Union, is called the Atlantic Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions (AIRE). In April, United flew two demonstration flights between Chicago and Frankfurt that used NextGen procedures that allowed the aircraft to fly more efficient routes, saving time and fuel burn. The Pacific agreement, first reached with Australia and New Zealand and more recently joined by Japan and Singapore, is called the Asia and Pacific Initiative to Reduce Emissions (ASPIRE). Five demonstration flights have been conducted under ASPIRE. A Singapore Airlines flight from Los Angeles to Singapore Changi Airport via Tokyo Narita International Airport in January used a no-delay departure, a new procedure called User Preferred Routing that allowed the aircraft to take advantage of optimum winds, and an Optimized Profile Descent into Changi that brought the aircraft from cruising altitude to the ground with greater efficiency. A Japan Airlines flight from Honolulu to Osaka last October used procedures such as just-in-time fueling, preferred routes over the ocean, optimized speed and altitude and a tailored-arrival approach to the destination airport. An Air New Zealand 777 flying from Auckland to San Francisco last September saved 7,700 pounds of fuel and 27,700 pounds of carbon dioxide. A Qantas A380 flying from Los Angeles to Melbourne last October saved 19,600 pounds of fuel and 61,700 pounds of carbon dioxide. And a United 747 flying from Sydney to San Francisco last November saved 10,500 pounds of fuel and 33,100 pounds of carbon dioxide.

Aviation Community

NextGen is a collaborative effort between the FAA and partners from the airlines, manufacturers, universities, associations, federal agencies and state, local and foreign governments. The FAA has entered into numerous agreements to accelerate the deployment of NextGen. Some of the more recent agreements include:

• A partnership with the Helicopter Association International, platform/helicopter companies, oil platform owners and helicopter operators allowed the FAA to introduce satellite surveillance coverage to the Gulf of Mexico. The absence of radar coverage over water severely restricts capacity due to the separation procedures needed to maintain safety. Under the agreement, valued at $100 million, the platform owners provided space for the FAA to install ground stations. Helicopter operators provide transportation to and from the platforms and have equipped some of their fleets with ADS-B avionics.
• An agreement with Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University has enabled the establishment of the Florida NextGen test bed where the development and demonstration of SWIM and other NextGen technologies are conducted. 

• An Aviation Research and Technology Park (ARTP) is being built near the FAA’s Technical Center in Atlantic City, N.J., to provide a central location for partners in academia, industry, and other state and federal government agencies to work on NextGen under a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) with the agency. The park, which is being built with no direct cost to the FAA, has amassed $3.5 million in grant funding.  The formal arrangement with the FAA will take the form of a lease with a MOA.

Source: FAA

FAA's ADS-B Rule Will Cost You

By Glenn Pew, Contributing Editor,

The FAA Thursday released a final rule dictating requirements for aircraft owners to operate in NextGen's ADS-B-required environment by 2020, and it's going to cost you. The rule addresses ADS-B Out and applies to aircraft "operating in Classes A, B, and C airspace, as well as certain other specified classes of airspace," (see below) not unlike current transponder requirements. The FAA has previously (in the NPRM) estimated that the total cost to equip GA aircraft from 2012 to 2035 could range anywhere from $1.2 to $4.5 billion. It now estimates the quantified benefit to the GA fleet at $200 million. Those figures appear under a section titled, "General Aviation: High Equipage Costs With Little Benefit." According to the agency, "The FAA fully acknowledges that the general aviation community will incur significant costs from this rule." However, the FAA says this must be balanced against the system's overall benefits, which are expected to include hundreds of millions of gallons of fuel saved and the realization of other operational efficiencies. The FAA says it considered three options to resolve GA's cost benefit concerns.

First, to lower costs for individual operators (general aviation pilots), the FAA has modified the systems' performance requirements and determined changes that eliminate the need for ADS-B antenna diversity. The FAA believes this will help make the rule cheaper to implement. Second, moving forward, the FAA "intends to explore the costs and benefits" for service expansions that may include: more low altitude coverage; radar-like terminal ATC services at airports not currently served; automated closure of IFR flight plans; enhanced search and rescue; and providing FSS with ADS-B positional display information to allow for more tailored flight service functions. The third option considered was to limit ADS-B requirements to Class A and B airspace. This was dismissed because the FAA believes failure to equip all aircraft would greatly reduce the system's benefits. As for ADS-B In, "benefits from universal equipage for ADS–B In currently are not substantiated," according to the agency. "Standards for ADS-B In air-to-air applications are still in their infancy," and "it is premature to require operators to equip with ADS-B In at this time."

