case study flight plans

Aircraft IT OPS – March / April 2020

Case Study: Building innovative route optimizing flight planning platform at Qantas

Author: mike riegler, manager business innovation and support flight operations, qantas.

Building innovative route optimizing flight planning platform

ABOUT QANTAS

Let’s start by introducing you to Qantas, which turns 100 in November 2020. Qantas group includes Jetstar, our low cost carrier (LCC), QantasLink, regional operations  and Qantas Mainline including international and domestic operations. The fleet currently stands at nearly 320 aircraft flying 180,000 flights a year and carrying 56 million passengers. That generates revenue of $17.9 billion against which, the cost of fuel alone is $3.8 billion. The solution covered in this article is currently only deployed in Qantas mainline but the intention is to expand that across the group as the solution evolves.

Qantas first embarked on the flight planning journey in 2010 by visiting all major global flight planning system vendors in order to better understand the state of play. We discovered that all systems had core route optimization algorithms that were conceived in the eighties. These systems used techniques that excluded results after great circle fuel and time estimations were made. For example, Qantas’s legacy mainframe system would only take four of the best answers through to the fuel and navigation calculation process meaning that optimal answers might have been excluded early in the process. A lot of systems were built tightly coupled to this algorithm and broader system design was influenced by this close integration. This made most systems difficult to change.

WHAT QANTAS WANTED TO ACHIEVE WITH FLIGHT PLANNING

The objective was to create a cutting-edge route optimization engine that would find the best route every time. The engine needed to model aircraft performance capabilities for specific aircraft tails and assess fuel and navigation constraints up front in the flight planning calculation process.

The new solution allows Qantas to protect and evolve our unique fuel policy: The Australian continent is separated from other major continents by thousands of miles of ocean, because of this, free flight capability is important. The advanced free flight algorithm allows Qantas to take advantage of favorable tail winds and avoid headwinds and therefore optimize fuel and payload uplift.

Qantas wanted the flight planning solution to be future-proofed; therefore we chose to adopt emerging data standards as part of the design. In 2010 Qantas engaged with ICAO and IATA to learn about emerging System Wide Information Management (SWIM) based data standards. What we saw was revolutionary; we wanted to adopt the concepts discussed in documents such as FFICE (Flight and Flow Information in a Collaborative Environment) as we saw that these concepts had the potential to deliver benefits for our organization. For an airline, data interoperability with Air Navigation Service Providers (ANSP) sets the foundations for automation thus enabling Trajectory Based Operations (TBO). As airspace rules become more complex and aviation traffic volumes continue to increase, we see efficient data management as key to reducing costs while maintaining high compliance and safety standards.

In designing the system, it was important that Qantas used off-the-shelf products where practical to take advantage of the community model that encourages product evolution. Our IT project management also wanted to adopt the latest cloud-based IT platforms to take advantage of features such as scalability and redundancy.

The system that emerged from this was implemented in October 2018. The Qantas Airbus A380 fleet was the first fleet to be dispatched with the new system. Over the course of eight months the remainder of the Qantas fleet was gradually rolled out, last fleet being the Boeing 737. The implementation started with long-haul because we knew we would encounter complex data problems that we wanted to solve for early in the process. We then deployed medium range operations, completing the deployment with the higher volume domestic operation. The higher volume operations were deployed with our automated Airport Suitability Module designed and built with our partners at Smart4Aviation. This module is the cornerstone to system automation, which we continue to build out and integrate to the S4A event management framework expanding the automation capabilities of the solution.

The decision to build rather than buy a flight planning system was a tough one for Qantas but following unsuccessful attempts to adapt off-the-shelf flight planning systems to the Qantas operation, the executive was finally convinced that building in-house was the best long-term investment decision for the business. We started very small, embarking on a six month proof of concept and, once the results had been proved positive, that enabled us to move forward and start the flight planning system replacement project. In the early days of the project, the business was inexperienced and somewhat naïve thinking that everything could be done in-house. However, Qantas lacked the project management discipline and soon learned the value of utilizing specialists in that field.

LESSONS LEARNED

There were some key lessons learned over the course of the project. We realized that there is a range of complex skills required to complete a project such as this – it’s necessary to understand the right team structure needed for the job. From program managers who manage up and keep the executive body engaged to project managers who build the plan and keep everyone honest in sticking to the plan as well as solution architects designing the solution and business analysts getting ‘into the weeds’ and understanding the detail of the problem. Test managers, testers, change managers and training managers all contributed a diverse set of skills to create a great team.

Another thing learned was that the team must evolve over the course of the project and that different disciplines have different focuses at various times. Early on, the solution architect, project manager, business analysts and the SMEs (subject matter experts) need to define the solution; later in the project, the communications and the change managers step up and help to implement the change. One constant throughout this project was that SMEs were always needed and were always working at full capacity – we always struggled with finding SME capacity.

When this diverse range of individuals comes together with the strong culture, great things can be achieved. One of the key human factors of the project has been resilience. We came across so many barriers; every week there was a major hurdle that we had to get around and the ability of the team to navigate through that was critical to the success of the project.

WHAT WAS ACHIEVED

The flight planning algorithm

We initially developed this (figure 1) with the Australian Centre for Field Robotics (ACFR) at Sydney University. The ACFR are path optimization specialists who helped automate mining operations in Western Australia, delivered automated straddle carriers for Australian shipping ports, and worked with the military and in the agricultural domain. Over a period of six months Qantas and the ACFR jointly developed a proof of concept route optimization engine. Probabilistic roadmap techniques and up-front consideration of performance, fuel and navigation constraints ensured that the algorithm considered all possible paths. Data is broken down to a set of nodes and costs are assigned to these nodes. Path search algorithms then plot optimum routing through these nodes at all possible weights solving for the search criteria specified.  

Cost, Fuel or speed analyses ensure that the best path is found based on the preconfigured set of inputs. The cost function is expandable and can be adapted to any set of costs that an airline can model, which is a challenge in itself.

Navigation constraints are modelled in the data; users do not drive the system, it’s a data driven solution. These principles form the foundation of automation.

The system can accept multiple requests for a flight plan and receive multiple answers. The ability to ask multiple questions of the optimizer and receive multiple responses enables our business to model all the different constraints for a sector and have the answers precomputed so that the dispatcher simply analyses the results.

The engine workers in the flight planning algorithm can scale up in a cloud environment when flight plan request loads require. So, in the mornings with peak domestic traffic, there can be more workers and then that can be scaled down in quieter times, optimizing capacity and cost.

FLIGHT PLANNING APPLICATION

The custom built flight planning application (figure 2) was designed and developed with our partner Smart4Aviation. The flight planning application is the user’s window to the flight planning algorithm: it controls all the inputs and the outputs both to the engine and to other modules in the solution. The solution combines existing Smart4Aviation applications; Smart BRIEF, Smart MET, Smart NOTAM MANAGER, Smart VIEW+ and Smart COMM with the bespoke flight planning application. The solution is highly configurable and adaptable. The solution allows Qantas to define engine inputs and outputs and can in fact be adapted to any engine.

As I’ve already mentioned, the Qantas group includes multiple airlines with multiple fuel policies. As previously mentioned we wanted to future proof the solution; in this context meaning the ability to plan multiple fuel policies. This is achieved through the configuration of inputs and outputs external to the engine. Inputs are abstracted from the flight planning engine, allowing for multiple airline configurations. The configuration framework allows an airline to manage their own fuel policy for different fleets, flights, sector and times of day as well as for different airlines.

The solution is designed for automation and exception handling: we want to ensure that flight plans are refreshed with timely operational data to ensure that the changing operational environment is reflected in all operational flight plans. Working with Smart4Aviation, Qantas has now built an extensive event management framework with event triggers based on time, receipt of data or changes in data impacting a flight. Event triggers that have been created include, new or changed Zero Fuel Weight, estimated departure time changes, atmospheric weather or GRIB data refreshes, TAFOR changes (Terminal Aerodrome Forecast) impacting an airport used in a flight plan, operational fuel requirement changes to what was originally planned. A new flight plan can be automatically generated when any of these events are received. The system automatically describes the event in the name of the new scenario, letting the user know why the new scenario was created. As a result, the dispatcher moves away from driving the system and configuring inputs to analyzing the output; more of an operational analyst rather than a flight planning system driver. The solution has a comprehensive airport suitability module which automatically reads Terminal Area Forecasts (TAFOR) messages and applies the configurable airline policies defining the operational restrictions for the flight plan. So, once again, the TAFOR is read and runway directions are automatically selected for departure and arrival. So, we’re getting very close to the concept of runway direction to runway direction flight planning.

Qantas calculates flight plans ten hours before departure so the crew can get an early indication of what their narrow route briefing package and the route of the day will look like. Similar to the flight object concept, this route and briefing package is refreshed closer to departure. The Flight Object concept discusses the creation of the flight object a long way out and then, as data gets more accurate closer to departure, you feed that data into the flight object and update the crew and dispatcher as required. This automated calculation is achieved through time-based event triggers.

We’re currently working on building the exception-based User interface. User interaction is very different in an automated flight planning system. There are benefits to be achieved if the optimizer can plan and choose the best flight plan. The concept of exception handling means that the user just needs to be alerted to exceptions or choices as they surface. If it’s a CAVOK (Cloud and Visibility OK) day and flight plans are being generated with no issues, they should just go through to the pilot without any intervention from the dispatcher. However, when there are weather or political issues that were not forecast, then user intervention may be required. We’re also working on integrating the Aircraft Situational Display (ASD) with the system so that we enhance the operational picture that is presented to the dispatcher. The concept of exception handling means that the dispatcher is not in the detail of flight plan production and therefore is not across all the detail in every flight plan; therefore the dispatcher needs the ability to step out and have a broader view of the operational environment that they are working in as well as dive into the detail when required. A graphical tool that overlays weather, navigation data and flight plan trajectories, gives them that situational awareness.

The Navigation database

The third component of the solution is the navigation database (figure 3). Once again, Qantas used off-the-shelf components which have been built out with airline specific requirements. The navigation database is supplied by our partner Frequentis, an Austrian company who also supply EuroControl with the EAD (European Aeronautical Database). From the Qantas perspective, this is our SWIM (System-Wide Information Management) hub; we’ve selected this consciously as we want to future proof the solution. We’ve seen the emerging standards and want to talk the same language as Air Traffic Control or ANSPs (Air Navigation Service Providers). In the Constellation solution we used the AIXM (Aeronautical Information Exchange Model) extensibility to cater for airline specific data features. Therefore, the solution is an AIXM based navigation database which was designed by ANSPs for ANSPs but extended for airlines. The data model was extended for the following airline features; company routes, custom airspace, runway direction minima, airport classification or usage, taxi fuel and time, arrival allowance and custom connections between route segments.

