Airline (Articles)
Over Flight Billing System/ Overflight fees
Airlines pay a fee to fly over other countries. They’re called overflight fees. Just as countries have rights to their land, they have rights to the air above them. Most countries “rent” that airspace to foreign airlines, allowing them to fly through it.
Some countries also provide air traffic control services. Part of the fee goes towards these services. There’s no standard fee. Countries use different metrics to determine the cost.
Airlines sometimes take longer flight paths to avoid high fees. But avoiding airspace is harder than it seems, because airspace can be larger than the country itself. U.S. airspace extends all the way to the Philippines. But flying over the ocean costs less than flying over land. Even though it costs less to fly over water, some airlines still have to pay the US— even if it’s just going from Australia to Japan.
Overflight billing system is a Information entered in ICAO format and UTC and consists of the following information:
*Aircraft Registration.
*Point of Entry into Air Space.
*Point of Departure of Air Space.
*Airport Point of Departure and/or Landing.
*Times at the Different Points of Entry or Departure.
*Aircraft registration is entered so that the aircraft type and weight can be used in the calculation of the fee.
*Airport of origin/destination or point of entry and exit are used in the calculation of the fee.
*Note
**Some countries charge overflight fees regardless of whether you land or not. In the US, overflight fees are charged per 100 nm. You can find the exact fees for 2017, 2018 and 2019 here. The fees can be paid online, and the FAA is pretty modern when it comes to this; it accepts ACH transfers from a US bank account, Amazon account, Dwolla account, PayPal and Debit or credit card.
**The aircraft has to identify itself. The flight plan tells the FAA the aircraft identification . They look you up in the registry of the country in which your aircraft appears and send you the bill.
Unpaid fees accrue interest, and can result in the aircraft being denied entry into US airspace or impounded if it does happen to land at a US airport. The FAA can also put liens on the aircraft in the country of registration, which would have to be paid before the aircraft registration changes hands.
Times are entered if entry and exit time in the FIR forms part of the billing calculation.
Airlines Fuel Cost Optimization
What are all about this, let's go through!
An operational flight plan is required to ensure an airplane meets all of the operational regulations for a specific flight, to give the flight crew information to help them conduct the flight safely, and to coordinate with air traffic control (ATC).
Computerized systems for calculating flight plans have been widely used for decades, but not all systems are the same. There are advantages to selecting a more capable system and using all of its analytical and optimization capabilities. Using the flight planning process to reduce fuel not only saves money but also helps the environment: carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are directly proportional to fuel burn, with more than 20 pounds of CO2 emitted per U.S. gallon of fuel burned.
While flight plan calculations are necessary for safety and regulatory compliance, they also provide airlines with an opportunity for cost optimization by enabling them to determine the optimal route, altitudes, speeds, and amount of fuel to load on an airplane.
Optimization can be challenging because it involves a number of different elements. An optimized flight plan must not only take into account the correct physics (i.e., airplane performance and weather) but also route restrictions from ATC and all relevant regulatory restrictions. The mathematical nature of these constraints and the overall size of the calculation combine to make it a challenging problem, even by modern optimization standards. Some of the equations that describe the behavior are nonlinear and non-continuous, and the airplane state is dynamic (i.e., it depends on how the airplane has gotten to a specific point, not just where it is). As a result, tens to hundreds of thousands of individual calculations are required for a single flight.
An optimal flight planning scenario for saving fuel and emissions involves calculating multiple routes or operating approaches for each flight, ranking these scenarios by total cost, choosing the scenario that best accomplishes the airline's cost objectives, and providing summaries of the other scenarios for operational flexibility.
While the scenario chosen by the system might be used most of the time, dispatchers and operations managers at an airline's control center may choose another scenario to meet the airline's operational goals, such as routing of airplanes, crews, and passengers. Because they are often making these decisions shortly before departure time, a user-friendly presentation of the relevant information is vital.
The best route to fly depends on the actual conditions for each flight. These include the forecast upper air winds and temperatures, the amount of payload, and the time-based costs that day. The time-based costs are especially dynamic, driven by the value of the payload and the schedule and operational constraints for the crew and the airplane. Winds can have a significant impact on the optimal route: it can be very far from the great circle "direct" route
One recent study by Boeing subsidiary Jeppesen considered the benefit of dynamic route optimization on an airline that used fixed company routes in its computer flight planning system. This airline, which had 60 single-aisle airplanes, used fixed routes developed with historical winds and experience about ATC requirements. The study determined that using routes optimized with the most recent forecast winds, with numerical constraints modeling ATC requirements, would save about 1 million U.S. gallons of fuel per year. This, in turn, would reduce annual CO2 emissions by about 20 million pounds.