The ADS-B Out requirement applies to aircraft operating in:

• Class A, B, and C airspace
• All airspace at and above 10,000 feet MSL (mean sea level) over the 48 contiguous United States and the District of Columbia
• Within 30 nautical miles of airports listed in 14 CFR §91.225, from the surface up to 10,000 feet MSL.
• Class E airspace over the Gulf of Mexico from the coastline of the United States out to 12 nautical miles, at and above 3,000 feet MSL.

Source: Aviation Web News

Air France-KLM weighs up long haul aircraft spending spree

Despite posting huge losses in 2009, Air France-KLM plans to start negotiations later this year to buy 100-150 long-haul aircraft worth up to USD38 billion at list prices. The order is anticipated for 2011 at the earliest. The carrier is thought to be considering the B787-9 version and the Airbus A350-900 to replace its A330s, A340s, B777-200s and MD11s (KLM still has 10 MD11s in the fleet). The carrier is also weighing up the A350-1000 and the new version of the B777-300 to replace its existing B777-300s and B747-400s. 

The twin-aisle B787-9 is a slightly bigger version of the B787-8, seating 250-290 passengers. It has a range of 8,000 to 8,500 nautical miles (14,800 to 15,750 km) and a cruise speed of Mach 0.85.

The A350-900 is the first model scheduled to enter service in 2013, seating 314 passengers in a three-class cabin nine-abreast configuration. Its range is similar to that of the B787-900 at 15,000 km (8,100 nautical miles). Airbus claims that the A350-900 will have a decrease of 16% manufacturer’s weight empty (MWE) per seat, a 30% decrease in block fuel per seat and 25% better cash operating cost against the B777-200ER, against which it was originally targeted.

The A350-900R variant also will feature higher engine thrust, strengthened structure and landing gear of the A350-1000 (below) giving it an estimated range up to 17,600 km (9,500 nautical miles), potentially enhance able to 19,100 km (10,315 nautical miles), thereby better able to compete with the B777-200LR and capable of non-stop flights from Paris or Amsterdam to Auckland. The A350-1000, which has an 11-frame stretch over the -900, is scheduled to enter service at the end of 2015. It is the largest variant of the A350 family and will seat 350 passengers in a three-class cabin nine-abreast layout with a range of 14,800 km (8,000 nautical miles). It is designed to compete with the B777-300ER (also under consideration by AF-KLM and to replace the A340-600.

Annus horribilis

With 202.5 million passenger-kilometres flown in the financial year ended 31-Mar-2010, AF-KLM, which merged in May-2004, is Europe’s largest airline. 2009-10 was, according to its CEO, Pierre-Henri Gourgeon, an ‘annus horribilis’ as it had to contend with the global recession and the still not fully explained loss of an A330-200 out of Rio de Janeiro in May-2009. (The search for the flight recorders has again been suspended this week and legal claims could top EUR25 million). Added to this was the impact of the Icelandic volcanic ash cloud, which has cost it EUR260 million in revenue, and counting.

This contributed to a net loss of EUR1.56 billion (USD1.93 billion) for the fiscal year, almost double that of the previous year, as revenues fell by 15% and passengers by 4.1%. Even so, management is confident it can at least break even in 2010/11, with KLM perhaps recording a small profit as it saw passenger and cargo figures start to pick up in the last quarter of 2009-10.

See related report: British Airways completes woeful year for Europe’s Big Three. Outlook brighter

Air France took delivery of its first A380 on 30-Oct-2009, the first European airline to do so. It has 12 A380s on order. But the heavy operating losses it experienced caused it to consider deferral of delivery of some A380 and B777 passenger and cargo aircraft, though it ultimately did not do so. KLM has no A380s on order.