The AIXM data model includes an extensive temporality model that allows our business to model future constraints. For example, AIRAC (Aeronautical Information Regulation And Control) cycle changes can be planned on and operational impact assessed well in advance of effective date. NOTAM constraint linkage is another key improvement in the system. In the old legacy system, there was no linkage between a NOTAM and the underlying navigation data that it impacted. So, we’ve used the AIXM 5 event feature (designed for digital NOTAMs) to introduce this linkage. Basically, an xml tag is added on top of the raw ICAO NOTAM, which includes the impacted entity information and the effectivity of the NOTAM. When the NOTAM is sent across to the navigation database, this temporal information is then attached to the feature that is impacted by the NOTAM thereby automatically processing the temporality and creating the linkage between the NOTAM and underlying navigation data. This provides a key benefit when processing subsequent updates to that NOTAM transmitted as NOTAMR or NOTAMC. The subsequent updates come in and identify that the NOTAMs previously being applied to a feature in the navigation database and can automatically remove or update the constraint on that feature. When ANSPs or data originators start publishing NOTAMs in xml, something we’re all hoping for, these NOTAMs will be able to come through the Qantas system and automatically attach to the data constraints: once again, removing the human from driving the system and freeing them to concentrate on analyzing the results.

I’ll just expand on the conversation regarding SWIM (System Wide Information Management). (figure 4). When Qantas started engaging with these concepts, we felt that it would revolutionize the way that we deal with data. Anyone who’s ever worked in a NOTAM office or a navigation back-end office will understand that it’s tedious work, pouring through reams and reams of technical data, trying to understand the meaning. What SWIM does, is allow airline data management systems to talk the same language as the ANSP data management systems allowing the system to interpret meaning and apply the intent. This interoperability delivers quality, which equates to safety; structure, which is the foundation for automation; global coverage and dynamic updates which ensures timelines of data.

The richness of the AIXM information exchange model is built based on AIP (Aeronautical Information Publications) information. Qantas’s current navigation data is supplied in an ARINC 424 text file. It’s nowhere near as rich as AIXM and is designed specifically for the purpose of flight planning. AIP information holds a range of other data that is also relevant to flight planning. Combining all this data into one, machine readable data model that can be exchanged directly with data originators, enables seamless data processing, delivering the benefits of data richness. This rich data set can then be delivered to the optimization engine to ensure the optimal route of the data is also compliant with navigation data constraints.

KEY ACHIEVEMENTS OF THE PROJECT

We have realized increased accuracy of our flight plans (figure 5) as a result of the rich data sets and improved modelling techniques. Fuel and flight time efficiencies are allowing ultra-long-haul operations and delivering cost benefits to the airline. Increased automation in the flight planning process and improved end user experience; as mentioned above, we’re changing the way in which they interact with the whole business of flight planning and to move from system drivers to become operational analysts. Systematic solutions guarantee optimum results every time.

PRACTICAL EXAMPLES

A couple of example use cases will help to illustrate how the new solution works for us.

Planning for temporality

Illustrated in figure 6 is the East coast of Australia with 14 hour flights coming down from the US West coast every day and every day we have special use airspace being actively turned on by NOTAMs for different times in the day. The temporality of the data allows us to set these activation times in the back end and the 4D trajectory optimization of the engine allows us to speed up or slow down and interact with these activation times and avoid the constrained area where possible. The picture on the left of the figure show a flight plan that was created without the 4D trajectory optimization which has built a route that goes around the constrained airspace. The picture on the right shows 4D optimization for a 14 hour flight which has slowed down or speeded up over the course of the flight to move through this airspace when the special use airspace is not active, therefore saving track miles and fuel.

A similar example, with route segments and airway constraints, can be seen in figure 7.

The airway branching off to the right is constrained; the picture on the left shows where 4D optimization is not applied, and that path or branch to the right isn’t considered in the flight planning process. In the picture on the right, the system speeds up or slows down the flight to open up routing options providing fuel saving opportunities.

Constellation Navigation Data

The final picture presents one of our more challenging flight planning problems and longest flights. The Perth to London sector, at 17 hours and 20 minutes presents a range of complex data problems. Departing from the West coast of Australia the flight plan can either go straight into free-flight airspace (the blue area) or, if the winds are pushing up from the South, the optimal route will be over Asia and remain within the constrained airway environment all the way to Europe. If the flight is pushed into the free-flight airspace the correct entry and exit gates are automatically selected by the system. This is because the entry and exit gates are form part of the free-flight airspace. Then there is the requirement to plan on defined direct connections in the Mali airspace. Directs are built into the data enabling the system to automatically comply with the ANSP constraints. Similar concepts can be used for European Flexible Use Airspace (FUA) with the data model temporality restricting the use to published times. All ANSPs publish pinch and catch points on the edge of free flight airspace and if that can, once again, be modelled in the data and exchanged directly with airline data management systems these constraints can be automatically ingested. At the moment we have to manually build these airspaces and update them when the state data changes.

In our legacy system, one dispatch shift was used to plan these two flights; Perth to London to Perth. Due to the system automation and data configuration these sectors are now less complex from a dispatcher perspective and can be dispersed amongst other flight plan allocations. We are working on enhancements now to allow users to model multiple answers so that sector variations can be created by the automation for the flight scenario. We want to model these differences so that the dispatcher doesn’t have to manually drive the system; the answer should be sitting there, already calculated.

The more options that we can define in the data means the more options that can be presented for the engine to solve. So, through 4D optimization, temporal constraints and through efficient data management, we want to open up, where possible, all the various options to the state-of-the-art optimization engine.

Continual optimization assessment is important on longer routes as time and weight information is updated. Qantas regularly re-optimizes in-flight in a process called DARPing and we’re currently building an automated DARP (Dynamic Airborne Reroute Procedure) capability. This enhancement will automatically re-optimize our long-haul flights using the latest weather, weight and time information. If a crew gets a flight plan an hour before departure, by the time when they actually depart the zero fuel weight and departure time could be slightly different. Any difference in weight or time means that the point in which the weather and aircraft performance data is integrated is different leading to a routing outcome. What we want to try and achieve is systematic DARPing once the aircraft gets to top of climb so that we have an accurate weight and time. The new information can then be uplinked to the crew, laterally, vertically and temporally re-optimized.

PROJECT SUNRISE

At Qantas we are looking to plan next generation aircraft to the edge of their endurance. Efficient data management is key to enabling this. Defining constraints in the data allows dispatchers to move away from driving the system which is critical for these ultra-long haul sectors. The dispatcher can be a third pair of eyes in the cockpit, providing enhanced support to crew members.

Qantas now has a cutting-edge route optimizer which enables better route optimization. Trajectory based operations supported by event triggers in the flight planning application means that the organization can be sure that the optimal route is always available and compliant with the operational environment constraints. When we create a flight plan, we don’t want it sitting there and becoming stale; as the external environment changes, we need to update that flight plan so that, at any point in time when you go to that flight, you can see the latest possible optimized and compliant result.

The solution will continue to be built out next year as we offer this new flight planning solution to the market. The automation platform will be tested and tuned by Qantas in the operational environment and expect it to be fully operational in mid-2020. ETOPS 330, statistical contingency and integrated situation awareness will also by rolled out by mid-2020. Beyond that the team will continue to build upon the SWIM foundations implementing the latest FIXM and IWXXM standards, advanced tankering, further ANSP system to system integration and graphical flight planning are some of the new features to be rolled out later in the year.

In 2020, we plan to formalize our partnership and actively begin to offer a complete flight planning solution to other airlines around the world. This will include the establishment of a data management service, flight planning optimization consultation and training services. This partnership will guide the product into the future setting an innovative strategy to allow airlines to optimize their flight operations.

We’re proud to be able to say that we have developed a state-of-the-art flight planning solution with our partners Smart4Aviation and Frequentis. The complex flight planning problem will continue to throw challenges at our organization bur we are confident that the Constellation solution will meet these challenges well into the future.  

Contributor’s Details

Michael riegler.

Michael has 30 years’ aviation industry experience. First as an air traffic control officer in the Royal Australian Air Force, then a variety of roles in a 22-year career working for Qantas, including Load Control, Flight Dispatch and Flight Dispatch Systems. Michael is now Manager Innovation and Support in Flight Operations overseeing the commissioning of the system and fleet roll out that culminated in the successful cutover of the final B737 fleet in June 2019.

Qantas Airways Limited is the flag carrier of Australia and its largest airline by fleet size, international flights and international destinations. It is the third oldest airline in the world with a mixed fleet of Boeing 737, 747 and 787 and Airbus A330 and A380 types. Qantas is a founding member of the  Oneworld  airline alliance.

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Flight Planning

Introduction:.

• While often associated with completing a navigation log for a cross-country, flight planning is a process that must be conducted even for local flights in the traffic pattern
• It is a descriptive process therefore involving more than one type of navigation
• If no wind information is available, plan using statistical winds, make them headwinds to be conservative in your fuel planning
• Pilots will chose a route of flight and select cruise altitude based on a variety of factors
• Course: is pre-flight
• Track: is flown
• Charts are all "true" as in true north and must be compensated to find magnetic north
• Diverts (direction and channels/frequencies)
• Check points should be set approximately 10 NM apart
• Your first checkpoint should be Top of Climb (TOC) and the last should be Top of Descent (TOD)

Flight Planning:

• The purpose of flight planning is to become familiar with information pertaining to an intended flight
• The work put in is also necessary to accurately complete FAA Form 7233-1, better known as a flight plan , if one is required

Initial Planning Considerations:

• According to FAR 91.103, pilots in command are required to familiarize themselves with information pertaining to the flight
• The "how" is a product of flight planning but the "who, what, when, and where" provides a useful starting point
• WX: Weather Reports
• K: Known ATC Delays (check https://www.fly.faa.gov/adv/advAdvisoryForm.jsp
• R: Runway Lengths of intended use
• A: Alternatives if the flight cannot be completed as planned
• F: Fuel requirements
• T: Takeoff and landing distances
• N: Notice to Air Missions (NOTAMS) and Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs)

Visual Flight Rules:

• There are no requirements within the Federal Aviation Regulations to select and plan for an alternate
• This does not preclude you from being prepared

Instrument Flight Rules:

• If the weather is forecast between 1 hour before to 1 hour after ETA to be below 2000' ceiling or less than 3 miles visibility, an alternate is required
• In addition to the 1-2-3 rule, if your destination does not have an instrument approach procedure published, an alternate must be chosen in case the field were to fall into instrument meteorologic conditions
• 800' ceiling, 2 miles visibility, if non-precision approach
• 600' ceiling, 2 miles visibility, if precision approach
• If no approach exists for the alternate runway, descent from cruising altitude must be possible under Visual Flight Rules
• Note that minimums published for approaches may differ

Performance Required:

• First, determine how much you intend to carry between passengers, cargo, and then fuel, all necessary to complete the weight and balance
• With the aircraft weight known, atmospheric information lends to takeoff performance and route selection

Types of Navigation:

• Navigation can be accomplished in several ways
• Two examples include pilotage and dead reckoning which, although different, are not mutually exclusive
• Navigation with visual landmarks

Dead Reckoning:

• Dead recokoning is navigation by planning
• Position: A geographic point defined by coordinates
• Course: the aircrafts intended path
• Drift Angle: difference between the course and heading
• When track = course you are flying exactly where you intend
• Time: Can be expressed in two ways, as the time of day or elapsed time
• Speed: The magnitude of the velocity of an aircraft

Flight Planning & Navigation Tools:

• Various tools are necessary to complete a flight plan
• Navigation Charts
• Internet resources
• Digital Navigation Logs
• AOPA iFlightPlanner

Mission Considerations:

• What are you carrying?
• Where are you going?
• Carrying people or baggage impacts fuel and time considerations, which informs route planning and potential intermediate stops to reach the destination
• Consider weight and balance limitations (people, baggage, and fuel with reserves) - can it be done in one trip?
• Consider personal minimums with any calculation, including margins of safety relative to chart calculated performance numbers

Route Planning:

Determining a route:.

