American Airlines has decided to equip its fleet of Airbus A321s with the SafeRoute Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) In system from L3-Thales partnership ACSS, the companies announced Wednesday. The suite includes supporting Traffic Collision Avoidance System (TCAS) processors and displays. ACSS already provides the technology for American’s Airbus A330 fleet.
SafeRoute uses ADS-B technology to increase safety and efficiencies for flight operations, including Cockpit Display of Traffic Information (CDTI) for enhanced traffic situational awareness; CDTI Assisted Visual Separation (CAVS); and an initial version of Interval Management, an application that supports aircraft spacing management.
American Airlines’ ADS-B In equipage will support an ACSS/FAA agreement to implement the SafeRoute suite in the U.S. National Airspace System and to gather, analyze, and report ADS-B In application benefits.
ACSS’s SafeRoute uses ADS-B In technology to improve situational awareness for pilots and improve the aircraft’s operating efficiency during takeoff, en route, approach, and landing. The initial Interval Management application aids efficiency by allowing aircraft to achieve and maintain desired spacing intervals. Combining Optimized Profile Descent procedures with SafeRoute’s initial Interval Management application decreases low-level vectoring and increases arrival performance, resulting in reduced noise, emissions, and fuel burn.