SESAR is also about quick wins
An interview with Peter Sørensen, Director IATA Europe
Peter Sørensen has been with the International Air Transport Association (IATA) since 2006 and was recently appointed Director of its European regional office responsible for Safety, Operations and Infrastructure. Prior to this he has held the positions of manager of the Executive Director’s office at the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) and General Secretary of the European Cockpit Association.
1. What are the airline’s expectations for Single European Sky and the SESAR programme?
We have expectations in three main areas: firstly, identifying some ‘quick wins’ in the 2010 timeframe, based on currently existing technology. Although SESAR is a long-term programme, these are already coming out of the SJU now and are more urgent than ever in the current economic crisis. Secondly, we see the need to reduce fragmentation - the airline industry has been waiting for this for a long time. Finally, we also have expectations that this common approach will lead to the validation of new concepts, procedures and technologies ready for adoption from 2013 onwards.
2. SESAR is expected to make improvements in terms of cost, capacity, safety and environmental impact – which of these is the most urgent from IATA’s perspective?
These are the key performance indicators for SESAR and for us, and while safety is always the number one priority, all have equal importance. Due to the current crisis we have seen a large drop in traffic and, although we are unlikely to see a full recovery until 2013, we need to look at capacity now to be ready for a new upturn in traffic when it comes. In looking for immediate improvements in flight efficiencies we have an opportunity now, while traffic is lower, to make progress in areas such as Continuous Descent Operations (CDO) and Collaborative Decision Making (CDM). The environmental benefits from these efficiencies could amount to annual fuel burn reductions of 265.000 tons by 2013. Cost efficiencies are also needed urgently. Losses of around USD 11 billion are forecast for airlines in 2009, and delays and flight inefficiencies could cost up to EUR 3 billion. Furthermore, the average unit cost of flying is 70% higher in the EU than in the US – we need an improved performance-based, system-wide approach.
3. How can SESAR make a contribution to the IATA’s own targets in these areas?
Currently, crisis mode is one of the drivers for IATA and airlines and we must focus on quick wins from SESAR to help with this. CDM, SWIM and validation of trajectory-based management would all be positive outcomes, as would international interoperability, which would allow systems and components from different manufacturers and countries to exchange information and work with each other. IATA sees this as a particularly important target, and SESAR can complement existing international cooperation in this and other areas, such as AIRE in the area of reducing environmental impact.
