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NextGen Now: Volume 1, Issue 4

A publication of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association

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27 NextGen Now | Summer 2015 For the past two years, trials and tests to evaluate Data Comm and procedures have been underway. The FAA has provided incentives to airlines to increase levels of equipage and accelerate readiness to transition from voice to Data Comm. We are starting to see the results of this collaboration, and are encouraged by the successful testing at Newark Liberty International and Memphis International airports. In cases of flight plan re-routing clearance(s), the new system in place at Newark and Memphis has demonstrated time savings averaging six to 12 minutes, according to its pilot users, which include A4A members United Airlines, UPS, and FedEx. These benefits of reduced communication time between controllers and pilots, as well as improved re-routing around weather and congestion, translate to time saved for our passengers. And it is not just time-saved benefits. As Data Comm becomes more widely integrated, we will also see fuel savings. According to UPS, it is saving 12 gallons of fuel for each minute saved through the departure clearance process. With fuel as one of airlines' biggest expenditures, this level of savings is positive. While there is still a lot of work to be done in both activation and equipage – currently about 800 aircraft are equipped to use the system – we need to stay the course and keep advancing. We look forward to seeing these benefits and successes increase as we start the next phase of testing at William P. Hobby, Houston George Bush Intercontinental and Salt Lake City International airports later this summer, and further as the FAA expands the program to another 50 airports by 2016.

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