Southwest airlines signs up $175 million for FAA's roadmap for performance-based navigation

23 Jun 2008

1

Supporting the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) roadmap for Performance-Based Navigation, Southwest has committed an investment of $175 million over the coming six years to implement Required Navigation Performance (RNP) procedures at all 64 airports the airline serves.

The initial investment will provide long term benefits to industry congestion and aircraft efficiencies. For a single minute of time saved on each flight, the annual savings quickly add up to 156,000 metric tons of reduction in emissions per year (by 2015), and $25 million in fuel savings per year.

Southwest Airlines senior director of flight operations Jeff Martin, talking about the benefits of RNP and Southwest's progression on RNP implementation fleet-wide at the Eco-Aviation Conference in Washington, D.C., said ''RNP is one of the cornerstones for the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA's) Next Generation Air Traffic Control System, bringing together the accuracy of GPS (Global Positioning System), the capabilities of advanced aircraft avionics, and new flight procedures.''

Southwest Airlines executive vice president and chief of operations Mike Van de Ven, added, "RNP allows the aircraft to fly more precise, direct, and accurate paths, allowing more 'lanes' to be built into the same limited airspace," said  "We applaud the FAA's forward thinking, and we are grateful to work in conjunction with the agency to revolutionise our nation's airspace."

To help develop its RNP program, Southwest Airlines has partnered with Naverus, the global leader in RNP development.

Since May 2007, Southwest, Naverus, and the FAA have been working together to gain Air Traffic Control (ATC) support of RNP to train the airline's pilots on RNP, equip the airline's entire fleet to be RNP capable, and produce RNP charted procedures. Southwest's Boeing 737-700 aircraft provide a great RNP platform, and are currently equipped and capable of operating these new procedures.

Additionally, the airline has invested in updates to its Classic fleet and has begun to incorporate these new processes into its Flight Operations training.

The next milestone will be choosing the airport(s) to kick off the integration of these new procedures.

"Our goal is to begin flying RNP procedures in fall 2009, with a ramp up through 2013 as our classic aircraft are modified," Martin said. "We are currently exploring the benefits of several airports for RNP implementation, including a few in our own backyard."

Benefits of RNP includes:

- Increased airspace capacity
- Operational efficiency
- Environmentally friendly
- Noise reduction / avoidance
- More efficient aircraft operation
- Aircraft can fly more directly and remain higher for longer which reduces noise impact on the ground.
- Increased Safety

Business History Videos

History of hovercraft Part 3...

Today I shall talk a bit more about the military plans for ...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of hovercraft Part 2...

In this episode of our history of hovercraft, we shall exam...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of Hovercraft Part 1...

If you’ve been a James Bond movie fan, you may recall seein...

By Kiron Kasbekar | Presenter: Kiron Kasbekar

History of Trams in India | ...

The video I am presenting to you is based on a script writt...

By Aniket Gupta | Presenter: Sheetal Gaikwad

view more