• While the most direct route is often preferred, deviations may be required due to airspace , terrain , availability of navaids/checkpoints, and weather, both winds and obscurations

Airspace to be Crossed:

• Review processes and procedures to cross special use, other, and various classifications of airspace

Choosing Checkpoints and/or Landmarks:

• Checkpoints allow you to follow the progress of your flight against your planning calculations
• Landmarks can be checkpoints but may also inform a pilot where they are in relation to checkpoints
• Are they unique enough to be identified?
• Are they large enough to be found?
• Are they small enough to be considered a "point?"
• Checkpoints should be appropriately 10 NM apart
• They may be points off the route which you can identify when abeam
• Use of tools such as satellite maps (Google, Bing, etc.) allow for you to preview checkpoints

Types of Landmarks:

Positive landmarks:.

• Can be positively identified and plotted as a point on a chart (i.e., mountains, large bodies of water, etc.)
• You need not pass directly over a positive landmark for it to be useful to you
• Be cautious of man-made landmarks as they may have changed, moved, or no longer exist
• Water features are depicted using two tones of blue, and are considered either "Open Water" or "Inland Water"
• "Open Water," a lighter blue tone, shows the shoreline limitations of all coastal water features at the average (mean) high water levels for oceans and seas
• Light blue also represents the connecting waters like bays, gulfs, sounds, fjords, and large estuaries
• Exceptionally large lakes like the Great Lakes, Great Salt Lake, and Lake Okeechobee, etc., are considered Open Water features
• The Open Water tone extends inland as far as necessary to adjoin the darker blue "Inland Water" tones
• All other bodies of water are marked as "Inland Water" in the darker blue tone

Linear Landmarks:

• Can be positively identified but not specifically plotted because they extend for some distance
• Features such as roads, railroads, coastlines, power lines and rivers may make good timing checkpoints if they are perpendicular to the course line and have other specific environmental particulars that identify your position
• Rivers and power lines must be easy to find, either isolated or large so they are unmistakable with confirming landmarks so they can be confirmed
• Railroads and major highways are almost always depicted on aeronautical charts

Uncertain Landmarks:

• Features that a pilot suspects he can correlate with the chart, but they may not be fully reliable
• Landmarks such as oil wells, and windmills may be repetitious
• Objects may look much alike

Spotting Landmarks:

• Offset to the landmark slightly to have better visibility out the side of the aircraft looking straight down
• Use Google Earn to spot nearby landmarks to reference when near
• Program the point into a GPS

Weather Planning:

• Pilots are required to review official weather sources to make initial go/no-go decisions

Selecting Cruise Altitudes:

Terrain and obstacles:.

• Although seemingly obvious, controlled flight into terrain is still a leading caues of aviation accidents
• Terrain and obstacles along the route of flight must be avoided either laterally or vertically
• Additionally, a brief study of the map should highlight hazards should the pilot chose to alter the route, in flight

Antenna Towers:

• Numerous skeletal structures such as radio and television antenna towers exceed 1,000' or 2,000' AGL
• Most skeletal structures are supported by guy wires which are very difficult to see in good weather and can be invisible at dusk or during periods of reduced visibility
• These wires can extend about 1,500 feet horizontally from a structure; therefore, all skeletal structures should be avoided horizontally by at least 2,000 feet
• Additionally, new towers may not be on your current chart because the information was not received prior to the printing of the chart

Overhead Wires:

• Transmission and utility lines often span approaches to runways, natural flyways, such as lakes, rivers, gorges, and canyons, and cross other landmarks pilots frequently follow, such as highway, railroad tracks, etc.
• Supporting structures such as guy wires exist here as well
• However, many power lines do not require notice to the FAA and, therefore, are not marked and/or lighted
• Many of those that do require notice do not exceed 200 feet AGL or meet the Obstruction Standard of 14 CFR Part 77 and, therefore, are not marked and/or lighted
• Pilots are cautioned to remain extremely vigilant, especially in the case of seaplane and/or float-equipped aircraft

Unmanned Balloons:

• You can expect restricted airspace established in the vicinity of these balloons
• Good judgment on the part of the pilot dictates that aircraft should remain well clear of all unmanned free balloons and flight below them should be avoided at all times
• Pilots are urged to report any unmanned free balloons sighted to the nearest FAA ground facility with which communication is established to assist FAA ATC facilities in identifying and flight following unmanned free balloons operating in the airspace
• This is especially true when operating below 500' AGL and morseo below 200' AGL
• Also, many of these structures do not meet charting requirements or may not yet be charted because of the charting cycle
• Some structures do not require obstruction marking and/or lighting and some may not be marked and lighted even though the FAA recommended it
• Notice to Air Missions (NOTAMs) will typically be published for any known unlit structures, but pilot vigilance is imperative in case the FAA has not yet been notified of outages

Glide Distance:

• The glide distance of the airplane is based on the glide ratio, a performance number to provide an idea of the options available in an engine out
• More than airports, suitable roads and fields options for emergency landings increases with increased altitude
• Even further, FAR 91.509 further specifies supplemental survival equipment based on distance from shore

Effects of Winds:

• Winds are an important planning consideration both during terminal (surface winds) and cruise (winds aloft) environment

Effects of Surface Winds:

• Surface winds are most commonly used for determining an optimal runway in the terminal area
• Similarly, surface winds provide insight into optimal landing surfaces in an emergency along a route of flight

Effects of Winds at Cruise:

• Wind direction and intensity at various cruise altitudes are an important consideration to determine cruise performance
• Winds aloft are the most direct means to plan for winds at cruise altitudes along the route of flight
• Headwinds increase flight time and therefore fuel burn, reducing range, while tailwinds do just the opposite
• Further, headwinds require for power (increased fuel burn) and tailwinds decrease power requirements (decreased fuel burn)

VFR Cruising Altitudes and Flight Levels:

• On a magnetic course of zero degrees through 179 degrees, any odd thousand foot MSL altitude + 500 feet (such as 3,500, 5,500, or 7,500); or
• On a magnetic course of 180 degrees through 359 degrees, any even thousand foot MSL altitude + 500 feet (such as 4,500, 6,500, or 8,500)
• When operating above 18,000 feet MSL, maintain the altitude or flight level assigned by ATC
• Account for changes in direction of flight along a flight plan and corresponding altitude changes to meet the standard

• ATC may give other restrictions if you are under their control, say with flight following or when within controlled airspace
• IFR Cruising Altitudes can be found by referencing FAR 91.179

Memory Aids:

• The 13 Colonies (an odd number) were on the east coast of the U.S.
• Eastern states have odd shapes
• NEODD SWEVEN: North East Odd, South West Even

Determining Headings/Courses:

• Once a route has been chosen, you need to calculate headings/courses to be flown
• Courses are the direction which the aircraft is actually traveling (impacted by winds)
• Headings are the directions which the aircraft faces (where it is pointed)

Wind Correction Angle:

• Find your winds aloft through an official weather source
• Place the wind direction under the "True Index" arrow
• Using a reference line on the E6B scale, measure up and plot the velocity
• Rotate the compass rose until your True Course is under the True Index pointer
• Move the entire compass until the plot is over your True Airspeed
• This is your wind correction angle
• If it is located on the left of the line, it must be subtracted from the True Course
• If it is located on the right of the line, it must be added to the True Course
• Heading/courses can be expressed as either true or magnetic

True Courses and Headings:

• True north is the basis by which true courses are measured and true headings are calculated against

True North Defined:

• True north is the direction along the earth's surface towards the geographic North Pole
• It is the northerly point furthest from the equator (90°N)
• True headings can therefore be measured on most aeronautical maps, including sectionals, by reference to true north

Measuring True Course:

• Draw a straight line between two points (airports, checkpoints, etc.) on a sectional chart
• Next find the lines of longitude on a map
• Grab your plotter and place the reference hole over the intersection of the line of longitude
• Rotate the plotter so that it is parallel to the line you drew
• If there is more than one number, chose the number most appropriate for your direction of flight

Calculating True Heading:

• First, determine your wind correction angle
• True Heading = True Course (-left/+right) WCA

Magnetic Courses and Headings:

• As with true north, magnetic north is the basis by which magnetic courses and magnetic headings are calculated against

Magnetic North Defined:

• Magnetic north is the direction along the earth's surface which points toward the magnetic north pole
• Magnetic compasses point to this location and therefore it is magnetic headings that are flown
• The magnetic north pole is a shifting point which is not coincident with the "top" of the earth as defined by latitude and longitude

Calculating Magnetic Course:

• The angular difference between true north and magnetic north from any given position on the earth's surface (represented by isogonic lines)
• Isogonic lines are points of equal variation, represented in degrees east or west
• Deviations is usually pulled off a sectional chart however, other sources such as NOAA can provide this information
• The memory aide "east is least (minus), west is best (plus)" is often used to remember how to apply east and west variations
• Magnetic Course (MC) = True Course (TC) - East Variation
• Magnetic Course (MC) = True Course (TC) + West Variation

Calculating Magnetic Heading:

• All aircraft will have a deviation factor that must be applied
• Deviation is read off the compass card in the aircraft, and must be added or subtracted to the magnetic course as appropriate

Determining True Winds:

• Determining winds at altitude help guide your true heading
• Since winds aloft are expressed in "true," you will calculate the wind correction angle off true course

Determining Deviation:

• Deviation is found on a placard with your magnetic compass

Determining Variation:

• Variation is necessary for converting true headings to magnetic
• Magnetic variation depends on your location on the earth, as labeled by isogonic lines

Determining Compass Heading:

• Compass heading is determined by applying the deviation correction to the magnetic heading

Top of Climb:

• Departure Airport: 900 ft
• Cruise Altitude: 5,500 ft
• From Sea Level to 5,500' we calculate 9 minutes, 2.0 Gal, 13 NM
• Assuming 1,000' for the departure altitude we calculate: 1 minute, 0.4 Gal, 2 NM
• Subtract the difference: (9-1)=8 Min, (2.0-0.4)=1.6 Gal, (13-2)=11 NM
• Pay attention to the notes at the bottom of the chart, especially to add 1.1 Gal for taxi and takeoff

Time, Distance, and Speed Calculations:

• Utilizing a simple formula (Distance = Time x Ground Speed may be utilized
• Therefore, if you have any two, you can calculate the other

Time Calculations:

• 10 NM = Time (hours) x 100
• 10/100 = Time
• Multiply 0.1 by 60 (minutes in an hour) and you'll get 6, for 6 minutes to travel that distance at that ground speed
• Suppose D = distance, TT = total time, AS = air speed, WS = wind speed
• Then the equation for a direct headwind and tail wind is TT = D/(AS - WS) + D/(AS + WS) = 150/(100 - 50) + 150/(100 + 50) = 150/50 + 150/150 = 450/150 + 150/150 = 600/150 = 4
• With WS = 0 the equation becomes TT = 150/100 + 150/100 = 300/100 = 3
• In total, adding each leg, accounting for climb/descent, produces the time enroute

Zulu Time Converstions:

• Zulu time, also referred to a Greenwich Mean Time (GMT) is the standard time for all of aviation
• Many website and applications will help pilots calculate these times, which become important when trying to normalize timezones and input departure and arrival times when filing a flight plan
• To calculate, determine timezone correction and add (western hemisphere) or subtract (eastern hemisphere) to/from zulu time

Distance Calculations:

• Distance is rate time time
• You will travel 10% of speed in 6 minutes
• Distance = 0.1 (see above) x 100
• Distance = 10 NM
• Point to ground speed with the arrow
• Find time and read above
• For times under 3 minutes, the small arrow may need to be utilized

Completing a NAVLOG:

• Navigation logs, or NAVLOGs, is the printed, either physically or digitally, plan
• This plan accounts for the environment's effects on the aircraft, as well as aircraft anomolies like deviation
• Fill out the departure and arrival airport information including frequencies, traffic altitudes, and heights above ground
• Fill in information concerning flight service or any item you will want to reference in regards to that airport
• If you want, draw an airport diagram in the box but still carry a larger printed diagram for easier use and more detail
• Determine a MSL cruise altitude based on weather and direction of flight
• Reference above diagram
• Calculate pressure altitude for your airport (important for performance calculations)
• Determine the temperature (important for performance calculations)
• Calculate density altitude (important for performance calculations)
• Determine a horsepower setting and the accompanying RPM settings, KTAS and Gallons per Hour
• Write in the aircraft type
• Used to plot any changes to a heading for the entire route to estimate times, distances and fuel used
• True Course (TC): found on sectional using plotter
• True Wind: found on winds aloft forecasts
• True Heading (TH): calculated with flight computer (back of flight calculator)
• Variation (Var): simply the difference between true north and magnetic north, found on sectional for your route
• Deviation (Dev): found on the compass card in your aircraft
• Magnetic Heading (MH): TH corrected for variation
• Course Heading (CH): MH corrected for deviation
• Ground Speed (EST GS): found under the grommet when calculating wind correction angle
• Distance (DST): calculated with POH and Plotter on the sectional
• Estimated Time En-route (ETE): calculated with flight computer (arrow on GS, time read under distance)
• Fuel Planning calculated with flight computer (arrow on GPH, read under time)
• SETTO: Startup, Taxi and Takeoff lost fuel, usually 1.4 Gal
• Total: Add everything up, this is a rough estimate for the flight, you will only use this section for planning on the ground
• Write aircraft tail number
• List all checkpoints and associated distances
• Write in any frequencies or IDs for route navigation
• CH can be copied from the preflight log
• Distance is measured off the sectional
• GS (first or second line only): copy from preflight log
• ETE: calculate same as preflight log
• Fuel: calculate same as preflight log
• In flight you will be filling in the other boxes as the flight progresses
• Weight and balance as calculated normally
• Fill out any weather information or notes you may have
• Check NOTAMs for the route of flight
• Fill out the flight plan for flight service
• All information is from the front of the navigation log
• Filed before flight with the FSS so they can keep a track of you. If you do not close the flight plan 30 minutes after the proposed arrival time, SAR (search and rescue) procedures begin
• Fill out airspeeds, runway lengths, and altitudes
• VFR Cross-Country Checklist
• Make sure all items are complete

Inflight Guide:

• After you've completed your flight log, consider the creation of an inflight guide to keep on your kneeboard during flight
• This inflight guide is not intended to create an extra step in flight planning but instead to make your life easier when you're flying
• Print outs of the local airport information from the Chart Supplement U.S.

Flight Planning Case Studies:

Private pilot (airplane) pilotage and dead reckoning airman certification standards:.

• Objective: To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with pilotage and dead reckoning
• References: FAA-H-8083-2 ( Risk Management Handbook ), FAA-H-8083-3 ( Airplane Flying Handbook ), FAA-H-8083-25 ( Pilot Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge ); VFR Navigation Charts
• Private Pilot - Pilotage and Dead Reckoning Lesson Plan

Private Pilot (Airplane) Pilotage and Dead Reckoning Knowledge:

Pa.vi.a.k1:, pa.vi.a.k2:, pa.vi.a.k3:, pa.vi.a.k4:, pa.vi.a.k4a:, pa.vi.a.k4b:, pa.vi.a.k4c:, pa.vi.a.k5:, pa.vi.a.k5a:, pa.vi.a.k5b:, pa.vi.a.k5c:, pa.vi.a.k5d:, pa.vi.a.k6:, pa.vi.a.k7:, private pilot (airplane) pilotage and dead reckoning risk management:, pa.vi.a.r1:, pa.vi.a.r2:, private pilot (airplane) pilot and dead reckoning skills:, pa.vi.a.s1:, pa.vi.a.s2:, pa.vi.a.s3:, pa.vi.a.s4:, pa.vi.a.s5:, pa.vi.a.s6:, pa.vi.a.s7:, private pilot (airplane) cross-country flight planning airman certification standards:.

• Objective: To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with ross-country flights and VFR flight planning
• References: 14 CFR part 91; AIM; Chart Supplements; FAA-H-8083-2 ( Risk Management Handbook ), FAA-H-8083-3 ( Airplane Flying Handbook ), FAA-H-8083-25 ( Pilot Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge ); NOTAMs; VFR Navigation Charts
• Note: Preparation, presentation, and explanation of a computer-generated flight plan is an acceptable option
• Private Pilot Cross-Country Flight Planning Lesson Plan

Private Pilot (Airplane) Cross-Country Flight Planning Knowledge:

Pa.i.d.k1a:, pa.i.d.k3b:, pa.i.d.k3c:, private pilot (airplane) cross-country flight planning risk management:, private pilot (airplane) cross-country flight planning skills:, instrument rating - cross-country flight planning airman certification standards:.

• Objective: To determine the applicant exhibits satisfactory knowledge, risk management, and skills associated with planning an IFR cross-country and filing an IFR flight plan
• References: 14 CFR part 91; AIM; Chart Supplements; FAA-H-8083-2 ( Risk Management Handbook ), FAA-H-8083-3 ( Airplane Flying Handbook ), FAA-H-8083-15, FAA-H-8083-16, FAA-H-8083-25 ( Pilot Handbook of Aeronautical Knowledge ); IFR Enroute Charts; NOTAMS; IFR Navigation Charts
• Instrument Rating - Cross-Country Flight Planning Lesson Plan

Instrument Rating - Cross-Country Flight Planning Knowledge:

Ir.i.c.k1a:, ir.i.c.k1b:, ir.i.c.k1c:, ir.i.c.k1d:, ir.i.c.k1e:, ir.i.c.k1f:, ir.i.c.k1g:, ir.i.c.k1h:, ir.i.c.k3a:, ir.i.c.k3b:, ir.i.c.k3c:, instrument rating - cross-country flight planning risk management:, instrument flight - cross-country flight planning skills:.

• The NTSB determines the probable cause(s) of this accident to be: The loss of engine power due to fuel exhaustion. Contributing to the accident was the lack of suitable terrain for the forced landing

Conclusion:

• It may be incorrect and calculations/adjustments may need to be made in flight, but having a point from which to depart leads to educated decisions
• When dead reckoning, you've done the math to determine timing, and so if you arrive at a checkpoint according to timing and direction but you don't see it, turn to your next heading and orient yourself
• Information to aircraft performance at various altitudes can be found in Chapter 5 of the Pilot Information Manual
• This means look at your chart first and then at the ground for your landmark
• If done the other way around you could find yourself staring at your map looking for a landmark that may not be charted
• There is no correct cruise altitude, its a balance of terrain and obstacles, glide distances, winds, required VFR cruising altitudes and flight levels, and smoothness of air
• It is advised that you call FBOs ahead of departures to ensure required services are available
• Chose an Fixed-Based Operator (FBO) ahead of landing and give them a call before you depart to ensure the desired services will be available, where you must go to receive them (i.e., fuel farms may not be at the FBO ramp), and any special parking instructions
• When planning fuel stops per VFR/IFR requirements, consider FBO hours, services, etc.
• When traveling cross-country, it is recommended to carry extra closes/toiletries (bingo bag) to mitigate comfort-based delays when making diversion decisions
• This includes terrain, navaid coverage, emergency options, etc.
• Weather products like windy.com offer additional insight into aviation weather forecasts and observations
• Don't forget to check SAFOs
• Remember mountain flying considerations
• A member of the AOPA? Try their flight planner
• CFI Notebook.net - Airport Lighting
• CFI Notebook.net - Navigation
• CFI Notebook.net - Restricted Airspace
• CFI Notebook.net - Standard Instrument Departures (SIDs)
• Review your flight planning safety knowledge by taking the Air Safety Institute's "A Visit to the Grey Lady" quiz
• Still looking for something? Continue searching:

References:

• Federal Aviation Administration - Pilot/Controller Glossary
• Aeronautical Information Manual (3-1-5) VFR Cruising Altitudes and Flight Levels
• Aeronautical Information Manual (7-6-4) Obstructions To Flight
• Aeronautical Information Manual (7-6-5) Avoid Flight Beneath Unmanned Balloons
• AOPA - Flight Tools
• ERAU Basic Flight Plan Page 1
• ERAU Basic Flight Plan Page 2
• Generic Flight Plan
• 1800wxbrief.com
• RunwayFinder
• Pilot Workshops - Finding the Airport
• FAA - ICAO FPL Quick Guide (2019)
• AeroNav Chart Users Guide
• Federal Aviation Regulations (91.119) Minimum safe altitudes: General

Flight Plan to Recovery: Preparing Airports for the Return of the Traveling Public (2020)

Chapter: session 4: airport case studies and best practices.

Below is the uncorrected machine-read text of this chapter, intended to provide our own search engines and external engines with highly rich, chapter-representative searchable text of each book. Because it is UNCORRECTED material, please consider the following text as a useful but insufficient proxy for the authoritative book pages.

