Pioneering and progressing: Assessing the progress of SESAR with Florian Guillermet
On 06/07/2011, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
The SESAR programme was launched on 3 June 2009. Now almost two years since its launch, It’s a good time to take stock of the status of the programme’s 300 projects, assess progress in the execution of the first SESAR release and the first project deliverables. In a short interview, Florian Guillermet, SESAR JU Chief Programme Officer, gives his evaluation of the programme and the first release, and looks at some of the challenges facing SESAR in the second half of 2011..
At mid 2011, what is the situation of the SESAR programme in general?
It’s almost time to celebrate the second anniversary of SESAR’s launch, and after two years of hard work we’ve made great progress: the ramp-up phase of the programme is complete and 85% of projects are now in full execution mode; the first concrete deliverables are arriving; all the programme management processes are now in place; and the programme delivery approach through SESAR Releases has been implemented. In addition, we are now fully integrating airspace users into the programme and they will directly participate in the execution of projects. Overall, we are on track…
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Should we listen to the jungle telegraph?
On 08/06/2011, in SESAR's Palace, by cleo
Editor’s note: When the material for this article hit my desk, I thought long and hard, pondering what to do with it. Most of what is said in it I have heard also myself and Cleo, the original author is well connected and not given to crying wolf… Having consulted a number of friends, I decided to go ahead and publish it, duly qualifying some of the information as bits off the jungle telegraph. As you know, there is a lot of noise coming off that particular type of telegraph but if you listen carefully, you can learn surprising things. Some of which might even be true.
No ATM person having suffered through EATCHIP and ATM2000+ could wish anything but for SESAR to succeed. There is no plan B and if the European Commission, not to mention the airlines, sees all this money being squandered, there will be hell to pay. Literally…
When you ask people close to the program about how things are going, you will either get a blank stare or a few mumbled words about SESAR being reoriented, project dates slipping, some technical projects having run ahead without the non-technical underpinning having been delivered to them and the need to stop several projects for anything up to a year to get things back on track again. There are strange noises also about a SESAR 2. Mind you, this is on the jungle telegraph and the messages are unsigned.
With just one or two people saying such things one may think it is the normal noise in a complex project. When you have scores of them, it is hard not to take notice. Of course in a project involving so many people and so many organizations, there are bound to be those who always complain. Yet, somehow you get the feeling that there is more to this than meets the eye…
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When Titans speak
On 25/05/2011, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
Mid-March Aviation Week published a double interview in which Canso director general Graham Lake and Air Traffic Control Association president/CEO Peter F. Dumont spoke their minds about air traffic management developments on both sides of the Atlantic.
The interviews were refreshing and revealing. They both spoke about the prospects of SESAR and NextGen frankly and eschewing the usual bluster and we-have-won type of text so frustrating in the “formal” communications.
Mr. Lake tells us that it is not yet clear where the 4 billion euros implementation funding needed by SESAR will come from… With SESAR well into its 8-year life-span and 2.1 billion euros being burned through as you read this, such an uncertainty about the future is cause for concern to say the least.
He also makes the point that the new ATM system will still need people to operate it. He then goes on to say that some 70 % of the typical ANSPs costs are staff related, expressing surprise that parts of the ATM network face disruptions as a result of labor disputes and demands for unsustainable labor agreements. As an industry, we cannot allow this to continue he states. There is a strong message here and one is almost tempted to compare the number of pilots and other airline stuff who lost their jobs because of the economic crisis with the number of ATC staff who had been handed the pink slip for the same reason…
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SESAR at ATC Global 2011 – Connecting vision with reality
On 09/03/2011, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
Roger-Wilco was given a special opportunity to interview SESAR’s Chief Program Officer on the occasion of ATC Global 2011 and in particular in connection with SESAR Release 1, being presented as the most important SESAR deliverable for the year.
Florian Guillermet talks to editor Steve Zerkowitz.
Roger-Wilco: Looking at the details of SESAR Release 1, one sees that this is basically a very big and complex validation exercise. We have seen such things, even if possibly not on this scale, in past programs like EATCHIP and ATM2000+.Regrettably, not much came from those… What is the difference now, what makes everyone confident that this time things will work out better?