Air France-KLM has been a key player in the much-anticipated consolidation of the European airline industry, and throughout 2008/9 had been actively in a successful pursuit of Alitalia, eventually acquiring a 25% stake. However, its pursuit of CSA Czech Airlines, one of the biggest privatisation efforts in central and Eastern Europe, did not have the same ending, AF-KLM withdrawing from the tender process due to the impact of the economic environment on the airline industry. It did, however, seek to strengthen its partnership with CSA.
It is not been all bad news for Air France-KLM, which did benefit from the IPO of the GDS Amadeus in Apr-2010 to the tune of EUR146 million to EUR210 million, funds it will use to pay down debt. The deal, Western Europe’s largest since 2008 netted EUR1.32 billion in total.

Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation

Air Transport Association Says FAA Must Demonstrate Benefits of $2.5-$6.2 Billion Cost For ADS-B Out Equipage Under New Rule

The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the industry trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, today issued the following statement in response to the release of a new Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) regulation requiring aircraft operating in U.S. airspace to be equipped with Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast Out (ADS-B Out) equipment:

“With an FAA cost estimate of between $2.5 and $6.2 billion, ATA is carefully reviewing the ADS-B rule released today, and will have no further comment until that in-depth review is complete. ATA has said repeatedly that any rule requiring this type of equipage and expense must be based on a solid business case in which the true benefits and real costs are fully understood and justified. We are hopeful that the FAA regulatory evaluation supporting the rule will be made available soon in order to help facilitate our review,” said ATA President and CEO James C. May. Annually, commercial aviation helps drive more than $1 trillion in U.S. economic activity and nearly 11 million U.S. jobs. On a daily basis, U.S. airlines operate nearly 25,000 flights in 80 countries, using more than 6,000 aircraft to carry an average of two million passengers and 50,000 tons of cargo. 

Source: Air Transport News

FAA Announces Performance Standards for Critical NextGen Avionics

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced today the performance requirements for aircraft tracking equipment that will be required under the Next Generation Air Transportation System, or NextGen. The avionics will allow aircraft to be controlled and monitored with greater precision and accuracy by a satellite-based system called Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast (ADS-B). 

“Today we have reached a major NextGen milestone,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. “This technology represents another step forward in our ability to make America’s skies the safest in the world.” The final rule, developed with extensive input from the aviation community, requires aircraft flying in certain airspace to broadcast their position via ADS-B by 2020. The rule mandates that the broadcast signal meet specific requirements in terms of accuracy, integrity, power and latency. “This rule gives the green light for manufacturers to begin building the onboard equipment that will allow our air traffic controllers to know where aircraft are with greater precision and reliability,” said FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt. “That is one of the key elements of NextGen that will improve the safety and efficiency of flight.” Additional ADS-B services should allow pilots to view cockpit displays to see the location of other aircraft in the sky around them. ADS-B displays are envisioned that will show pilots where they are in relation to bad weather and terrain – even at night or in conditions with poor visibility – and provide flight information, including temporary flight restrictions, which allow pilots to plan safe, more efficient routes. Some of this information is now being broadcast free to aircraft equipped with ADS-B in the Gulf of Mexico, South Florida and in the airspace above Louisville, Philadelphia and Juneau, Alaska. Those areas were chosen as key sites to roll out ADS-B due to challenges presented by vast stretches of water, rugged terrain and traffic congestion. These areas also are populated by aircraft already equipped with ADS-B. The nationwide rollout of ADS-B ground stations will be complete in 2013. By 2020, the FAA will require ADS-B equipment for aircraft flying in airspace including Classes A, B and C, around busy airports and above 10,000 feet. The final rule can be found on: 

 

http://www.federalregister.gov/OFRUpload/OFRData/2010-12645_PI.pdf 

 

Source: Air Transport News

Sustaining Improvements in NATS’ Performance and Financial Resilience into the Future

The UK Civil Aviation Authority has today published for consultation its price control proposals for the En Route part of NATS’ air traffic control business (NERL) for Control Period 3 (CP3), which will run for four years from 2011 to 2014. 