21 SESSION 4  Airport Case Studies and Best Practices  Rhonda Hamm-Niebruegge, St. Louis Lambert International Airport and Chair, ACRP Oversight Committee, Moderator Presenters  Lance Lyttle, Seattle‐Tacoma International Airport Joseph Lopano, Tampa International Airport Kirk Hotelling, American Airlines Andrew Boyett, Southwest Airlines Joe Thornton, HMSHost Rob Mitchell, Uber Daniel Price, Transportation Security Agency Rhonda Hamm‐Niebruegge introduced the next segment, which is the airport’s perspective with Lance Lyttle, Managing Director, Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (SEA), and Joseph Lopano, Chief Executive Officer, Tampa International Airport. Both Lyttle and Lopano presented current practices implemented at their respective airports, including observations of immediate actions to take and how to lead the recovery effort. They both experienced the reduction in flights, subsequent retail closings, and employee furloughs and layoffs. Some temporary solutions included a hiring freeze and reduction on capital projects, though they found this is an optimal time to move forward on funded projects with limited activity in their airports. They both are working with industry associations to ensure there is adequate federal funding available and are keeping communication channels open within and outside their airports. A significant effort toward increased sanitation was implemented, as were telework options for their employees where possible. Both passenger and employee confidence is sought to bring the activity level back. Airports—Executive‐Level Discussion of Current and Future Plans   Lance Lyttle, Seattle‐Tacoma International Airport Joseph Lopano, Tampa International Airport Lance Lyttle began by stating that when SEA was faced with the COVID-19 crisis, SEAasked three questions: (1) What do we need to do immediately to weather the storm? (2) What do we need to do to lead the recovery effort? (3) What do we need to do to move forward? They came up with a three-phase approach to address the COVID-19 pandemic. First, he stated, they looked at what they needed to do immediately, for themselves and their

22 tenants, to help get through this crisis. They also understood that, at some point in time, there is going to be a recovery effort and that they wanted to be a part of leading this effort. After they looked at what they needed to do, they came up with their “FlyHealthy@SEA” program. He added they wanted to ensure they remained ahead of the curve when the traffic started coming back, knowing this recovery would probably take much longer than before. He stated that the aviation industry has always been resilient and will recover at some point in time. Lyttle stated they were only seeing approximately 2,500 to 3,000 passengers coming through a checkpoint during the height of this crisis, compared with 55,000 to 60,000 people coming through previously. He added that their airport dining and retail program had massive closures—60 out of almost 90 concession units closed. There were a lot of layoffs impacting the airports and regional staff, with about a 95% reduction in overall traffic at the airport, which, he said, “is extremely devastating.” Some of the immediate actions they undertook were to implement a hiring freeze with a focus on cash flow and a limit on any discretionary spending, to include traveling. They looked for anything they did not have to do in their 2020 budget. In reviewing their capital projects, of the two categories—(1) the cash-funded projects and (2) the bond-funded projects—they decided to move forward with the bond-funded projects if they could do them in a safe manner because that would not impact their cash flow. To preserve their cash, there were several cash-funded projects ($28 million) that they decided to defer. There were also some projects that they decided to move on with because they are security or safety related. They deferred the minimum annual guarantee for nearly all of their tenants at the airport, whether it was the airlines, concessionaires, taxi operators, or rental car companies. He added that this was their way of helping them to preserve their cash flow during this crisis. Lyttle added that he believed, as mentioned by Dow, that the industry had $10 billion in the initial package of the CARES Act, which did not actually include airports. So they worked with Airport Council International (ACI), American Association of Airport Executives (AAAE) and very closely with the Airport Minority Advisory Council (AMAC) to get funding into the Act. He and about nine other airport directors flew to Washington, D.C., in the middle of the crisis and met with the White House staff to stress how critical this was. The industry was fortunate to then receive the $10 billion. SEA received $192 million, although this was still not enough for the $250 million deficit that it had in revenues; but, Lyttle stated, it still goes a long way. He added that they focused on the things that could be immediately implemented to get them through, such as teleworking for employees who could work from home and having only essential people working at the airport. Lyttle described the next phase, which was leading the recovery. They established some guidelines and goals, including maintaining a safe and healthy environment and restoring confidence in travel, as mentioned by Dow earlier. In addition to restoring the confidence of the traveling public, it was important to restore and maintain the confidence of the airport employees, tenants, and contractors. They had to be confident that the airport is a safe and healthy environment not just for travelers and that the enthusiasm that they had

23 prior to the COVID-19 pandemic was there to get the passenger volume back. Lyttle stated, “We have to get passenger volume back, no matter what we do. If we don’t have people traveling again, then we’re going to be in dire straits.”   Lyttle further stated that they had a three-pronged approach: industry, corporate, and actions that were specific to SEA. On the industry side, they have two members of their team that are part of the Airports Council International (ACI) World task team that looks at what needs to be done industrywide and worldwide to restore passenger confidence for travel and establish aviation industry standards. At SEA, in addition to aviation, as a port, they also have maritime and economic development as well. Lyttle went on to say that their chief operating officer is coordinating the effort at the corporate level about when to bring people safely back to the airport. He mentioned that they have specific activities that they are doing at SEA and showed a snapshot of the organizational chart that they put together to show the effort with their subcommittees. He indicated that there is a group that focuses on health and public policies. In addition, they have a group that focuses on their partners with the airline, rental car companies, and taxi operators. Furthermore, they have a group that focuses on the customer, customer feedback, and changes that must be made in the terminal and in the corporate and industry effort. He stated that communication is very important. Lyttle expressed that it is important to have engagement and collaboration with other entities while looking at the return of travelers coming through the airport. Considerations include what needs to be done to maintain social distance, how best to promote a touchless experience, and who needs to be involved; such efforts cannot be done alone at the airport. Lyttle said, “You need the ground transportation, taxi and TNC [transportation network company] operators, the limousine drivers, the airlines, TSA, CBP [Customs and Border Protection], and CDC to participate as well as airport dining and retail.” He expressed that they need representatives from each of these groups throughout the airport to participate. Lyttle emphasized that they have a multilayered approach and that there is no one solution. They are doing multiple efforts to enhance cleaning, especially the various different touch points throughout the airport. He mentioned terminal improvements, such as signage and announcements by employees that remind people about social distancing. They recently passed the official policy of requiring everyone at the airport to wear a facial covering whether they are staff, a tenant, or a passenger. He showed some examples of practices implemented at SEA, such as the floor cards and sneeze guards at the common use ticket area counters and seating spacing markers and floor cards for physical distancing in the train boarding areas. Lyttle mentioned again that communications, both internal and external, are extremely important and that when the COVID-19 pandemic started, they had daily e-mail notifications with corporate to communicate throughout the entire port. They are still continuing that three times a week. For the airport specifically, they have a weekly e-mail sent out to let their employees know exactly what is currently happening. In addition, they are sending out a biweekly live broadcast featuring Lyttle and other members of the management team answering questions and presenting information on their efforts and allowing for a Q&A session.

24 Lyttle further stated that external communication to the public and information to the passengers are extremely important, so his public affairs team has been working closely with print media, TV, and social media to get its message out. Lyttle described some of the issues that SEA is facing and indicated that their commission just recently passed a motion to come up with a plan for temperature checks at the airport. He indicated that partnerships are important and, although it is not their area of expertise, it will be important to rely heavily on the subject matter experts such as the CDC, the state department of health, the county department of health, and CBP (for international arrivals). He referred to Dow regarding consistency across the nation and said he believed that the federal government has to take measures to have a standard across airports. He felt that this is going to be important for restoring passenger confidence. Lyttle indicated that SEA is going to continue to adhere to the CDC guidelines and that they consider the CDC to be the subject matter experts. He continued that, their innovations team, led by Innovation Director, Dave Wilson, is looking at everything, including doing its due diligence by investigating the feasibility of temperature sensors. He indicated that they are aware of issues with accuracy and false positives and are exploring true ultraviolet light cleaning, as mentioned by Godwin. He added that they are also exploring physical distance sensors, with the understanding that enforcement will be a challenge and are looking at health certificates. He indicated that privacy issues associated with this can be very controversial and added that they are heavily invested in touchless technology on the basis of feedback that they received from the subject matter experts on the medical and operational side. He added that they have tested this on international departures and are exploring it again, as well as the equity and privacy issues associated with it. They are exploring capacitive sensors as an example of a device that can be “touched” without using your hand and using stylists to touch and connect. They are also looking at voice recognition for the touchless process, whether it is an elevator or some other device. Finally, they are considering near-field communication and radio frequency identification (RFID), such as Apple Pay. Their innovations team is looking at, and doing its due diligence on, all these technologies to enhance the touchless experience going forward. Lyttle summarized by stating that SEA has a solid plan right now and has established a great framework, but indicated that it is uncharted territory and there is no benchmark, since there is no reference point compared with what airports did before. He said he realizes that they do not have the answers to everything and are making decisions based on assumptions about decision dates and data that they do not have now. He realizes that they do not know what is going to happen in the future. He added that, what they do know is that they are going to prioritize and invest heavily in technology. They are anticipating emerging policies at the state, federal, local, and county levels as well. He stated that they will have to gather feedback and make the adjustments as they go along and are going to continue to communicate internally and externally, which is important to the passengers and also to their employees and tenants to make sure they are kept in the loop.

25 Lyttle ended by saying, “This is a new world, and I don’t think we can look at the traditional way how we solve problems or how we operated, and we will have to innovate our way out of this crisis.” Hamm‐Niebruegge then introduced Joseph Lopano, CEO, Tampa International Airport (TPA). He stated that TPA has started a program called “TPA Ready.” Lopano said he served on the governor of Florida’s Task Force for reopening the state, which started on April 22, 2020, and was joined by representatives from Universal Studios and Walmart. They discussed the different methods they employed in order to keep their customers safe. He said they started “TPA Ready” knowing that they were going to be reopening the state at some point. He said that “it was really a project of hope because up until that time, it seemed almost hopeless.” He added that they were seeing their passenger numbers go down and looking at deserted terminals. Their employees were really motivated and started thinking that something positive could happen by creating this program. He elaborated that first they got word out to the public with five different elements. Lopano said that the first element of the name “TPA Ready” really says the whole story, as it tells the customers that their employees are ready. They wanted to prioritize the health and safety not only of travelers but also for their team, so making sure the facilities were safe and clean for the team and travelers were priorities. Lopano said, “Number two was clear communications. As someone said earlier, lack of good communications results in bad communications and you have to fill that with accurate and clear communications, especially with your employees.” He added, “especially frontline employees—they’re stressed out, they have a lot of worries, and you have to communicate with them often and accurately.” Lopano stated that the third element was organizational resilience, and shortly after March 15, 2020, they started remote work. This taught them a lot, since remote work was something that they had talked about and were prepared for, but nobody wanted to try it. The fourth element was strengthening the business, and they did a lot of things that Lyttle talked about. They had a hiring freeze and deferred some projects and received $80 million through the CARES Act. While he indicated that this helps, they were still going to be short on revenue by $240 million dollars over the next 4 years. He referred to Dow and said they will still need more help to get through the storm. TPA increased its lines of credit and deferred some projects but also accelerated some as well. Lopano indicated that TPA is an engine for economic recovery and understands its role in the community. It has to serve its stakeholders and, to the extent that it can keep projects going, is going to find a way to keep especially small contractors on the job. Lopano added that TPA currently has 250 acrylic barriers and has 2,700 ground markings and stanchion banners to keep people safely apart that say “Leave Space Stay Safe.” They have 3,500 seat wraps to keep people apart, as well as nearly 100 hand sanitizer stations. On April 20, they added mask requirements for all employees, including all tenants, such as airlines, concessionaires, and others. He stated that they have encouraged other customers to also wear masks. They also increased sanitation using the latest technology, such as

26 electronic foggers. They strongly urged the public to wear masks and arrive 2 hours early. They encouraged mobile check-in and carry-on luggage to reduce touch points and thus avoid going to the ticket counter to check in or use baggage claim to pick up bags. Lopano stated they used to allow meeters and greeters to come into the main terminal and meet their guests. They are now requiring them to stay outside in the cell phone line. He reiterated that the main theme, as others have said, is to restore confidence. The key is communication, and he said, We are ready for travel to commence, a message that was picked up by everybody. We weren’t the only ones looking for hope—everybody was looking for hope. . . . So we were very surprised—NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt had us on, and it was a good interview. We were also picked up by the Washington Post and Telemundo Hispanic stations. The important message is that you have to get this word out to your internal audience, your employees, your government officials, and do so in a way that it becomes a national story. If you can, it is what’s going to make people confident to come back to travel. They know that everyone along the way is doing their part and the airport’s a big part of that journey. Lopano said that he also informs and engages his team with weekly videos, noting it is critical to make sure that they are communicating accurate and reliable data because, he said, “this is people’s livelihoods. This is their job and they spend a lot of time each week here and are working the frontlines, so it is important to make sure they know what’s going on.” He stated that they will continue with weekly communications and that they also started a new effort called “TPA TV” and are using a lot of technologies that they might not have otherwise used. Lopano elaborated on TPA’s remote work for nonessential employees that started on March 15, 2020, and was prepared with the information technology (IT) department. IT staff purchased certain IT components that would allow for this, but they just were not sure they were ever going to do it. He said, “Everybody learned how to use Microsoft Teams or Zoom and it’s really, really changed our culture.” He added that they have increased communications and have given out care packages with masks, hand sanitizers, and touchless keys for all employees. They are also looking at staggered work shifts, which they have already implemented for frontline workers, with 1 week on/1 week off to help prevent the spread of the virus. He added that they are developing the workspace of tomorrow. They are in the middle of building a 300,000 square-foot, nine-story office center; three floors will be for their office planners. They had their office planners look at various seating options and cubicles and then found out they can work from home (or anywhere they choose) just as easily and effectively. This has changed their thinking on what this new office center should look like. While they had a culture of people that were used to their offices and were considered important if they had an office, they realized they would have to change their thought process and be open to ideas about how people could work remotely using this new technology. Many people said they would rather just work remotely if possible. The timing is fortunate, as they are now in the middle of changing the interior structures of this building to account for the new normal.

