Blakey Divulges Southwest Airlines' RNP Plans

FAA Administrator Marion Blakey revealed this week that Southwest Airlines intends to equip its entire fleet with any necessary avionics needed to perform RNP (required navigation performance) procedures and begin the qualification process necessary to fly them.

Administrator Blakey also noted that Delta Air Lines received approval for its B-737-800s to fly RNP approaches, joining Horizon, Alaska and Continental, which also have RNP approvals.  She described these actions as evidence that RNP has reached a "tipping point."

She also pointed to improvements from RNAV (area navigation), which allow more efficient routing, which RNP aircraft are capable of performing. According to Ms. Blakey, the FAA has now implemented 155 RNAV (area navigation) arrivals and departures to date at 38 airports, with 42 more to be published by the end of the year, which she claimed have been achieving tangible benefits: RNAV is saving about 8.5 million dollars per year annually at Dallas/Ft. Worth, and Delta reports savings of 36 million annually at Atlanta.  As for RNAV capacity benefits, between eleven and twenty additional departures per hour are being gained at DFW, and Atlanta is getting 10 more departures per hour.

RNP is making "the same kind of headway," Ms. Blakey said, by taking advantage of onboard navigation capability to fly a more precise flight path into an airport, and sometimes to lower visibility minimums that can increase airport access during marginal weather.  Alaska Airlines reported more than 980 "diversion saves" in 2006 due to RNP, Blakey said.

Ms. Blakey said the FAA now has 37 RNP approaches in place at 17 airports, and another 34 approaches that should be in place by the end of the year. The FAA plans to publish 10 more RNP approach procedures at Atlanta this month, and three at DFW.  It plans to publish at least 25 approaches next year, she added.

RNP development is also moving ahead in other parts of the world, of course, particularly in Australia, New Zealand and China.  Ms. Blakely announced that ICAO just published a manual for performance-based navigation, and she said the FAA is working together with Eurocontrol, to jointly teach RNP courses in all ICAO regions starting in September.

The FAA has a new Fact Sheet regarding RNP and RNAV on its Website at http://www.faa.gov/news/fact_sheets/news_story.cfm?newsId=8768.  05-13-2007.

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