Mr. Guillermet: There are three important differences compared with past exercises:
• Clearly defined scope
• Clearly defined time-frame
• Close control by the SJU
Let me explain. The operational concept of SESAR is very ambitious and it can only be achieved if there is a clear focus on what has to be done and in what time frame. The elements of Release 1 have been carefully selected to ensure an initial maturity level that lends itself to development to a pre-industrialization state. This selection process was carefully controlled by the SJU so no pet-projects, be it on an organizational or personal level, were allowed in if they did not meet the agreed, stringent selection criteria.
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First concrete SESAR achievements in 2011
On 08/03/2011, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
At the biggest international Air Traffic Management exhibition, ATC Global being held this week in Amsterdam, the SESAR Joint Undertaking presents the first components of the future European ATM system. The aim of this first SESAR Release is to group projects and validation exercises and to start delivering together with the 49 SESAR members and associate partners tangible results at a reindustrialization stage as of this year.
“SESAR is set to modernize air traffic management in Europe. Recent projections predict for Europe a doubling of flights by 2030 compared to 2009 levels. This equals 16.9 million movements; everybody knows that the current air traffic management system cannot cope with such an increase. SESAR is prepared to address this challenge by presenting first benefits for the aviation community this year, just as planned.”, says Patrick Ky, Executive Director of the SESAR Joint Undertaking.
Periodic releases
With the commitment of the private and public partners involved in the work program, SESAR will deliver results through periodic releases.
The first SESAR Release is the outcome of a thorough status review of the approximately 300 SESAR projects to see where early results can be achieved to
quicker serve the aviation world. Projects which are included in the 2011 Release will have been verified and validated in an operational environment to allow for a decision on industrialization and subsequent deployment.
With the first SESAR Release, the European ATM modernization program reveals initial components of the future European ATM system. The validation exercises will cover the areas of efficient and green terminal airspace operations, the initial 4D trajectory, end to end traffic synchronization, as well as integrated and collaborative network management. Concrete benefits will be achieved for airlines, pilots, airports, air traffic controllers, pilots, passengers and the environment.
Improved procedures, tool sets, prototypes
Through simulations, prototypes, shadow mode or live and flight trials, the SESAR members will perform 29 validation exercises all over Europe, the first of which have already taken place in February.
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Interesting people, unusual flight plans…
On 25/02/2011, in Interesting people, by steve
Eric Platteau – A gourmand communicator
Eric is the communications chief of the SESAR Joint Undertaking
What were you dreaming of becoming when you were a kid?
I wanted to become a cook, a chef. I am quite a gourmet and greedy. It is also linked to a family habit of long and friendly family dinners. Everyone was and is still cooking in my family: grand-mothers, father, mother, sister, brother in law, etc. I was surrounded by gourmets! My specialty as Belgian is of course Chocolate cakes…
If it was not aviation, what moved you to become part of the aviation family?
A total coincidence. During my studies, I had to make a traineeship in a company and I managed to get a 6 weeks traineeship in the press office of SABENA, the former Belgian national airline. When I finished my studies in 1995, my ‘previous boss’ informed me that they were recruiting a French-speaking press officer. I was not totally interested as I wanted to go abroad to improve my language skills but I registered to do the recruitment tests. I thought that it was a good exercise for me as a fresh graduat. After the 3 rounds of tests, I was selected… and decided to join Sabena! Spokesman at 23 years old of a 12.000 employees company was an amazing challenge as you can imagine.
What were the most significant sideways jumps in your professional life?
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A first SESAR release in 2011 – WHAT?
On 26/01/2011, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
One of the products in the run-up to the SESAR world was/is the ATM Master Plan, setting out the when and the how of new air traffic management improvements for Europe. Based on this plan, there are several lower level thingies called implementation packages which show in more detail what will be done and when. Together they form the great PLAN that will hopefully bring the much needed improvements.
In the latest issue of SESAR e-news and in an article entitled “SESAR delivers in 2011” we now read the following.
“During the last meeting of the SESAR Joint Undertaking’s Administrative Board, the members accepted the SJU’s proposal for a first SESAR Release as part of the SESAR programme. The release will provide the air traffic community with the first tangible results coming from Europe’s ambitious ATM modernisation programme.
Click here to read the full article
The new SESAR home page
On 12/01/2011, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
We did review the first version of the SESAR web site some time ago and found that there were nice features and some frustrating ones giving rise to a bit of criticism. Of course few enterprises manage to have their very first web site meet all expectations and it would have been unfair to fault the IT folks at SESAR for their shortcomings. It was therefore with interest that I looked at the new iteration that went on-line recently.
