Initial Experiences with the Expanded National Route Program

Abstract

One of the goals of the free flight concept is to give the airlines (and other operators) more flexibility in selecting the routes to be flown. This applies to both preflight planning and to flight amendments made while enroute. Exploration of the former, flexibility in preflight planning, has already begun with the implementation of the expended National Route Program (NRP). This paper documents the experiences associated with the introduction of the expanded NRP, and points to areas that must be addressed to help make the program successful from a traffic management perspective.