27 On a positive note, Lopano stated that they were able to advance $150 million in capital projects with the limited activity and work during the day and close roadways. They are in the middle of a $700 million upgrade, which includes new remote curbsides, roadway expansion, taxiway improvements, and the sky center office building. He added that the ticket level upgrades were going to be done at night and that now they have been able to work 24/7, bringing them way ahead of schedule. Lopano stated that TPA is happy to see that, week over week, passenger traffic is increasing and airlines are making commitments for much more flight activity, a very encouraging sign. The airport is also reevaluating its budget and has gone to relief efforts for its tenants and deferred rents for its concessionaires, rental car companies, and airlines, who it realizes need help; TPA will help to the extent it can. Lopano stated that they are going to continue benchmarking and looking for best practices and said, “We do need industry standards so that we can ensure a consistently safe experience,” as stated earlier in the Health Update. He also indicated that they are in a position for a long-term recovery, as they are in a great economic area in the Tampa Bay region. He concluded by stating that “Tampa Bay region was smoking before this, and we’re going to get back to it pretty soon.” Airport Case Studies and Best Practices Q&A     Rhonda Hamm‐Niebruegge asked, “We all know that the CARES Act required that we keep 90% of our employees on the payroll. Has that been a hamper to the airport, based on the financial challenges that we are all facing, and should that have been a piece of the CARES Act”? Joseph Lopano responded by stating he did not think it is hampering them. They are constantly rated as one of the best airports in the country because of their great facilities, but more so because of the great people who work at the airport. He stated that they are going to come back, and they are going to rebound. While they may not rebound this year to where they were, they will eventually rebound. He added that he plans on keeping his team together and, to the extent that they can, they are going to keep everybody on board and grow back to where they were before. Lance Lyttle added that it is the same for SEA and that the CARES Act requirements are not hampering him either. He said that “in fact, that was our intention, even without the stipulations associated with the CARES Act.” Hamm‐Niebruegge asked Lyttle if he had to delay any safety-related projects. Lyttle responded by saying, “No, . . . we categorized the projects in terms of bond-funded and cash-funded projects and, on the cash-funded side, the projects that are safety related and security related, we moved forward.” They also looked at projects that need to be done to lead the recovery effort to keep people employed, especially the ones that can be done

28 safely adhering to the state guidelines. He summed up by saying, “There were no safety or security projects that were actually deferred as part of this.” Lopano agreed that it was the same for him and stated that TPA was able to defer about $100 million dollars in projects, but, at the same time, was careful to look for opportunities to accelerate projects, which turned out to be a good exercise. Lyttle added that it was the same thing with SEA’s international arrival facility, where they could shut the taxiway down to accelerate construction and had opportunities to accelerate several other projects because of the lull in traffic. Hamm‐Niebruegge asked, “We all talked about the communication effort and how important that is, but there can be overcommunication. And do people become tone deaf to the important pieces of communication if there’s so much of it?” Lopano responded, “I think it’s critical to make your messages relevant, so they have to be timed well and can’t be overcommunicated. When they are communicated, it is important to make sure that the content is meaningful for folks to absorb. If you’re just doing videos for the sake of doing videos, people aren’t going to open the e-mail.” Lyttle responded, “As I said in the presentation, on a weekly basis, we send an e-mail out just keeping people informed of the reality—good, bad, or otherwise. Every message has a ray of hope in there.” He stated further that, as Godwin mentioned, they need to continue flattening the curve, even with concessions reopening, etc. Every other week, they have a live, interactive broadcast, rather than just an e-mail. This broadcast goes to the entire team, and anybody across the airport can ask questions about what is happening, including him or other members of his management team. This is on-the-spot, live communication that has been very successful, with a lot of participation by his staff. Hamm‐Niebruegge posed the last question to Lopano: “You mentioned that you’re redesigning your new employment center and thinking about the future and remote work. When you talk about having that team that is interactive, gets along so well, and brings good ratings to TPA, how do you balance the concept of people working from home and losing that interactivity among employees, so that you know each other? What does that do to the business traffic if people don’t come back to work because they have become so used to working remotely? So it’s a dual edge, not only for internal employees, but for the business traffic that we so desperately need.” Lopano responded, “I think the balance is that people can work remotely if they can, but even those that prefer working remotely have a need for social interaction. So they will have a place at the office to come [to] and can work from the office in a shared space. What we found is that as long as you have a laptop, you can be working from a coffee shop or anywhere else. And you’re being productive, you’re getting the job done. I think that there’s going to be both. There’s going to be some portions of remote, but there’s always going to be that social need.” He added that as far as the business traveler goes, he believed “that once you have a vaccine, people will want to go back to the way it was, which is face-to- face, maybe some [working] remotely, but there'’s a need for both of those things.”

29 Lyttle responded that just before the pandemic started, SEA began a pilot project for remote working, because it was running out of office space at the airport. He added that the intention is to have people do a mix of work. He and his staff have done surveys with staff that show while people enjoy working at home, they actually miss that social interaction of being at the office. He added that, with regard to the business travelers, nobody knows exactly how fast the recovery will be, but that there are certain areas around the world where having a meeting via video conferencing is not part of the culture and there is a need to be there in person. Lyttle believed that would probably spur or continue to spur business travel in certain parts of the world or where having a meeting via video conferencing would not work. However, a lot of people realize remote work is effective. This may have an impact on how business travel takes place going forward, but it has yet to be seen how it will pan out.   Airlines—Discussion and Highlights of What Plans Are in Place  Kurt Hotelling, American Airlines Andrew Boyett, Southwest Airlines Rhonda Hamm‐Niebruegge introduced Kurt Hotelling, Vice President, Airport Affairs and Facilities, American Airlines, and Andrew Boyett, Senior Manager, Customer Experience, Southwest Airlines. Both Hotelling and Boyett expressed the significant downturn in their passenger activity and subsequent financial losses. Airlines are working collectively with each other and the industry to implement guidelines and follow practices to get the traveling public back and both Hotelling and Boyett detailed ways airlines are providing a safe and healthy operating environment. Each speaker highlighted his respective airline’s sanitation and operating procedures to ensure appropriate face coverings and safe distance requirements. Hotelling explained why, coming from an airline, he began his presentation showing an image of a boat and referenced the old adage “of a rising tide lifts all boats.” He indicated that both Southwest Airlines and American Airlines provide particular policies and strategies to get through this pandemic and said that the public could easily be getting the same information from other airlines. Hotelling made the point that “We are not trying to compete with each other in this arena. We compete with each other on many things, but in this, we all benefit from each other’s policies in creating a safer environment in our airports, on our aircraft, and in the policies that we implement for our team members.” Hotelling stated that some of the things that American is doing are not unique to American and can easily apply to anyone else. Andrew Boyett stated that in hearing from Dow earlier, mentioning how to bring the industry back together again, Boyett said it is a team effort and that airlines cannot do this alone. He continued that, “There is no silver bullet, there is no solution that airlines can put in place to get customers to come back. It has to be a collaborative, multilayer, data-driven approach between the regulatory environment or public health officials. In addition, it also

30 involves the collegial attitude between the airlines to coordinate and cooperate and how we get air travel to come back.” Hotelling stated that, so far this year, there has been an impact on passenger volumes from the Pacific region, as China went through this crisis, and then, in March, Italy’s crisis impacted the industry as well. He added that there was a little upward trend in passenger volumes in May. Hotelling continued with another slide from his presentation depicting the numbers of aircraft operations and stated that they are all collectively running about 70% fewer operations than in 2019, which is significantly less (see Slide 4 https://onlinepubs.trb.org/onlinepubs/acrp/InsightEvents/COVID19/KHotelling.pdf). He pointed out that, currently, the lines in the graph are still flat, but said he believed that the number of operations is ticking up in June and will continue further into July and, hopefully, throughout the year, subject to demand. He showed another slide showing the average domestic U.S. flight is carrying about 47 people; the numbers earlier this year would have been double that on many more flights. Hotelling’s next slide depicted passenger traffic and demand and acknowledged that there is a demand-driven problem. This problem is not the same change in passenger traffic and demand that the industry has faced over the past 10 years. He added that before COVID, they went through a lot of consolidation and fixed some of the underlying structural problems of the airline industry, and with what they are doing now and in light of what the other panelists have talked about, they are working to get these curves moving in the right direction. Boyett added that they want their curves to be flat, they need to come back up into positive growth, and they are all very hesitant to be optimistic. He indicated that they see that first movement and beginning to tick up and are excited to see an increase in passenger activity in some recent polling. For the first time since the beginning of this crisis, people who said they were comfortable flying ticked just above the number of people who said they were not comfortable flying. He added that while this is not a wide margin, it is encouraging, and they are starting to see the curve moving up. Hotelling responded that he believed that he has seen some recent reports that Delta added 100 new flights back in June over its original pre-COVID schedule, which it would not do unless it saw demand for these flights, which he added was encouraging. He continued with describing America’s guiding principles and indicated that all of the airlines have something similar. Their priority is to put out their new policies and procedures about keeping the safety and well-being of their customers and team members as their top priority and minimizing the risk to the traveling public and to their team members. Hotelling added that the approaches are changing and have changed since March. He reiterated that states have responsibility for putting out much of the guidance and guidelines that the airlines adhere to and that those are changing all the time. He said, “We have a whole team that does nothing but look at the latest guidance from health experts to see what we need to do and what we might need to change in our various workplaces