The first thing that strikes the visitor is that the rather disturbing banner heading is now gone, replaced by a sliding set of items that do actually mean something and are not there just for the show. Click on the title in the text area of the sliding thingies and you are taken to the subject of the particular item. It is a pity that you actually have to hit the title line as the rest of the picture is not “hot”. I am used to clicking on pictures and having to hit just one line in the text area of a picture is a bit cumbersome. But this is a small irritation compared to the usefulness of the sliding items.
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GA and rotorcraft experts scrutinize the SESAR Concept of Operations
On 20/12/2010, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
A working group with a wide representation of operational expertise from the general aviation (GA) and rotorcraft communities commenced a study to enhance the SESAR Concept of Operations (ConOps) from a specific GA and rotorcraft perspective. The task of the group is to integrate GA and rotorcraft specific needs to the SESAR ConOps and to provide necessary complementary guidance material for the SESAR programme. This study follows on from the earlier exercise undertaken to integrate military needs into the SESAR ConOps that was concluded earlier this month. The members of the general aviation and rotorcraft group are Peter Norton (British Helicopter Association), Philippe Rollet (Eurocopter Group), Nigel Talbot (AgustaWestland), Michael Erb (AOPA), Jo Konrad (Microlight Specialists), Julian Scarfe (PPL-IR), René Meier (Europe Airsports).
The group met for the first time from 23 to 25 November at the SJU premises and is expected to deliver its final report in April 2011. Once approved, the updated version of the ConOps including the GA and rotorcraft aspects will be integrated into the relevant SJU programme work packages.
Well, I should be sleeping much better now, except for one thing. This piece of news, which is positive after all, does show up once again that European air traffic management still has not gotten over its silo mentality.
Click here to read the full article
Why is the SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) wary of consultants?
On 30/11/2010, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
OK, you may say that consultants have made a bad name for themselves and you would be partially right. In some industries some of them have and we all suffer the consequences to some degree. But on the other hand, many companies have found considerable cost savings in the use of consultants who will perform tasks that would otherwise cost a fortune… and this is true even if consultants are not cheap themselves.
But why is the SJU so diametrically opposed to the use of consultants that they have told everyone, the airlines and their associations included, right at the beginning and have repeated it many times since, that they may not use consultants to represent them in the SESAR tasks?
You may say the following is conjecture but it is logical and the only reasonable explanation of a totally unreasonable attitude on the part of the SJU.
When the airline industry first faced what was to become a series of financial crises, including the effects of 9/11, they responded by cutting costs across the board. This translated also into reducing their staff engaged in attending to activities like air traffic management. All of a sudden airline representatives all but disappeared from EUROCONTROL meetings and the airspace user influence on ATM developments was automatically reduced to fire fighting and some shouting on the policy level… with predictably meager results.
When SESAR came along, the airline industry was suddenly faced with the opportunity of a lifetime to improve things… except that they lacked the knowledgeable manpower to represent them on an H24 basis. There were of course excellent airline experts still around and those were promptly brought onto the firing line but almost none of them were all-round experts who were at home equally in airline and ATM operations.
Click here to read the full article
Air Traffic Management déjà vu
On 19/10/2010, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
Reading Henning’s article and with my up-close-and-intimate involvement in the SESAR definition phase (and the 20 or so years leading up to it) I could not escape a terrible feeling of déjà vu. This was only strengthened when I read the news about ANSP CEOs rumbling that the performance targets of the EU’s Single Sky Package were unrealistic and airlines rumbling that the costs arising from the proposed ADS-B implementing rule were placing an inordinate share on them compared to the burden to be borne by the ANSPs.
These are signs of a toxic mix well known from the past and they bode ill for ATM developments in Europe.
But there is more.
One of the airline associations is very vocal about the need to get financing support for the airlines as they consider the price of SESAR prohibitively expensive. This is all very well, but apparently little is being done to actually find and organize such financing.
