The Economics of the North Atlantic Air Traffic System

Abstract

1. INTRODUCTION. The North Atlantic air traffic system is the busiest and most important long-range system in operation today with a current total of 127 000 flights“annum. The combined effects of the total flight time and the difference in time zones on either side of the Atlantic makes it desirable for most passengers to fly westward in the day-time. Conversely, it is most convenient (or least inconvenient!) to fly eastbound during the hours of darkness. Thus the Atlantic traffic system is strongly tidal with the flow predominantly (though not entirely) westbound during the day and eastbound overnight. Currently the central core of the traffic in the busiest hours is organised into a parallel track structure – the Organized Track Structure (OTS), though nearly half the aircraft operate so-called random routes clear of the OTS.

The dependence of minimum‐time routes over the North Atlantic on cruise altitude

“…Air traffic over the North Atlantic is currently managed by the use of North Atlantic Tracks (NATs) (e.g. Attwooll, , ; Lunnon and Marklow, ; Lunnon, ; ICAO, ). These are a set of typically five to seven flight routes running between the entry and exit points to oceanic airspace (roughly 10–50°W) with multiple flight levels (FLs) available on each route.…”

Optimization of Time Saving in Navigation Through an Area of Variable Flow

“…The motivation behind the present work was to answer the question of how much time could be saved by the use of optimal routes in other sectors of airspace. In discussing the economics of the North Atlantic Air Traffic System, Attwooll (1986) comments that 'the North Atlantic is a very windy place'. It is also true to say that the North Atlantic is a relatively easy place to implement a meteorologically dependent route structure.…”