SWA On Track For RNP By End Of 2010

By Andrew Compart

Southwest has equipped 66% of its aircraft for Required Navigation Performance and is on track to have all of its pilots complete their RNP training by December 2010, airline officials say.

That means Southwest would be in a position to use RNP procedures wherever they are in place, even though it will not be until 2013 that its entire fleet is RNP-capable. RNP procedures use satellite-based navigation and aircraft flight management systems to fly very accurate approaches custom-made for different airports.

How many airports Southwest will use RNP for in December 2010, however, remains uncertain. That’s because the airline plans to use it only where there are RNP procedures in place that make the flight path shorter or provide some other benefit, such as previously unavailable access to a particular runway.

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