Given that many NAS users have direct routing capability needed for Free Flight, to what extent are direct routing benefits being allocated to WAAS?
A. WAAS implementation and WAAS equipage will allow the NAS routes to be restructured, resulting in shorter flight times, saving aircraft operating time and passenger time. In a study commissioned by the FAA’s Air Traffic Organization and sponsored by the GPS Product Team titled, New England GPS Alternate Route Study, the average reduction in flight time for the routes analyzed was one (1) minute. Savings due to universal WAAS equipage were further analyzed through an Air Traffic study, The Southern Region Multi-Center Study. This one-minute value was used to calculate benefits attributed to WAAS as a result of restructuring NAS routes. For the lower bound of the benefits to cost ratio the assumption was made that only 30% of all flights would recognize this benefit. This figure was used because it is recognized that some aircraft already have direct route capability. The benefit calculations for savings from reduced flight times begin in 2006, when it is anticipated overall equipage i