The proposals give NERL strong incentives to sustain into the future the much improved delay performance it has achieved in the current control period (CP2). The CAA proposes a target average level of performance at 12.5 seconds per flight with additional incentives to reduce the delay of the most delayed flights. This compares with average flight delays of around 25 seconds for most of the current control period. NERL will also be required to meet service quality standards during the period of the Olympics and Paralympics when several thousand additional flights are expected. To ensure NERL is able to sustain this high level of performance into the future the CAA is allowing for investment of £563m (outturn prices) for CP3. This is intended to deliver new systems that will enhance NERL’s capacity to handle traffic growth, as well as enabling it to play a full role in European technological development. This follows the significant capital expenditure programme in recent years culminating in the consolidation of operations at just two air traffic control centres in Swanwick and Prestwick. NERL has reduced its operating costs in CP2 and for CP3 the CAA is proposing an allowance for operating costs some three per cent tougher than NERL’s March 2010 Business Plan. The CAA is proposing a pre-tax real cost of capital of 7.5 percent which is 150 basis points below NERL’s estimate. However, some of NERL’s costs such as pensions are forecast to rise significantly in CP3 which, along with traffic levels in 2010 being lower than anticipated, will have the effect of causing an initial price increase in 2011. Thereafter prices would return to a downward path and by 2014 would be seven per cent lower in real terms than at the end of CP2. Commenting on the proposals, Dr Harry Bush, CAA Group Director of Economic Regulation, said, “The CAA’s CP3 price control proposals will be implemented around a decade after the part-privatisation of NATS and the subsequent financial and risk sharing arrangements (known as the Composite Solution) which followed the exceptional events of September 11, 2001. These arrangements have enabled NERL to fund its investment programme and deliver improved service quality for the benefit of customers whilst maintaining strong financial resilience. “The current economic climate and operating conditions highlight the importance of maintaining this financial resilience. The CAA is proposing to do so by imposing direct controls on the extent of NERL’s gearing, a shift away from the emphasis that has previously been placed on credit ratings.” The CAA is making these proposals before European regulatory arrangements under a Single European Sky (SES II) have been finalised. The CAA will take these European developments into account and expects to issue an update in July. Given the environmental and other benefits from having a flight efficiency metric, NERL has accelerated its work programme in this area and the CAA is hopeful that a metric incentivising environmental efficiency can be developed in time for CP3. The CAA expects to publish its proposals regarding the introduction of a flight efficiency metric in late August, following NERL’s work. 

 

Source: Air Transport News

 

 

English High Court Permits Air Transport Association Legal Challenge to EU Emissions Trading Scheme to Proceed

The Air Transport Association of America (ATA), the trade organization for the leading U.S. airlines, said today that it was pleased that the English High Court will allow ATA permission to proceed with its legal challenge to the unilateral extension of the EU emissions trading scheme to international aviation. The High Court will shortly refer the case to the European Court of Justice (ECJ) in Luxembourg for a ruling on the validity of the EU law. 

“The High Court decision to refer this case to the European Court of Justice is an important step, as only the ECJ has the authority to rule on the Europe-wide directive that applies the European Emissions Trading Scheme to our airlines. The unilateral extension of the EU ETS to international aviation is contrary to international law both as an extraterritorial action and an improper tax or charge. It also clearly stands in the way of an appropriate and effective global solution,” said ATA Vice President, Environmental Affairs, Nancy Young. ATA is challenging the EU directive extending the existing emissions trading scheme (ETS) to airlines from around the world engaged in international aviation activities. ATA and its member airlines are committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions from aviation. ATA’s view is that the unilateral approach taken under the EU ETS not only violates critical international law principles, but also imposes costly policies on international aviation that siphon away from the airlines the very funds they need to continue to improve their strong record of continuous environmental improvement. ATA and its members have joined other airlines around the world in supporting a global framework for greenhouse gas measures under the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), the United Nations body charged with establishing environmental and other standards for international aviation. “The legal case is important as a means of addressing what is wrong with the European scheme, but also as an opportunity for us to continue to pursue an approach that is appropriate for this global industry. The U.S. airline industry has adopted a set of measures and targets as part of the worldwide aviation industry commitment to a global framework on aviation emissions,” Young said. “Through this commitment, the U.S. airlines alone will save more than 16 billion metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions through 2050 on top of substantial savings already achieved.” For more on the ATA climate change commitment, see www.airlines.org/Environment/ClimateChange/Pages/21stCenturyAviation-ACommitmenttoTechnology,EnergyandClimateSolutions.aspx 