31 around the country.” He added that their initiatives include clean airports, clean airplanes, healthy team members, and face coverings. Hotelling added the last overarching message he had heard from many speakers is that of shared responsibility. His message of staying home if one feels sick is directed not only to those flying American Airlines and its team members but also to the traveling public as a whole. He also stated that throughout every step of the journey, American Airlines is trying to give people that confidence and peace of mind as they travel. He indicated that he heard from the Ohio governor that the message was not about eliminating the virus and that this virus might be with us until we can get a vaccine. It is not about suspending all of our activities until the virus is gone. He posed the following questions: • How do we get back to our way of living? • How do we get back to the workplace? • How do we get kids back to school? • How do we drop kids off at daycare and how do we travel? • How do we get into airports and on the airplanes and live with the virus expecting that the virus is with us? • What are all the things that we’re doing to stay safe and clean and healthy and make that experience like it always has been up until now? Hotelling added that as passengers go through the travel experience, American Airlines will address issues such as face coverings, temperature checks, making sure its team members can take time off even if they have used up all their vacation, and, finally, have a discussion of how to ensure a clean airplane. Hotelling presented the various initiatives, beginning with the security checkpoint. Some of what American Airlines is doing includes significant enhanced cleaning at their kiosks, ticket counters, and baggage service offices. The airline is trying to go as touchless as possible, but where customers still do need to touch, many of their devices are getting much-enhanced cleaning. He added that there has been much talk about the plexiglass shields at ticket counters and other service counters. These shields are already in place at most of American Airlines’ airports. Now the airline is trying to spread out its agents and close kiosks and ticket counters to the extent possible, so that it can maintain social distancing from agents at the ticket counters. He believes that, universally across the airlines, airlines are now requiring face coverings, are checking the temperatures of most airport employees, and are providing hand-sanitizing stations where possible. Hotelling added that once passengers get through the ticketing process and the TSA checkpoints and arrive at the gate and boarding area, measures such as expanded cleaning, additional plexiglass shields, hand-sanitizing stations, adequate social distancing space, and use of personal phones to scan boarding passes will apply. Hotelling stated that they are allowing customers to scan their own paper tickets now and that these are the little things they are changing to try to make the processing of passengers more touchless. “Finally, and

32 most importantly,” he added, “is to travel with confidence on our planes.” Hotelling said that many airlines are now doing some sort of spraying to clean the plane, such as the electrostatic spraying that American is using. Hotelling spoke about the HEPA filters on board the aircraft and the fact that people think that they are breathing the same air over several hours on an aircraft, which is not true. Hotelling said that it is important to communicate that the air in the cabin is refreshed every few minutes. They are also deep cleaning all high-touch surfaces, will be handing out hand sanitizers, and making face masks available to anybody who does not have one or wants additional supplies. They are also limiting or changing their food and drink service depending on the length of the flight. He added that there are minimal changes on short- haul flights and, on longer flights, there will be limited service that has fewer touch points and changes on fully catered flights such as meal boxes. Boyett began by providing a lens into what Southwest Airlines is doing. He stressed that everyone needs to come together as an industry and that it is critically important that those in the industry seek solutions in a concerted fashion. He added that, with the different economics and networks, with other airlines facing challenges in terms of long-haul international wide-body aircraft, which Southwest does not have, they have issues with the way they turn their aircraft that cause challenges for them when it comes to cleaning. They also have issues that may be pluses or minuses regarding their open seating policy, which is different from other airlines. Boyett mentioned that there are tactical issues, such as dealing with masks and seating, but also emotional aspects, such as feelings of disappointment and feelings of gratefulness to be flying again, along with frustrations and short tempers. He stated that it is important to address the objective concerns of passengers, as well as their emotional needs so that people are comfortable with flying again. He continued that Southwest has added the “Southwest Promise,” which provides assurance to their customers that planes and airports are sanitized. Southwest wants customers to feel comfortable that there is going to be space available throughout the customer journey. He added that there are changes in onboard amenities in addition to customer and employee screening with temperature checks and, potentially, testing and contact-tracing concepts. He stressed his focus was about what they can control. Boyett reiterated, “This is a collaborative effort across many different parties, and screening is one of those that must be handled delicately and in close collaboration with government regulators and public health.” Boyett discussed HEPA air filters and electrostatic spraying, which are some of the key areas that customers want to know more about because they are not aware of the ways they can be protected from poor air quality. It is important to convey that all of the similar technology being used is safe and proven. Southwest wants to make sure that people understand that air filters can filter down to three-tenths of a micron and that air is circulated 20 to 30 times per hour.

33 He added that, as indicated by Fischhoff, it is important to keep informing customers in a way they can consume, understand, and believe. Boyett touched on how challenging Southwest’s open seating policy is but said it allows for more flexibility when it comes to seating, such as families who want to sit together. They are, however, capping the number of seats they are selling through July to ensure that there is space on board the aircraft. Other airlines are also implementing this, including American Airlines, which has a practice in place to help make sure that some of the middle seats are available as well. Boyett stated that they were able to restart snack and beverage service on board. They are looking at testing and feedback on how customers are accepting it and how flight attendants are delivering it. They have heard from their flight attendants that there is an earnest desire to get back to serving and that they are excited to be able to resume food and beverage service as a small gesture to their customers. Hamm‐Niebruegge asked how Southwest was addressing the impact of the time for additional cleaning after each flight with its short turn times. Boyett responded that, because their schedule is currently reduced, they have time to complete a thorough cleaning of every aircraft in between every flight. He added that they trained 17,000 employees in under 2 weeks to be certified to complete those cleanings. He added that as they look farther out, they see the schedule tightening as they start to add more flights. He acknowledged that they will need to continue adapting and modifying their schedule to be able to accommodate the additional cleaning, as they believe that it is critically important for their customers. He stressed the importance of customers’ confidence in Southwest and flying in general. Hotelling echoed Boyett’s sentiments and added that the current limited operations allow them to get things done a little easier. He added that, as the airlines continue to add flights back, they will have to be aware of policies to accommodate and maintain social distancing as more people are waiting in hold rooms and in queues; the airlines will also have to limit wait times at ticket counters backed up due to limited [airline] staffing. These are the types of things they are still working through. He added that they all have the same questions and concerns about what they still need to tackle. Other Stakeholders—Challenges of Social Distancing and Touchless  Environment   Joe Thornton, HMSHost Rob Mitchell, Uber Daniel Price, Transportation Security Agency Rhonda Hamm‐Niebruegge introduced the last group of stakeholders: Joe Thornton, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, HMSHost; Rob Mitchell, Business Development | Global Airport Partnerships, Uber; and Daniel Price, Policy Coordination

34 Manager, TSA. Hamm-Niebruegge emphasized that at airports, there is also a range of additional services from concessionaires to transportation companies to TSA. Several perspectives were presented: food, beverage, and retail vendors; a ground transportation operator; and TSA, which is responsible for the airport screening checkpoints. Each presented the initial impact his organization experienced in moving from robust activity to a diminished demand and reduced capacity, stressing new initiatives, including increased cleanliness and additional protocols in place to help in reducing the spread of the virus and making it safer for travelers and employees. Thornton began by saying, “It is interesting that we all have this past experience and yet we’re dealing with a situation that no one in this webinar can say they’ve actually dealt with before, which is striking.” He stated that he is new to HMSHost, having only begun in early March, and his second day on the job was when Italy shut down. This is relevant, as HMSHost’s parent company, Autogrill, is based in Milan. They saw the effects of the pandemic firsthand, which gave them a preview of what was to come, similar to the virus spread in China and other countries. Thornton described HMSHost’s growth plan, which includes how the company is refitting its restaurants for the future. He stated that they are operating about 1,600 food and beverage locations across North America and working with 300 brands across their portfolio. At airports, they are currently operating at 320 locations, indicating that about 80% of their restaurants are closed. He added that even more sobering is that, at their lowest point, their sales were down by 97%. He noted that some of his partners, particularly those with streetside businesses, also cited challenges, as their sales were down by 60% to 65%; however, many of them can bolster their business with drive- through, mobile orders, and other forms of delivery to the consumer. He added that in the airport, they are limited by the lack of flights and passengers, which is troubling. He expressed that it was heartbreaking that within the first week at HMSHost, he was already seeing the effects, and they made a very tough decision to begin to furlough associates. For HMSHost, having about 27,000 of 31,000 associates furloughed was concerning, and it has been challenging to react to the market. Thornton said that HMSHost has pivoted and spent a disproportionate amount of time addressing issues related to its associates. It first examined trends around making significant investments in PPE, even while losing sales and profits. He added that they view their restaurants and associates as the face of their organization and are doing everything possible to keep them safe and make an environment where they are still proud to work for HMSHost. Additionally, he mentioned that HMSHost has stayed in touch with its 27,000 furloughed associates and has built a website that is specifically for them. The website is continually updated to provide information about the tools that are available, such as those that guide them in getting unemployment, other resources available to them, and changes that HMSHost is working through. These changes are in the areas of safety and security and decisions about when they will be asked to come back from furlough.

35 Thornton added that HMSHost’s marketing communications team made a conscious effort early on to set up a hotline to talk to its associates and send out a dedicated e-mail to talk about the questions that continue to come up. Each week, the company is trying to navigate a moving target of what it knows, based on state and municipal regulations. HMSHost wanted to have a way to capture those questions as they came up and communicate responses to its associates through the website, e-mail, and the phone line. Thornton described how HMSHost has looked at this crisis from when it was conducting business as usual on March 10—a defining date for the company, as its parent company was impacted and started the chain reaction of events here in the United States and in North America overall. He added that they saw an acceleration in restaurant closures in the second week of March, so they knew that, in addition to furloughs, restaurants also needed to shutter. The company closed 800 restaurants almost overnight and then another 380 the following week. There was a period of about 7 weeks when sales hit a plateau and then a period when the company hit what it believed was the bottom. Thornton stated that consumer behavior is changing, driven by the shutdowns, but even in areas where they were not completely shut down, there was a drop-off. Hitting the bottom also gave them time to think while they were operating restaurants about how they should start thinking about the recovery plan and what would happen next. He stated that one of those defining moments for them was May 4, 2020, when the company put together its growth plan. He stated that they were very proud to share this document with all of their business partners and airport executives across the United States. The plan was developed in a partnership between Thornton and his colleague, Darrell Bennett, Vice President of Business Development; along with Bennett’s team, they facilitated a recovery plan through conversations with the airport about how they were doing it and, more importantly, how they would partner together through this journey. Thornton stated that they are building a strategic growth plan to start to open restaurants on the basis of what should be different in the new environment. He stated that considering the different level of shutdown that they have experienced, they are almost building a brand new company. Thus, they are discussing what has to look different. Thornton then elaborated on the HMSHost document “Growth Plan, The Way Forward,” which details the three following dimensions: how restaurants are opening, the safety issues, and the guest experience. He added that when they started to think about the strategic growth plan, the team had to think differently. Today, HMSHost is an organization of over 320 restaurants, and it has the experience to grow back to over 1,600 restaurants and beyond. Thornton said “We’ve done it before, we know that we can do it again. However, we will likely do it differently than before.” He mentioned their strategic priorities, including how to grow the restaurants and their service execution. They must understand that they must be prepared for the new service environment and address how to grow their people professionally in the new environment. Thornton said he is concerned not just about when the associates can return as HMSHost grows back its business, but also about how the associates have been doing personally.

