KEY POINTS:
Airways New Zealand took its message on aircraft fuel saving to the world at the weekend.
With the focus of the International Air Transport Association's annual meeting on the fuel and the environment, Airways' chief executive Ashley Smout says the relationship between air traffic controllers and airlines is
more crucial than ever.
Smout has been on a panel looking at greater efficiency by service providers and airlines at the meeting in Turkey.
Air traffic control rules and decisions account for around 12 per cent of aircraft fuel used globally, he said. "The key issue facing the airlines today is fuel. That represents millions of tonnes of CO2 - in New Zealand we're leading the way in a number of areas in cutting that."
One trial under way involved tailored or collaborative arrivals.
In a trial begun six months ago a computer-based programme allows an airline's operations centre to see what air traffic controllers are seeing.
"It allows them to alter their decisions - delay the push back, slow the aircraft down in transit, everything to stop it circling or delays when they arrive. It's a collaborative approach - we're very confident it will work. We're getting very significant reductions in delays."
The trial involves Air New Zealand and Airways at this stage but is likely to be extended to other airlines he said.
Other international jurisdictions were interested in New Zealand's disclosure regime which allows Airways to share in airline monetary gains through Airways' decisions.
"If we can save fuel the gains from that can be shared. New Zealand leads the way in that - our commercial relationships are pretty mature."
The new system to allow aircraft to land at Auckland Airport in fog also had fuel-saving potential
The $4 million Cat IIIB Instrument Landing System - which came fully in service last month - meant all the international flights fitted with the receiving equipment, or suitably trained pilots, landed successfully.
In the past, a fogged-in Auckland Airport meant long-haul flights ran the risk of being diverted.
Airways was also pushing the Required Navigation Performance system which takes advantage of sophisticated avionics on aircraft.
"We can fly planes on tighter corridors of airspace because they have more sophisticated equipment on board and we have more sophisticated equipment on the ground. They can pass by each other in tighter and tighter formation and fly straighter routes."