The case is R (on the application of the Air Transport Association of America, Inc. and Others) v. Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change. ATA brought the case on behalf of all of its members; American Airlines, Inc., Continental Airlines, Inc. and United Air Lines, Inc. also are participating directly as they have been designated by the European Commission as falling under UK jurisdiction. The U.S. commercial aviation industry improved fuel efficiency by approximately 110 percent between 1978 and 2008, resulting in 2.7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) savings – roughly equivalent to taking more than 19.5 million cars off the road each year. 

Source: Air Transport Association of America 

European LCCs now carry a third of all pax. Can full service airlines confine damage to short-haul?

As European LCCs such as Air Berlin, Ryanair, easyJet, Vueling and Wizzair expanded their capacity and traffic in 2009, their full service competitors have been in contraction mode, as they sought to reduce losses.The members of the Association of European Airlines (AEA) handled 20 million fewer passengers in the year, a reduction of nearly 6%. Within Europe, where they compete directly with the short haul LCCs, cross-border traffic was down 5.3%. the members of the European Low Fare Association (ELFAA), by contrast, increased passenger numbers by 8.7%, to 13 million.

Low cost airlines, as defined by OAG, now occupy a capacity share of 36.1% within EU states. Europe’s Big Three LCCs - Ryanair, easyJet and non-ELFAA member, Air Berlin - handled over 9.7 million passengers in Feb-2010 between them, a 7.4% year-on-year increase, preceded by growth of 7.3% to 9.5 million passengers in Jan-2010, for year-to-date passenger numbers exceeding 19 million.  

The three carriers between them handled over 139 million passengers in 2009, a 7.7% year-on-year increase and a massive 80% increase from 2005 levels, showing their importance not only within the LCC sector, but within the overall European air transportation market in general. LCCs accounted for some 36% of seats within Europe last year.

LCC capacity (seats) share within geographical regions: 2009

Source: Centre for Asia Pacific Aviation & OAG

For the most recent month, Feb-2010,  the bulk of the 7% growth seen among Europe’s three largest LCCs was attributed to easyJet (not the usual Ryanair). easyJet reported double-digit year on year passenger growth in the month (of +12.3% to 1.4 million), while Ryanair and Air Berlin both reported single-digit growth, of 6% and 3.1%, respectively.

However, Ryanair, with its 4.4 million passengers in the month, remains by far the largest European LCC, with more than three times the number of passengers as easyJet (at 1.4 million) and more than double the size of Air Berlin (with 2.0 million passengers, including those travelling on the acquired TUIfly routes). This relegates easyJet to the third largest European LCC, after Ryanair and Air Berlin.

Rerouting full service airline strategy

The implications of the LCCs’ market expansion potentially transcend merely the local intra-European services. In our report, Airline structural change in Europe: a major turning point – if labour allows it,

we noted the various ways – often with a common theme – that the major European carriers were adapting to combat the inroads made by the low fare operators.

As the full service airlines’ intra-European market share is eroded, they not only suffer financial losses in head to head competition, but also lose valuable parts of their connecting services into long haul operations – where, for the time being, they are generally free from low cost operator competition.

That immunity is gradually being threatened. Long haul remains largely the preserve of major network flag carriers, but, as the European market becomes crowded, LCCs will look increasingly towards a refined model of the traditional long haul operation. This offers not only fresh pastures in their own right, but also valuable feed into their now-powerful short haul European services – often along with the promise of higher yields.

Long haul low cost operations from Asia Pacific are establishing a trend, with AirAsia X and, soon, Jetstar, offering service into Europe with a lower cost base. Each has already established the economics of long haul operations within their own region.

Meanwhile, in Europe, Air Berlin is offering another model, as it evolves into much more than a short haul low cost operator.

Connecting into international routes: following AirAsia X and Air Berlin

Air Berlin’s strategy is to focus on maintaining profit margins over building market share although the carrier, with the acquisition of the TUIfly routes, has so far managed to grow market share and unit revenues concurrently.

