News from the aviation industry
12/06/2009 - "Green" Flight Grabs Attention
The FAA and American
Airlines have wrapped themselves in the eco banner in selling the benefits
of the NextGen airspace system. The agency and airline are promoting the
environmental benefits of the system with the announcement that the latest
technology and techniques will be used for a "green" flight from Paris to
Miami on Thursday. But what it really comes down to is that the 767 will
go GPS direct rather than following the airways and use gradual rather
than stepped climbs and descents. In other words, it will operate like
general aviation has for more than a decade. The flight has earned a
remarkable amount of attention from the mainstream media.
The Miami Herald trumpeted the flight as a "Step Forward
For Aviation" and newspapers all over the world picked up on the potential
fuel savings. However, there were those who pointed out that there's
nothing really new about this except that it's a regularly scheduled
airliner doing it. "The event scheduled for this week with the American
Airlines aircraft is simply a publicity stunt," the National Air Traffic
Controllers Association said in a statement. "The flight will be using
Global Positioning System (GPS) technology that we have been using for
years." Miami was chosen as the destination because it's the first air
traffic control facility in the U.S. to be outfitted with the NextGen
gear.