Airlines can reduce fuel consumption and costs by improving the accuracy of their flight plans. The flight crew and dispatcher can elect to add fuel they think might be needed to complete the flight as planned. But the heavier the airplane, the more fuel it will burn, so adding extra fuel — which adds weight — burns more fuel, increasing both operating costs and emissions.
Accurate flight plan calculations can minimize the additional fuel the flight crew adds. Accurate calculations are the result of several factors that combine engineering and information management. Some of the relevant factors require integration with other systems and data sources, both within and outside an airline.
Airspace design and regulations are changing all the time, sometimes quite rapidly. Some recent innovations include continuous descent approaches, high-altitude redesign in the western United States, and new U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) extended-range twin-engine operational performance standards (ETOPS) rules. (Boeing can help operators make sure they're defining all of their ETOPS parameters and fuel analyses correctly.) These are in addition to less recent changes, such as the introduction of a reduced vertical separation minimum in different parts of the world.
However, not all operators can take advantage of the improvements right away because their flight planning software cannot be updated quickly enough. Those whose software is ready could take full advantage of the innovations, immediately reducing their fuel consumption and operating costs.
What is AFM (Aircraft Flight Manual) and FCOM (Flight Crew Operating Manual)?
The AFM contains data about the aircraft like performance, procedures, limitations and sometimes data about weight and balance. The AFM is made by the manufacturer and it is specific to a particular MSN. The FCOM contains the systems, the procedures, the performance. The FCOM is the "guide" to know how to use the aircraft: it's the main reference for pilots.
**AFM (Aircraft Flight Manual)
The AFM is the manual designed by the manufacturer, on how to use the aircraft, it has been submitted to the certification authority. It is the reference. Aircraft flight manual (AFM) is a document produced by the aircraft manufacturer containing detailed information on the operation of the aircraft. The AFM details the recommended aircraft operating technique for normal, abnormal and emergency operation together with the Aircraft Performance that should be achieved when the aircraft is operated in accordance with these procedures.
The AFM is a vital part of the aircraft inventory and must be carried on all flights unless the National Airworthiness Authority (National Aviation Authority (NAA)) of the aircraft operator has formally accepted that the Operations Manual of the aircraft operator replicates all relevant AFM information for an aircraft. The AFM is specific to each aircraft and reflects the precise equipment and modification state of that aircraft. In practice, National Aviation Authority (NAA) dispensation not to carry the AFM on board an aircraft is commonly obtained by commercial aircraft operators.
**FCOM (Flight Crew Operating Manual)
The FCOM is a substitude to the AFM, for how to conduct day to day operations, and is usually designed by the operator (based on the AFM and other manufacturer information). The FCOM can be used for training. Aircraft Operating Manuals/Flight Crew Operating Manuals (AOM/FCOM) constitute the primary flight crew reference for the operation of an aircraft under normal, abnormal, and emergency conditions. These publications include system descriptions, normal and emergency procedures, supplementary techniques, and performance data.
Along with the initial training course, the AOM/FCOM constitutes a trainee's first introduction to their new aircraft. This is normally followed by fixed-based or full-flight simulator training and, ultimately, operating the actual aircraft. Operating manuals must meet the needs of initial training, transition training, and line operations.
**Note
As is often the case in aviation, different manufacturers, different National Aviation Authority (NAA), or different users often refer to a given item by different names. The naming of aircraft manuals is not an exception. This article uses the terms Aircraft Operating Manual (AOM) and Flight Crew Operating Manual (FCOM). However, each of these designations is interchangeable with other terms. As examples:
Aircraft Operating Manual: This manual might be referred to as Aircraft Flight Manual, Airplane Flight Manual or Aeroplane Flight Manual (AFM)
Flight Crew Operating Manual: Also referred to as Aircraft Operating Manual (AOM), Aircraft Operating Instructions (AOI) or, more simply, Pilot's Manual.
Further confusion arises with the introduction of terms such as Operations Manual or Company Operations Manual (COM) which deal with how the organisation conducts flight operations and are a requirement imposed by the NAA.