IATA, the one organization that in the past successfully influenced ATM development directions by being present everywhere down to the working level, has now basically drawn back and seems to believe that things in the ATM world can be influenced equally successfully by simply issuing policies. This is a fallacy that will cost the airlines dearly. Policies are fine but in practice they are often ignored or interpreted in ways favorable to interests other than those of the airlines. By the time this is discovered, all kinds of binding agreements and decisions will have been made and airline protests will be met, in most cases, with a shrug. You missed the boat folks…
Click here to read the full article
Is SESAR doing what the airlines intended?
On 14/10/2010, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
Exclusive interview with Dr. Henning Hartmann
Today we bring you an exclusive interview with Dr. Henning Hartmann, who was, during the SESAR Definition Phase with Lufthansa German Airlines and representing the Airspace Users, he was also the person responsible for the development of the SESAR Concept of Operations (ConOps). He will give us his views on what SESAR is to-day as he sees it and explains why there is cause for some concern.
Henning can you give our readers an impression of what you are feeling today when looking at SESAR and the SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) as they are now?
In order to understand my arguments concerning today’s situation, I’ll first have a closer look at the situation as it was during the definition phase.
The SESAR Definition Phase was a multi-stakeholder project consisting of 6 milestones which delivered 6 documents each of which was subject to agreement by the stakeholders. The SESAR Concept of Operations was part of deliverable 3, entitled “The ATM Target System”. It was seen as the driving engine of the future system and consequently to some extent the development process of the concept was THE culmination point of the diverging views of the different stakeholders. Obviously, in the end all stakeholders had to compromise to some extent.
Why did these different views come up?
It makes a huge difference “how” a system is operated and since I was representing the Airspace Users, the Airspace Users operational concept vision did not come up just by accident. It was the result of a structured process reflecting all types of Airspace Users.
Before going to the different views, it is essential to understand how the vision of the Airspace Users was constructed: we looked 15 years ahead, we did analyse different passenger segmentation forecasts and their needs and preferences and how the airlines could respond (in terms of the operational context) to those passenger needs.
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New members in the SESAR family
On 20/07/2010, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
A family normally gets new members through marriage, birth, adoption… In SESAR this happens via the less glamorous sounding “association” process. As it has just been announced, SESAR now boasts 13 associate partners who were taken on board on the basis of the recommendations of organizations already part of SESAR. The list of new partners (see the list below) includes some naturals like Boeing and AVTECH (why were they missing in the first place???), three that are in fact distant relatives of existing members (THALES and NATS) and one, the Moroccan Airports Authority that is a truly new face which can potentially open a window on new horizons towards Africa.
Partnership with all relevant aviation players in the modernization of the European air traffic management is the key principle of SESAR (Single European Sky ATM Research). As a consequence, the SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) endorsed 13 associate partners to contribute to the SESAR work programme. Among others, the Boeing Company, Thales Australia, the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency and the Moroccan Airports Authority (ONDA) will from now on participate in the work programme. Associate partners were proposed by SJU members which will remain their primary point of contact.
SESAR’s aim is to bring about an evolution in air traffic management systems, eliminating the fragmented approach of European air traffic management (ATM), bringing both public and private stakeholders together. Since its set-up, the SJU secured the additional involvement of airspace users, staff associations, air forces and the scientific world. With this latest enrichment, the SJU not only broadens the number of stakeholders but includes more organizations from third countries in Europe’s ambitious ATM modernization programme.
“Our new associate partners will bring in their specific experience and know-how. We now have 21 air navigation service providers participating in the EU ATM modernization programme. We are particularly delighted to also welcome non-EU members on board of the SESAR ship; this demonstrates our commitment to developing interoperable solutions”, says Patrick Ky, Executive Director of the SESAR Joint Undertaking.
New SESAR family member - ONDA the Moroccan Airports Authority - Marrakech old...
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European ATM – Is there anything really new under the Sun?
On 24/06/2010, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
Back in March, Daniel Calleja, Director of the European Commission’s Air Transport Directorate, informed his audience at the ATC Global conference in Amsterdam, that “…despite six years’ effort, Europe has yet to achieve its objective of creating a Single European Sky (SES).” Six years indeed… make that thirteen Mr. Calleja.
