Top NZ Television News Show Features Airways Southern PBN

For immediate release
19 April 2013

Top New Zealand Television News Show Features Airways Southern PBN Implementation

Airways’ award-winning PBN project, which saves airlines nearly a million dollars of fuel a year and hugely reduces delays, has been featured in a top mainstream news show.

The Southern Performance Based Navigation Installation Project makes flying into the mountainous and difficult Queenstown airport safer and more efficient. It won the prestigious Jane’s ATC Award in the Operational Efficiency category.

Campbell Live is a top New Zealand prime time television news show. You can view the news item here:

http://www.3news.co.nz/Queenstown-Airport-gets-new-radar/tabid/367/articleID/294800/Default.aspx

“Travellers are noticing a big difference when they fly to Queenstown. Airways’ PBN project is meeting the challenge of delivering a much safer and far more efficient Air Traffic Management (ATM) system in extreme terrain rich airspace where no full surveillance was available,” says Airways chief executive Ed Sims.

“Our air traffic controllers benefit from a reduced workload. The training that took place in Airways’ world-leading simulator meant controllers were well-trained and prepared when PBN was launched late last year,” said Sims.

Over a million people a year fly into Queenstown, with passenger numbers increasing by 30% in the past three years. Queenstown has some of the most challenging terrain in the world – the high terrain, extreme weather and significant local tourism related traffic flows call for unique ATM solutions.

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Editor’s note: evidence of PBN success in Queenstown

The aviation sector has already reaped enormous benefits from the Southern PBN Implementation in the short time it has been in action.

• Queenstown Airport Company Limited can now handle up to 12 aircraft per hour, compared to the previous five hours in poor weather, in this extreme mountainous terrain
• All airlines operating in Queenstown are benefiting from dramatically reduced in-flight delays – from 2000-2600 minutes a month to only around 400 minutes a month (based on December 2012 data) and 227 minutes a month (based on February 2013 data)
• The reworked RNP AR departures have provided a large increase in take-off payload – about 1700kg off runway 05
• Airways can safely manage more than double the traffic with no requirement to tactically separate arrivals from departures.

Airways has calculated the following possible savings per year, based on December 2012-February 2013 data:

• Reduction in minutes delay: 19,200-28,800
• Fuel saved: 480,000-720,000kg
• Dollars saved: $630,000-$950,000
• CO2 saved: 2,000,000-2,250,000kg

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What next for Airways New Zealand?

Airways aims to achieve a nationwide rollout of PBN procedures by 2015.

PBN procedures are already in place at Christchurch, Wellington and Auckland airports and have delivered significant operating benefits, specifically to airlines through shortened tracks between departure point and destination.

Further information:

About Airways
• Airways is a world-leading commercial Air Navigation Service Provider (ANSP), and operates in New Zealand as a State-Owned Enterprise (SOE).
• We look after key aviation infrastructure around New Zealand and manage the more than 1 million traffic movements per year into and around New Zealand’s 30 million sq km of airspace.
• Airways provides air traffic control and engineering training, and has delivered air traffic management, Flightyield revenue management solutions, navigation services and consultancy in more than 65 countries.
• For more information about Airways please visit www.airways.co.nz

ENDS

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