By taking over an established network, as opposed to growing it organically, Air Berlin was able to make a quantum leap into a whole different operation, while maintaining its low cost profile. TUIfly’s international network embraces a very cost-efficient array of routes to north America, the Caribbean, northern and southern Africa and Asia.

The more cautious and route-strategic approach of this increasingly powerful competitor is not escaping the attention of its peers. 

With their well-entrenched European networks – usually together with the advantage of multiple “hubs” – it is surely a matter only of time before several of the larger European LCCs link into long haul international services.

Whether they do it organically, using their own aircraft, or whether they seek low cost partners (as many of the Asian and north American carriers already are); whether they adopt formal interlining and connectivity, or simply make it easy to self-connect at busy hubs, it would appear that the nightmare for full service airlines is still unfolding.

Many network airlines still have the underlying power which membership of a global alliance brings. These undoubtedly help preserve their legacy advantages. But sustained low cost operations have been shown to have remarkable resilience, usually far beyond traditional expectations.

So any full service airline now undergoing a substantial restructure of its short haul operations would do well to have provisional plans in place for modifying its long haul thinking as well. Hoping against hope that all that nice premium traffic will return to the fold no longer offers a suitable strategic foundation for the long term.

Source: Centre For Asia Pacific Aviation

Asdhes slow down Recovery from the global economic recession

The International Air Transport Association (IATA) announced international scheduled air traffic results for April 2010. Passenger demand slumped by 2.4% as a result of massive flight cancellations centered in Europe during the six days in April following the eruptions of an Icelandic volcano. The fall in traffic interrupted the industry’s recovery from the global financial crisis. 

International scheduled cargo traffic, less impacted by the cancellations, saw the pace of its recovery slow to 25.2% growth in April (down from the 28.1% improvement recorded in March).

“The ash crisis knocked back the global recovery - impacting carriers in all regions. Last month, we were within 1% of pre-crisis traffic levels in 2008. In April, that was pushed back to 7%,” said Giovanni Bisignani, IATA’s Director General and CEO.

International Passenger Demand
The ash crisis accentuated the asymmetrical nature of the economic rebound.

• European carriers posted an 11.7% demand drop in April (compared to a 6.2% increase in March). Uncertainty of service reliability in the aftermath of the ash cancellations and major unrest in Greece as a result of the currency crisis added to the weaker European demand during the month. Limited GDP growth expectations of 0.9% continue to dampen demand across the continent.
• North American carriers posted a 1.9% decline in demand, primarily as a result of the impact of the ash crisis on North Atlantic routes. This is a major step backwards from the 7.8% growth recorded in March. This fall in demand was less than half the 4.5% cut in capacity, pushing load factors to 80.2%.
• Asia-Pacific carriers saw their strong growth slow to 3.5% (from the 12.9% growth recorded in March). Robust GDP growth of 7% (Asia excluding Japan) is supporting the strong recovery.
• Middle Eastern airlines recorded the strongest traffic growth at 13.0%, which is about half the 25.9% increase of the previous month. 
• African carriers also saw their recovery slow to 8.6% growth in April, down from the 16.9% growth recorded during the previous month. 
• Latin American carriers posted a 1.2% increase for the month, a quarter of the 4.6% growth recorded in March, which was already a weak month as a result of the Chilean earthquake.
  

International Cargo Demand
Air freight was also impacted by the ash crisis, although less dramatically than passenger traffic. The global purchasing managers’ index rose to its second highest level ever in April, indicating that the fundamentals of the air freight business were not impacted by the crisis. We are, however, nearing the end of the inventory cycle and would expect freight growth to slow down over the rest of the year.

• European carriers showed the weakest growth at 8.3%, down from the 11.5% growth recorded in March. Poor economic performance prior to the ash crisis had seen European airlines lagging behind the rebound experienced by other regions.
• North American carriers recorded a 23.8% increase. While impressive, this was still below the 29.0% recorded in March.
• Asia-Pacific carriers, which make up 46% of international cargo operations, recorded growth of 33.2%, slightly below the 35.4% recorded during March.
• Middle Eastern carriers saw their growth rate slow to 25.9% from the 35.5% recorded in March.
• Latin American carriers saw the largest increase in cargo demand for the second straight month with a 63.0% increase - an improvement on the 47.9% recorded in March.
• African carriers also showed an improvement, from 51.4% in March to 54.6% in April.