Thankfully I do not attend that many meetings these days but those I do tend to be teeming with fresh new faces, enthusiastic young experts who sometimes stay long hours to discuss things that we too had discussed at length when we qualified as a fresh new face. I have no doubt about their sincerity or expertise. My concern is about the perception that what they are dealing with is new…
So what is this new ATM system they are trying to create? “A concept predicated on layered planning, based around a strategically derived daily plan and collaborative decision making between the parties involved, evolving towards managing resources rather than demand. Airspace is regarded as a continuum for airspace planning purposes to optimize the available resources… Airspace divisions are based on ATM needs rather then on national boundaries… Free flight airspace is part of the concept… major change of the roles on the ground and in the air… greater use of computer support…” Why am I quoting from the SESAR concept you will ask???
Well, the sad truth is the above quotation is NOT from SESAR or the Single European Sky (SES) but from Edition 1.0 of the European ATM Operational Concept Document, dated 1 March 1997! The foreword of the document lists those involved in its preparation and the list shows an uncanny similarity to the current membership of the SESAR Joint Undertaking. The EC’s DG7 was also there and as I remember, they were pushing really hard for innovative solutions.
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TITAN stakeholder workshop – 17 March 2010
On 31/05/2010, in TITAN, by steve
TITAN is an EC 7th Framework project and the acronym stands for “Turnaround Integration in Trajectory and Network”. As its name suggests, TITAN is looking at ways of optimizing the turnaround process while integrating it in trajectory based, net-centric operations.
The Workshop held in Brussels on 17 March 2010 had two objectives: on the one hand it presented the project to the community and on the other it collected stakeholders’ needs and requirements in the context of the turnaround process. All the actors (airspace users, airports, ANSPs and handling companies) who would be affected by the new TITAN concept had been invited to attend the workshop and the turn-out was very good. It was therefore possible to capture their daily concerns, needs and proposals in a representative manner.
The format chosen for the workshop was that of focused brainstorming with selected facilitators making sure that the time and scope objectives were observed. As it turned out, the format was very successful and participants contributed actively in the general sessions as well as in the group sessions.
The introductory session
Work started with an introduction of the project followed by the SESAR Joint Undertaking giving an overview of their main activities in the context of turnaround and the input they expected from TITAN to fill the gaps identified in the relevant parts of the SESAR work packages.
Next, an analysis of the current situation was presented, highlighting the potential bottlenecks. An initial turnaround model was also sketched to seed and start the discussions.
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SESAR Concept of Operations in limbo?
On 28/05/2010, in SESAR's Palace, by cleo
One of the more unfortunate developments during the SESAR definition phase concerned the Concept of Operations. At first what passed as the concept was basically inadequate and it was only after the insistence of the airspace users that work started on what in the end became the SESAR Concept of Operations or CONOPS. Peculiarly, it was never really recognized as an official deliverable although, again on the insistence of the airspace users, a reference was inserted in one of the official deliverables that pointed to the CONOPS as the basis of everything else.
Few definition phase documents generated so much debate and even enmity as the CONOPS. Its novel nature and truly forward looking ideas were hailed by some, hated by others. In the end the released version, which was in many ways a compromise between the parties concerned, still contained enough guidance to ensure that a system built to realize it would do justice to the needs of future air traffic management.
And now we jump to the present where rumors abound about the SESAR concept work once again being in trouble. Last I heard, people seem to be saying that the concept is currently a blank box in the SESAR work and there will be no ops concept on the table until 2011. What about the original CONOPS? The answer is an enigmatic: they do not like it any more.
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Low fare airlines and SESAR team up
On 18/05/2010, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
Following an open call for tenders, the SESAR Joint Undertaking today signed a framework contract with the European Low Fares Airlines Association (ELFAA) to include its expertise in the execution of the SESAR work program. For this contract, the association has secured the confirmed participation of three ELFAA airline members: Ryanair, Jet 2.com and Flybe. This marks the latest addition of external partners to SESAR, the European ATM modernization program.
The mission of the SESAR Program is to enhance the capacity, safety and efficiency of the European ATM network while reducing the environmental impact per flight by 10%. To do so, the SESAR Joint Undertaking built an effective partnership between airlines, airports, manufacturing industry and Air Navigation Service Providers. Apart from its 15 members and Eurocontrol, the SESAR Joint Undertaking has so far concluded contracts with staff associations, major airlines, business and general aviation, as well as air transport associations. The academic world is integrated through a dedicated work package and the SESAR Scientific Committee.
