“Game Changing” Technology Means More (and safer) Takeoffs and Landings

Next time you book your ticket, you might want to see if your carrier uses Naverus.

In the Wall Street Journal article Cleared for Landing: New Technology Lets Planes Arrive and Depart Airports With Fewer Delays, Diversions, reporter Susan Carey describes how the Required Navigation Performance system (RNP) by Naverus Inc. is now providing technology originally developed for Alaska Airlines to several carriers. RNP leverages light-management computers, cockpit avionics and GPS to enable aircraft to “to take off and land in poor weather, even at airports near mountains or other obstacles on the ground.”

The system can eliminate delays while enabling more planes with more passengers to reach their destinations.

“Besides safety, efficiency and customer satisfaction are also powerful incentives for the carriers to participate. JetBlue in January started using a procedure designed by Naverus for its departure from the Burbank, Calif., airport. JetBlue’s Mr. Spain says that airport is bounded by hills on both sides, and there are buildings and a flagpole nearby. By flying on a precise departure path controlled by the on-board computer, the plane can take off fully loaded with passengers and fuel, he says. Before, when it had to maneuver on a less precise path, JetBlue had to fly with 50 fewer passengers or stop on the way to the East Coast for fuel — neither a good option.”