“The ash crisis was a shock. While there is always a danger of the consequences of renewed volcanic eruptions, the impact on passenger confidence should be limited. Unfortunately, we are trading ash for two additional uncertainties - strikes and a growing currency crisis - both of which are also focused on Europe,” said Bisignani.

“The labor unrest plaguing Europe this year is unbelievable. It’s a tough competitive world. Airlines need to reduce costs to be competitive. Labor must realize that their pay checks are supported by the performance of the company. The middle of a very fragile recovery is not the time to be asking for salary increases or improved conditions. This mentality is divorced from reality,” said Bisignani.

Source: IATA

Ashes don't pay: Court rejects passenger compensation claim in sweden

Ryanair today (26thMay) welcomed the decision of the Svea Court of Appeal in Stockholm which declared that passengers are not entitled to compensation in cases where extraordinary circumstances apply, as the court overturned the decision of the District Court of Nykoping which awarded two passengers compensation (even though it accepted extraordinary circumstances were present) in breach of the provisions of EU261. 

Ryanair again called on the ARN and RAD&RON to properly apply the EU261 regulations and stop misleading Swedish passengers on compensation claims. Ryanair called for an end to its blacklisting for not paying compensation when EU261 confirms that passengers are not entitled to any such payments in extraordinary circumstances. Ryanair’s Stephen McNamara said:   “This decision of the Svea Court of Appeal reinforces the provisions of the EU261 which provides that no compensation is due to passengers in cases governed by extraordinary circumstances which are beyond an airlines’ control. We understand that cancelled flights can be frustrating. However, airlines must always take decisions which prioritise the safety of our passengers, crew and aircraft over convenience. We now call on the ARN and RAD&RON to adhere to properly apply the EU261 regulations and stop misleading passengers with incorrect advice about compensation payments which passengers are not entitled to in cases of extraordinary circumstances.” 

Source: Air Transport News

A-SMGCS enters operation in Hamburg, facilitating improved traffic control on the apron, and enhanced ground mouvements traffic efficiency and safety

The ground situation monitoring system of the future has a name: A-SMGCS. And at Hamburg Airport, the future has already begun. The innovative “Advanced Surface Movement Guidance and Control System” has successfully entered operation at Hamburg Airport. The three project partners, DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH (German Air Traffic Services), DLR Deutsches Zentrum für Luft- und Raumfahrt e.V. (German Aerospace Center) and FHG Flughafen Hamburg GmbH (Hamburg Airport) presented their joint project, unique in Europe, at a press conference at Hamburg Airport. 

Michael Eggenschwiler, CEO of Hamburg Airport: “We are really delighted that our cooperation with German Air Traffic Services and the German Aerospace Center, which began in 2008, is bearing fruit today. Hamburg Airport is one of the first airports in Europe where the visionary A-SMGCS ground radar is in operation. The simultaneous installation of a test environment linked with operative systems is unique in Europe. A-SMGCS supports the work of apron controllers with optimised visual representation of the situation, contributes to increased security in ground traffic control and facilitates more efficient traffic management. This not only saves costs, it also benefits the environment. A-SMGCS will enable us to reduce airside emissions by a total of 10 percent.” The head of DFS, Dieter Kaden, praised both the new system itself and the strong, close cooperation between the airport, research & development, and air traffic control. “Only by working together can we master the challenge of making sure that air travel remains not only the safest but also the most punctual means of transport, even with future increases in traffic volume.” Prof. Dr Joachim Szodruch, the DLR board member responsible for aviation research, emphasised that “this new ground traffic management system and the associated test environment mean that we have created something that is to date unique in Europe: the possibility of optimising ground traffic movements, to organise processes in a safer way, and to decisively reduce the burden of apron controllers. This exemplary test environment is currently being utilised within the framework of the “Efficient Airport 2030” flagship project, thereby having a definitive influence on further research work within the field of Total Airport Management.” 

Source: Air Transport News