“Having ELFAA on board SESAR is essential. We need the involvement of all air transport actors to ensure applicability and acceptance of the SESAR technologies and procedures. The diversity of our members and partners is the key to success of our program and ELFAA helps us to close one more gap”, said Patrick Ky, Executive Director of the SESAR Joint Undertaking.
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SESAR’s progress – real achievements, real issues
On 17/05/2010, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
Exclusive interview with Michael Standar, Chief Operational Concepts and Validation, SESAR Joint Undertaking.
Michael Standar
Since the inception of the current phase of the SESAR program, we have come to expect regular updates published by the SESAR Joint Undertaking telling the ATM community how things were going. SESAR has introduced a refreshingly innovative way of communicating with the world, making use of all the modern communications means from electronic newsletters to the social media.
Communications issued so far have focused on the achievements but like all major projects, SESAR is also not without problems and issues that they need to address. This is normal and problems are there to be solved. The main thing for managers is to figure out how to solve the problems and not necessarily to avoid them at any cost.
In this exclusive interview with Michael Standar, Chief Operational Concepts and Validation, we talk about the inevitable problems and how the SJU is going about solving them.
It is said that the reduction in traffic has reduced ANSP revenue and as a result, ANSPs had to cut back their resources. As a consequence, they were forced to allocate to the SESAR work experts who are less familiar with the discussions in the Definition Phase, less familiar with the exact meaning of the Concept of Operations. Does this have an impact on the work and if yes, how will it be countered?
SESAR is a major programme including all aviation stakeholders. Through its construction of the three phases, there will always be new faces joining in the work. But we place a great emphasis on sharing the exact meaning of the ConOps through innovative internal communication features.
This being said, we are prepared to share and communicate to each and every individual working in or with SESAR the concept implications in terms of change in procedures and systems. This will be a continuous learning process for many years to come.
Click here to read the full article
Will public funds be available to help SESAR along?
On 12/05/2010, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
If nothing else, the recent wholesale grounding of aviation in Europe will have been an eye opener even to the most recalcitrant and aircraft hating citizens and politicians of the old continent. Some people still tend to regard aviation as a toy of the rich and transport for holidaymakers which damages the environment and should be taxed heavily. Well, with nothing flying for a few days everyone had to realize that aviation is an essential and integral element of our daily life and this is true also for those who never set foot on an aircraft. Car parts, produce and millions of other items normally carried by air were left undelivered with no alternative means of carriage.
This was a timely reminder not least because the SESAR Joint Undertaking is seriously looking into how public funds may be made available to support the deployment of the new SESAR technologies.
The total cost of SESAR is put at around 35 billion Euros of which 20 billion is to be spent by the airspace users to equip with the new capabilities. And herein lies the catch!
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EUROCONTROL reorganizing – is this good for you?
On 02/05/2010, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
Visiting EUROCONTROL these days is a bit like entering a five star hotel during off-season in a bad year. Empty offices at every turn and talk in the corridors that tends to focus more on individual futures than on trajectory based operations and other exotic ideas.
Yes, EUROCONTROL is reorganizing (again…) but they are also cutting loose most contract personnel, and even the permanent staff is being reduced. One might say this is a sign of the times – cost cutting being the name of the game everywhere. Like in all organizations, there was a lot of deadwood at EUROCONTROL, but it was and is a unique European institution concentrating ATM skills like no other place on the continent. When an icon like that decides to change itself in fundamental ways, there must be something serious in the air.
Of course EUROCONTROL has to adapt to the new environment as dictated by the Single European Sky and SESAR. One can only hope that this adaptation will result in something better and more efficient. But I have my doubts.
I remember some years ago people used to joke that if EUROCONTROL does not get its act together, the superb headquarters building in Haren will be turned into a great conference hotel which hotel room starved Brussels would no doubt have welcomed with open arms. But jokes apart, most of the real or perceived “failures” of EUROCONTROL back then were not due to incompetence on the part of their experts. Far from it! These experts came with truly forward looking ideas and proposals and some of those are now part of the more advanced features of SESAR to-day! So why were those ideas not implemented back then, years and decades ago? Mainly because European States blocked most of them cold. Why? Because those advanced ideas would have required the kind of continent wide cooperation SES and SESAR are now proposing and that was anathema to most ANSPs keen on protecting their own turf. That things have not changed much until quite recently is shown clearly in the extreme difficulties the European Commission has had in pushing the Single European Sky towards acceptance.
