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Aviation History
2004
2004-09 - 1834.PDF
PROCEDURES DAVID LEARMOUNT / LONDON New RNAV approaches smash records WestJet is first airline to take advantage of let-downs that provide accuracy by being tailored for specific users STRATEGY JUSTIN WASTNAGE / BRUSSELS * UAL to keep a tight rein on expansion of Ted The left panel is the Naverus RNP RNAV approach for WestJet 737NGs to runway 34 at Kelowna, western Canada. The centre panel is the normal missed approach, and the right panel is the engine-out missed approach Capability saves time and fuel Required navigation performance (RNP) area navigation (RNAV) approach capability enables lower decision heights with the same level of safety, and shortens procedural approaches, saving time and fuel, says Canadian operator WestJet. WestJet uses Next Generation Boeing 737s approved by Transport Canada for an RNP of 0.1nm (185m) lateral accuracy, but RNP RNAV approaches could be achieved "in many airframes" to higher levels than are available at present, says Seattle-based RNAV specialist Naverus, whose work with Boeing on approach design and specific aircraft performance enabled WestJet's clearance. Naverus is working on RNP RNAV with several operators, says Naverus, but it will only divulge at this stage that Qantas is one of them. Qantas was not able to comment by the time Flight International went to press. on expansion of Ted Transport Canada has cleared WestJet to carry out flight manage ment system (FMS)-guided airport approach procedures using area navigation (RNAV) capabilities cer tificated to record accuracy levels. The airline, with its Next Generation Boeing 737 fleet, has been working with Seattle-based RNAV specialist Naverus to develop approved GPS satellite navigation- dependent approach procedures that can be flown to required navi gation performance (RNP) stan dards better than O.lnm (185m) lateral track tolerance. WestJet has just begun flying into Kelowna in mountainous western Canada using the stan dard-fit 737NG FMS and naviga tion hardware to achieve the RNP standard. The airline expects to implement the procedure at 17 more Canadian airports, with Abbotsford probably the next. The unique aspect of this pro gramme, says Naverus's business development manager Stew Chap lin, is that Transport Canada has delegated the approach design task to Naverus working with Boeing and flight management computer (FMC) manufacturer Smiths Aero space to ensure the procedure can be performed safely within the air craft's and its systems' performance capability. United Airlines owner UAL may restrict the growth of its low-fares subsidiary, Ted, in an attempt to protect yields on its full-service operations. UAL chairman, president and chief executive Glenn Tilton, speaking at September's European Aviation Club lunch in Brussels, said the group would not let 50-air- craft Ted's growth go unchecked, and that UAL, in bankruptcy pro tection since 2002, was looking for ways to maintain the market seg mentation between Ted, mainline United Airlines and affiliates oper ating the United Express brand. Clearing Naverus to do this work has enabled the procedures to be designed and submitted for clear ance more quickly than Transport Canada's resources would allow, and Chaplin says Naverus expects to continue working with WestJet to design more than 90 RNP RNAV approaches into almost all 24 Canadian destinations that the airline serves. WestJet's 737NGs have twin FMS and dual GPS sensors, which is nor mal - though not compulsory - for the type, but necessary for RNP. In addition, the Smiths FMCs have particular capabilities that make the RNP achievable to O.lnm and provide greater flexibility in approach design, including the ability to fly fixed-radius arcs, says Chaplin. Navigation input is from non- augmented GPS and the inertial navigation system. Flight dispatch includes a real-time update of GPS signal quality at the destination air port, which determines the RNP precision to which the aircraft can fly. Head-up displays are not neces sary, and the three-dimensional trajectory can be flown manually or by autopilot, with vertical trajec tory defined by barometric vertical navigation and FMC-coded flight path constraints. "We need to rein in Ted's growth - we launched it as a good market segmentation discipline to service a leisure-only market and not enter business routes and we want it to continue to fly its value proposi tion," says Tilton. Ted has a fleet of 51 Airbus A320s operating from United's hubs at Chicago O'Hare, Denver, Washington Dulles, San Francisco and Los Angeles, flying to holiday destinations. Tilton, who came to UAL from oil giant Texaco, says the group needs to bring marketing skills to the fore to ensure that two-class, high-yield routes between major metropolises are not eaten away by a desire to expand Ted. "The airline industry is very insular, but its track record suggests that may not be a good thing, so we need to bring in fresh blood to look at ventures like Ted, which are essentially a consumer product," he says. Tilton also put a year-end dead line on talks to define where an estimated $650 million in savings can be found. He says there may be a need for more job cuts on top of the 6,000 already being considered. "We have legacy costs that are no longer sustainable, including costs associated with labour and employee benefits, work rules and productivity issues," he says. Tilton compared the United management to being trapped in a pressure cooker, saying the whole industry was short-termist, focusing on escaping the pressure rather than a long-term survival strategy. "We must use our time in bank ruptcy to restructure the company and be prepared to make the hard decisions to make this company viable," he said. "Our intent is to do this once and do it right." www.fliqhtinternational.com FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL 28 SEPTEMBER - 4 OCTOBER 2004 15
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