Analysis of Excess Flying
Time in the National Airspace System
February 2005
George Solomos, The MITRE Corporation
James DeArmon, The MITRE Corporation
Gerald Dorfman, The MITRE Corporation
Ho Yi, The MITRE Corporation
ABSTRACT
Research on the United States (U.S.) National Airspace System (NAS)
has sought answers to the following questions: Is there measurable excess
flying time in the NAS? If so, where does it occur? Using aircraft track
and flight information for multiple years, we have discovered a significant
level of excess flying time when using a "best observed"
flying time as a standard. In the en route regime, 4 to 5 minutes per
flight, in good weather, can be detected. Drilling down to a fine-grained
geographic mesh on a map of the U.S. enables detection of specific locations
of significant delay. These locations can be associated with operational
sectors. This information has allowed an examination of changes over
time, and should aid in focusing the scarce Federal Aviation Administration
(FAA) funding for congestion management.
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