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Flying AIRE – the pilot’s view
On 30/04/2010, in Environment - Without hot air, by eric
AIRE (Atlantic Interoperability Initiative to Reduce Emissions) is a joint initiative between the European Commission and the FAA. It is the green component of the SESAR programme. In 2009, 1,152 flight trials in operational conditions were carried out on the European side.
Claude Godel was the Pilot in Command of the first complete green transatlantic flight, operated by Air France on 6 April from Paris-Charles de Gaulle to Miami.
Captain Godel and part of his crew on the green transatlantic flight
In a first reaction after this green flight, Captain Godel describes it from a pilot’s perspective, “The AIRE flight is the almost perfect flight for a pilot. On a normal flight you never know how you will be incorporated in the traffic but you are sure that you will fly level at non optimal altitudes, have to beg ATC for better speed, better lateral track. In one word, you spend your time in negotiating or accepting non optimal compromises. The AIRE flight needs more pre-flight preparation but, once off-block, the pilot can expect to fly the best track from end to end, at the best speed and the best altitude. Isn’t that the pilot’s dream?”
He further describes the principle of green flights as a virtuous circle as an optimised flight path leads to shorter flight time, less fuel burn and CO2 emissions which in return reduces costs and leaves fewer place for contingencies. The pilot can thus satisfy the aspirations of modern passengers and himself finds new pleasure and satisfaction in his job.
During the approximately nine hours flight, enhanced green procedures were used to improve the aircraft’s energy efficiency. These procedures, applied at each flight stage and coordinated among all project participants, reduce fuel consumption (and hence carbon dioxide emissions) throughout the flight, from taxiing at Paris-Charles de Gaulle to arrival on the parking stand in Miami. Air France estimates that applying these optimisations to all Air France long-haul flights to and from North America, would result in a cut of CO2 emissions by 135,000 metric tons per year, with fuel savings of 43,000 metric tons.
For more information on AIRE, click here.
This article is reprinted with the kind permission of the author, Eric Platteau, Senior Communication & Public Affairs Specialist at the SESAR Joint Undertaking.
Blogs, aviation and the rest of the social media
On 27/01/2010, in Viewpoint, by steve
When we started Roger-Wilco, a lot of people questioned the format. For some, a blog was not the right format for dealing with the serious questions of air traffic management. I could see the point in as much as a lot of blogs are indeed little more than a place for certain individuals to air their grievances about all kinds of subjects, many of which are of little interest to the world at large. But who can deny that they too have the right to publicize what is on their minds?
We simply had to make a better blog…
It would be easy to claim that I was always open to things like Twitter or FaceBook, but I was not. Especially Twitter
appeared to me the epitome of uselessness right alongside the male breast. FaceBook was something I could almost like but when they introduced the new “features” enabling users, among other things, to become “computer experts” by answering four or five ridiculously simple questions, I felt like running away. Seeing some of my most respected colleagues becoming such experts left me puzzled but no less determined to avoid FaecBook whenever possible.
LinkedIn was a different proposition right from the start. There one’s professional qualifications, work experience and other “real” things rule and people have actually found work when they were discovered by recruiters of major companies. LinkedIn actually reversed the switch in my mind…
But back to our blog…
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Who is in charge here?
On 13/01/2010, in SESAR's Palace, by pbn
Those of us who have served the airline industry know full well that what may appear as a monolithic industry (all airlines fly aircraft after all, do they not?), is in fact a multitude of differing business models, interests, attitudes, readiness to invest in new things, inertia, vision and what have you. Even within the group of legacy carriers or the group of low cost folks, the diversity is immense.
In the past, the airline industry booked its most significant successes in influencing the political scene as well as air traffic management when it was able to speak with one voice. That voice on the world-wide stage used to be IATA. The most spectacular flops were booked when dissent in the family silenced the common voice. Just think of the Mode S Enhanced Surveillance debacle if you want to have proof.
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Who said being serious has to be boring?
On 08/01/2010, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
In a refreshing new way, the SESAR JU seems to have cut the ties with the old fashioned way of communicating only in a somber and boring fashion. After updating their web site, they are now bringing us two SESAR theme screensavers and a number of wallpapers.
Who said being serious has to be boring?
I am not sure all the wallpapers are really suitable for the purpose, especially for those of us who keep a lot of stuff on the desktop. Some of the photos themselves are a bit too “busy” and finding things against that busy background becomes a tad difficult. But this is a personal thing and I find the initiative a very good one.
