Airline metric concepts for evaluating air traffic service performance

AIRLINE METRIC CONCEPTS FOR EVALUATING
AIR TRAFFIC SERVICE PERFORMANCE
Report of the
Air Traffic Services Performance Focus Group
(ATSP FG)
CNS/ATM Focused Team
(C/AFT)
February 1, 1999
CNS/ATM Focused Team ATSP Focus Group
February 1, 1999 2
Executive Summary
The Communication Navigation Surveillance/Air Traffic Management Focused Team (C/AFT) formed the Focus Group (FG) on Air Traffic Service Performance (ATSP) to facilitate global airline consensus on the basis for evaluating the quality of Air Traffic Services (ATS). Within this framework, ATS performance metrics fulfill several important functions. First, they define the elements of value to the scheduled airline business. Second, they form a basis for assessing and monitoring the services provided by the ATM system. Finally, they can become the common criteria for developing economic models needed to predict benefits, and help make decisions when evaluating CNS/ATM alternatives.
Because this report represents the work of the ATSP FG, its basic definition of value is related to how the ATM system impacts the airlines’ ability to plan and operate their schedules. Each metric concept is described within the context of how well it allows airlines to most effectively use their capital assets and manpower resources to produce their primary product, the flight schedule. This report has categorized metrics into the following basic categories of performance objectives that define air traffic service (ATS) quality.
1. Delay
2. Predictability
3. Flexibility
4. Efficiency
5. Access
6. Cost of Service
Since the term value is used to represent the balance between the quality of air traffic services and its cost, all metrics that attempt to evaluate ATS performance within the first five categories must ultimately include the Cost of Service metric (ATS charges and airline costs) as their final denominator. This report defines these five categories using high-level, conceptual metric