PBN Benefits: Improved Economics
For air navigation service providers, PBN forms the foundation for new, more efficient air traffic management practices that can reduce congestion and increase airspace utilization. GE can analyze an airline's operations to determine the level of benefit it might achieve by implementing PBN. Likewise, for air traffic management organizations, GE can perform a National PBN Assessment to help determine a national or regional PBN airspace transformation strategy.
Lower Fuel Consumption
A PBN approach path provides the predictability necessary for the aircraft to make the most efficient optimized profile descents (OPDs), helping aircraft operators save fuel. Traditional arrival procedures often entail unnecessarily long flight paths involving "dive and drive" descents, which burn more fuel than the reduced-thrust descents enabled by OPDs. The predictability of PBN enables controllers to sequence arriving traffic and to assign each aircraft an efficient OPD and the most efficient course to the runway – day in and day out.
Improved Schedule Performance
Fewer diversions, reduced holding, and shorter approaches can improve schedule performance and reliability.
Increased Revenues
The improved engine-out tracking and reduced climb gradients afforded by PBN provide access to new markets and increased payload capacity, which can boost revenue.
Reduced Variance
The uncertainty inherent in traditional navigation procedures necessitates longer block times to compensate for the outliers. PBN mitigates this, resulting in higher gate and aircraft utilization as well as increased on-time performance.
Increased Capacity
PBN networks can enable greater airspace utilization, improvements in controller productivity and reduced traffic congestion. Airports benefit from increased gate and runway utilization and the ability to handle more flights.
Environmental Incentives
With growing awareness of environmental concerns, some governments are capping the level of carbon emissions an airline can produce. PBN leads to greater fuel efficiency and lower emissions – which can mean significant benefits for an airline that is subject to carbon cap-and-trade rules.
Lower Insurance Premiums
Airline hull and liability insurance underwriters understand that advanced PBN lowers risk, which results in lower premiums for users.
Lower Maintenance Costs
By avoiding paths with onerous climb requirements, PBN allows lower thrust settings on take-off. These de-rates can be used to reduce engine power-by-the-hour maintenance rates.
Higher Crew, Gate and Aircraft Utilization
Crews, gates and aircraft are utilized at higher rates because of the shorter block times made possible by the predictability of PBN operations.