Screensaver 1 tells you the why...
But the two screensavers are really cute. One of them brings home some salient facts of the SESAR project and having all that data repeat on the screen while you drink your coffee is a good reminder why we are doing this in the first place.
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Staff associations officially involved in SESAR – essential but…
On 17/12/2009, in SESAR's Palace, by cleo
As made known by SESAR News 2, five major staff associations representing a wide range of professional operational and technical skills across the ATM domains (e.g. pilots, air traffic controllers and assistants, handling staff, flight and air traffic safety electronics engineers etc.) are currently signing framework contracts with the SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) through EUROCONTROL for their participation in the SESAR work program.
The associations concerned are the Air Traffic Controllers European Union Coordination (ATCEUC), European Cockpit Association (ECA), European Transport Workers’ Association (ETF), International Federation of Air Traffic Safety Electronics Associations (IFATSEA), and the International Federation of Air Traffic Controllers’ Associations (IFATCA).
Their professional expertise is sought for the SJU work program regarding issues such as safety, security, and human factor aspects when developing and validating new procedures, methodologies, and technical elements. At the kick-off meeting on 4 December, representatives of the associations discussed with the SJU the key aspects of their future participation in order to finalize the more precise details during January/February 2010.
This is an important development since without the endorsement and support of controllers and pilots represented by these associations SESAR cannot be a success. However, a word of caution is in order here.
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Still banging on an open door??
On 24/09/2009, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
May be you will remember an earlier post in which we were querying why the Sesar JU wants to spend a bunch of money on test flights and other fun to find a way of tracking aircraft over the ocean. And this as a result of the tragic Air France accident earlier this year.
At the time we said that asking any good flight tracking company, like AirNav Systems would give them all the information they need instead of an expensive study, probably free… Afterwards the cost would only be the equipment that would need to go on some aircraft plus the fees to the company selected. But spending more than 30K up front is totally unnecessary.
Have a look at this picture. Traffic over the North Atlantic on a Thursday afternoon, updated every 45 seconds… The data field at the top show that it is an Alitalia flight, on the right hand side speed, heading, times… No, this is not what you get for 30K+… This is what you can have on your PC right now for a few bucks a month.
Zoom in and you get flight data displayed alongside the position symbols. Just like labels on radar. Even the simplest version of the software is able to track selected flights…
Still not convinced?
Standing all together… separately?
On 16/09/2009, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
Reading the upbeat communication from the SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) announcing the arrival of the airspace users on board the project, it may be worthwhile to take a look at the composition of the new arrivals and start worrying… just a tad mind you but still. There are individual airlines, both big and small and associations ranging from giant IATA to IAOPA (much smaller but with significant influence) and a consortium coordinated by EBAA. Diversity is nice but who exactly will be the conductor of this orchestra?
In the past one of the strengths of the airspace users was in their ability to speak with a common voice. This common voice in Europe came from IATA (mainly on technical matters) and from AEA (on the political level). Achieving the common voice was not easy and sometimes downright impossible but at least while there was disagreement, no cacophony of diverse tunes was allowed to fill the auditorium.
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Banging on an open door?
On 22/08/2009, in SESAR's Palace, by steve
The SESAR Joint Undertaking (SJU) has just announced that they are launching a specific initiative on flight tracking in oceanic and remote areas. The call for tender (OPTIMI) is meant to select contractor(s) for the performance of a study and flight demonstrations – co-funded for a maximum amount of € 360.000 -aimed at demonstrating the feasibility to implement oceanic tracking services in the Atlantic at a reasonable cost and within a limited timeframe (2010).
The SESR JU was tasked to analyse the issue and provide recommendations on the way forward in response to the apparent lack of appropriate tracking over remote areas that came to light following the recent tragic accident over the South-Atlantic.
As I read this news in my office, one of the several computer screens was focused on the Pacific Ocean, showing the Western Coast of the US and the Hawaii Islands. All traffic was clearly visible and by pointing on any of the blips, I could immediately bring up corresponding, real-time flight data, including heading, level, speed, departure and destination aerodrome and the filed track was also presented.
Scrolling the map to the North Atlantic, as I briefly looked at traffic in and out of Paris, two questions came to mind.
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