A near-term arrival management operational concept and preliminary considerations

Boeing has developed an operational concept for Air Traffic Management (ATM) for implementation in 2008 - 2012. The objective of this effort at Boeing is to define a significant achievable step improvement in the efficiency, capacity and affordability of the air traffic system for the 2008 - 2012 timeframe, while also enabling transition to the US Next Generation Air Traffic System (NGATS). The concept attempts to take maximum advantage of existing ground technologies and functionality. In addition, it leverages, airborne navigational capability that already exists on most commercial production airplanes and many in-service airplanes. Consequently the concept is expected to require only modest changes to airplane systems and ground infrastructure. This paper describes the arrival management element of this concept, focused on the use of fully defined 3D paths to ensure aircraft sequencing and spacing, and discusses some preliminary performance considerations for the implementation of such a concept.