Estimating the Effects of the Terminal Area Productivity Program

The report describes methods and results of an analysis of the technical and economic benefits of the systems to be developed in the NASA Terminal Area Productivity (TAP) program. A runway capacity model using parameters that reflect the potential impact of the TAP technologies is described. The runway capacity model feeds airport specific models which are also described. The capacity estimates are used with a queuing model to calculate aircraft delays, and TAP benefits are determined by calculating the savings due to reduced delays. The report includes benefit estimates for Boston Logan and Detroit Wayne County airports. An appendix includes a description and listing of the runway capacity model

SUMMARY

We describe the methods and results of an analysis of the technical and economic benefits of the systems to be developed in the NASA Terminal Area Productivity (TAP) program. We developed a methodology for analyzing the technical and economic benefits of the TAP systems. To estimate airport capacity, the methodology uses inputs from airport-specific data on hourly weather, hourly operations counts, operating configurations, and mixes of transport aircraft types. The capacity model uses parameters that reflect the potential impacts of the TAP systems. The analytic approach takes the capacity estimates, calculates aircraft delays through a queuing model, and calculates the cost savings to airlines from reduced delays. The model analyzes the impact of advanced aviation technologies and changes in operating procedures on terminal area operations. We establish preliminary estimates of the benefits of the TAP systems. As the TAP systems become better defined, more accurate and detailed analyses of the benefits of implementing these systems will be possible. Outputs from the analysis are preliminary estimates of the benefits of the TAP systems. Technical benefits include reduction

Reduction of Weather-Related Terminal Area Delays in the Free-Flight Era

While much of the emphasis of the free-flight movement has been concentrated on reducing en-route delays, airport capacity is a major bottleneck in the current airspace system, particularly during bad weather. According to the Air Transport Association (ATA) Air Carrier Delay Reports, ground delays (gate-hold, taxi-in, and taxi-out) comprise 75 percent of total delays. It is likely that the projected steady growth in traffic will only exacerbate these losses. Preliminary analyses show that implementation of the terminal area technologies and procedures under development in NASA s Terminal Area Productivity program can potentially save the airlines at least $350M annually in weather-related delays by the year 2005 at Boston Logan and Detroit airports alone. This paper briefly describes the Terminal Area Productivity program, outlines the costhenefit analyses that are being conducted in support of the program, and presents some preliminary analysis results