Continuous Descent Arrivals

“In commercial aircraft, we see anywhere between 300 and 1,000 pounds of fuel saved for each arrival,”

"Because aircraft engines don’t throttle up and down during a continuous descent arrival, there are also significant reductions in noise and emissions. Keeping engines at idle power can cut emissions of nitrogen oxides by nearly a third, and reduce noise by 6 decibels along certain portions of the flight path - both significant reductions that would improve the environment in the vicinity of airports. And the technique could cut two minutes off the approach and landing portion of a flight. While that doesn’t seem like much, it could result in more efficient utilization of aircraft and reductions in flight times for crews"

PhysOrg.com on the innovation being tried at Atlanta's Hartsfield airport

Comments

[Jeff B (Georgeteown University)]

Living near National Airport in Washington, DC., I can appreciate any innovation in noise-reduction. A seemingly small problem turns out to be a significant opportunity for airports to reduce noise and airlines to save money.

Well done.

[vinnie mirchandani]

Jeff, if we could really reengineer our aviation, I would go a step further and dismantle the hub and spoke system and drastically cut the landings and take offs at Atlanta, Chicago, DFW and other hubs. For you in DC and me in Tampa, a Southwest like model is much better - I can fly to 35 cities non-stop on them versus probably 6 or 7 on Delta.