Trajectory optimization in daily operations

Abstract

This study embeds multi-criteria optimized trajectories in today’s procedures of flight planning, preparing and operations. Therefore, European air traffic procedures are substantiated by a review of today’s regulative provisions and possibilities of intended deviations from filed flight plans initiated by both air traffic control and flight crew. As a reference for future flight planning, we modeled and described multi-criteria optimized trajectories. Thereupon, we developed an efficient and reliable algorithm for the adaption of waypoint-less optimized trajectories to the current navaid infrastructure. This method aims at increasing in airline efficiency in daily operations. For validation purposes, an actual flight plan has been calculated using the commercial flight-planning tool JetPlan.com by Jeppesen and is compared to our adapted trajectories. The comparison allows for the quantification of the benefits of our adapted flight paths against the restrictions of today’s flight planning. Here, we used a performance metric, considering distance flown, time of flight and fuel burn.