36 People have gone through a lot of hardship over the past 2½ to 3 months, and some of them are aware of the hardships and some of them are not. He added that they do not want to assume that these people are coming back, will be highly engaged, healthy, and that everything in their household is fine. He stressed that it is important to be thoughtful about engagement and growing their people professionally. Thornton added that they are going to spend time thinking about their approach to restaurants. As they are reengaging their associates, they are thinking about service execution and how best to reinvent their operations using strategic initiatives and performance metrics. He added, “Coupled with the amazing experience of their associates at HMSHost, they will almost have to unlearn the old ways and methods so that they can learn something new in the environment ahead, but [this] will be an exciting time given the challenges.” Thornton said that at the end of the day, HMSHost wants to be there for travelers to meet their dining needs and do so as safely as possible. Understanding that it may transact differently with them in the future, HMSHost still knows that it is a viable part of the traveling journey for the airport consumer, both the leisure traveler and the business traveler. However, one of the things that HMSHost continues to message is that it will be slow and methodical about its growth to get it right. Thornton added that HMSHost is responding to its partners in the airline business and watching how enplanements grow back to consider what that volume means for them and their restaurants and whether they are operating in the right airport locations. He felt that they are learning as they respond to opening restaurants in Charlotte to meet the demand there due to an uptick in activity. “Overall,” he added, “we want to be careful to a degree because I think we’re all facing this unknown future of ‘Hey, what if there is a second wave? What if there is another shutdown?’ We want to make decisions that we could live with potentially through that type of experience as well.” Lastly, Thornton stated that HMSHost is approaching everything differently while understanding that, although past knowledge is great, it is really not a blueprint for success going forward. He added that Many of you could probably attest that you also have to challenge your own cultural norms as you go forward into this new environment. So as challenging as it is, we’re very encouraged, we’re very determined to be successful again in this space, and we are committed to doing it with the airlines and airport partners; the consumer is expecting something different and we’re all committed to delivering that. Hamm‐Niebruegge thanked Thornton and asked Rob Mitchell to share his thoughts on the impact and what Uber is doing to instill consumer confidence. Mitchell began by stating that it is really about how to move forward together and prepare for the recovery of air travel. He agreed with Lenfert and said, “It is shocking to think 3 months ago that we would be where we are now. And needless to say, it’s been a period of unprecedented trauma on the travel industry, and it has put incredible stress on each of us, our families and loved ones, colleagues, and our organizations.” He added that it is unlike almost any other large-

37 scale crisis he recalled in recent modern history, and he said that “the phrase ‘We’re in this together’ isn’t cliché, but it’s actually the unifying idea that will help us recover faster.” Mitchell stated that in his view, each of us has a role to play in our organizations by keeping each other safe while making the necessary changes to prepare for that new normal whenever it comes. He added that over the past 2 months, Uber has been urging riders to stay home for their safety and the safety of drivers, who continue to make essential trips. Uber operates in over 600 airports and 65 countries and has been sending this consistent message. Mitchell stated that during the initial days and weeks of the emerging crisis, Uber responded quickly to promote social distancing by, for example, temporarily suspending UberPool, which is its shared ride product, so that strangers would not be able to share a vehicle with each other in all U.S. cities. In addition, the company suspended Uber Copter (the company’s helicopter service) in New York City and its pin dispatch system at airports. Further, he added that at a company level, Uber designated a 24/7 team to support health authorities around the world and their response to the epidemic. It also suspended, as requested, accounts of riders and drivers who may have been exposed to the virus. In addition, Uber has made a significant financial commitment and allocated $50 million for the purchase of PPE for drivers and delivery people globally. Mitchell indicated that that Uber has distributed about 30 million masks and has also committed to financial assistance for drivers. This assistance has provided $20 million to nearly 50,000 drivers and delivery people who have either been diagnosed with COVID-19 or asked to self-isolate for up to 14 days due to a preexisting condition. He added, “But as cities begin to reopen and people start moving again, we want riders and drivers to know what they can expect when they’re ready to take that second first trip.” Mitchell said he believed the common theme he had heard from all of the day’s speakers is a shared belief that it is critical that we help travelers feel comfortable again and create a safe environment for them to come back to the airport. Mitchell outlined three principles that have guided Uber’s planning and can help inform others: • First is creating a safe, predictable, and consistent experience, no matter the airport or what segment of a passenger’s journey. In air travel, it is critical that travelers feel that the entire end-to-end journey is safe and that each of the stakeholders in the airport ecosystem has coordinated actions, which is really important. • Second is accelerating the move to more contactless and touchless technologies. He said, “And, I think, we certainly expect this to continue as a company built to enable people to get a ride at the touch of a button from their own phone. We’re well positioned to help here.” • Third is increasing speed and reliability in getting passengers to their destinations, which is going to be critical to instilling a sense of control and comfort for travelers as they get back on the road. He added that this all matters as it relates to Uber and TNCs because a large share of passengers at most large U.S. airports travel to and from the airports using TNCs. Specifically, at LAX, prior to COVID-19, more than 30% of vehicles entering the terminal areas were TNCs. While Uber does not serve every passenger to and from airports, all airport travelers need some form of ground transportation, and

38 this is a key part of the journey as more are returning to airports in the United States and around the world. Next, Mitchell discussed some of the measures that Uber has implemented over the past few weeks to enhance safety for riders and drivers and opportunities to improve the pickup and drop-off experience in airports. Over the past 2 months, the company’s tech and safety teams have been building new products and protocols to promote safety while everyone uses its app. It built a new suite of tools and videos in the app to inform riders and drivers how to stay safe that includes advice of health experts who have been working with company leadership. As of May 18, all riders and drivers will now be asked to confirm via a “go online checklist” that they have taken safety measures and are wearing a mask or a face covering. Effective mid-May, Uber’s technology will verify if a driver is wearing a mask by asking them to take a selfie prior to logging into the app. If they are not wearing a mask at that time, they will not be able to log in to accept trips. Uber currently has this policy in place in the United States, Canada, India, and most of Europe and Latin America through at least the end of June. At that time, it will reassess each market based on health authority guidance. As for riders, Uber is asking them to use only the back seat of vehicles and has reduced the number of passengers eligible for an UberX ride from four to three. Mitchell said that for riders and drivers, accountability is key to ensuring everyone’s safety. Therefore, Uber is encouraging drivers to cancel a trip, without penalty, if they do not feel safe. This includes if a rider is not wearing a face covering. Likewise, if a driver shows up without a mask, the rider can cancel the trip without a penalty. Both drivers and riders are encouraged to report issues to Uber via the app. Mitchell stated that there has always been a two-way feedback system that has long helped ensure both riders and drivers uphold certain standards on issues like vehicle quality, navigation, and speeding. He said, “Now we’re adding new options for feedback that include having no face cover or mask, and drivers or riders who repeatedly violate mask policies risk losing access to the Uber app.” Lastly, Mitchell touched on the passenger journey into and out of airport. As Uber riders are arriving at the airport, they are going to want to know they are in exactly the right place and they have a place to clean their hands. He indicated that they [Uber] can work directly with airports to make sure they are setting up optimal drop-off locations to minimize walk times. He added that airports are deploying sanitation stations and expressed that drop-off locations should be considered as well for the sanitation stations. Going forward, as travel volumes resume, there is work that Uber can do to promote social distancing and create a more dynamic distribution of drop-off locations based on security wait times at various checkpoints. As riders are making their way to pickup locations, they will want to get there as seamlessly and easily as possible. Wayfinding is even more important, to make sure that people are not lost and stuck in locations that are making them anxious. He added that it will help to have sanitization stations and safety checklists posted, which will help instill a sense of coordination across all stakeholders in the journey.

39 Mitchell added that they also want to make sure that they are leveraging [the] technology that they have to keep reliability high and wait times low, which will help reduce customer dwell time and prevent large numbers congregating in constrained locations. They will work with airports individually to make sure that they have technology configured to operate optimally. For airports with consolidated pickup points, he thought this might be a good opportunity to consider distributing those points out as volume returns, thus ensuring that too many people do not end up in one location. In wrapping up, Mitchell stated Uber has had many one-on-one conversations with airports over the past few months stressing the following themes: • Airports are looking to reduce costs and preserve cash in light of their significant decline in revenue.   • Uber is implementing new measures to keep everyone at the airport safe. Uber feels it can help by working with transit agencies to, for example, provide transportation services as those agencies have reduced routes and services. This could help airports, given many run services for passengers and employees to and from airport campuses. They are willing to work together to help travelers feel confident about coming back to the airport for that second first trip.   Hamm‐Niebruegge introduced Daniel Price, stating that TSA is an integral part of the airport experience, and added that while TSA had its screening process down pretty well, it did not have a lot of lines or challenges. Price offered some themes and key elements of what TSA has been doing. He reiterated what others had said about the drop in volume and how that had affected operations, including at TSA. He stated there has been a significant drop in volume, but TSA is continuing to provide an effective transportation security element during these times. He indicated that their first focus is on the health and well- being of their employees. Price emphasized that the agency felt it was important to protect them and also offer leave for those who were infected with the virus or those who were caring for someone who is infected. He stated that, first, they have prioritized providing PPE and sanitizing supplies. TSA has made it mandatory for its transportation security officers at the checkpoint to wear PPE, which includes surgical masks, gloves, and even eyewear for some. They also have sanitizing solutions available at the checkpoints. There are health and wellness programs that officers can use and have offered some safety leave with flexibility to ensure that those who do not need to come to the airport can take time off if needed. Price also emphasized a safe environment through increased sanitization efforts for passengers going through checkpoints. TSA recently received extra funding from Congress for some of these efforts. He stated that, in regard to social distancing, while TSA is challenged by the limitation in the footprint of the checkpoint areas and is concerned that the queue could extend into the other public areas, TSA is working with its airport partners. He emphasized that it would be difficult to get through this without those partners and cooperative relationships.

40 Price added that there are opportunities to develop new policies and procedures and to make technological advancements to reduce contact and allow for touchless screening. He stated that, while TSA explores those options as part of a screening modernization effort, there will be some shielding installed at the ticket document checker (TDC) locations. TSA is trying to standardize the TDCs more broadly in the near future. As part of TSA’s operational efforts, people will be spread out more. On the technology side, TSA is also looking at screening modernization through the roll out of credentialing authentication technology (CAT). CAT is similar to the boarding pass scanner, as it allows passengers to input their documents, similar to how they use their mobile phones for a boarding pass. TSA is also taking advantage of the reduced throughput to look at other efforts and partnerships with international colleagues who have already started to roll out efforts. Price stated that TSA is trying to streamline some of the acquisition and procurement efforts by looking for different types of technology that could provide a better experience for passengers. It hopes to get this technology through the proof-of-concept phase with its transportation security integration facility. Price added that there will be signs at the airports about healthier checkpoints and new procedures as people are queueing and moving through the lanes and that TSA will be working with airports to get those posted. Hamm‐Niebruegge thanked all of the speakers.

This report summarizes an event focused on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic response and its impact on the operational and economic recovery of airports.

The TRB Airport Cooperative Research Program's Conference Proceedings on the Web 27: Flight Plan to Recovery: Preparing Airports for the Return of the Traveling Public includes presentations from airport industry leaders who discussed current and ongoing practices to get passenger confidence back to aid in airport recovery during an ACRP Insight Event over Zoom on May 28, 2020.

Specific topics presented the aviation industry with challenges that are mutually shared by all partners, including safety, public confidence, and financial sustainability. Other topics included gaps in the industry and public response to date and how the industry may address them, as well as operational mitigation strategies to enable recovery in the post-lockdown environment.

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Flight Planning

Safety spotlight: mountain flying.

Good flight planning is always important—but in the mountains it’s critical. The airplane is closer to its performance limits, the pilot is closer to the limits of his or her skill, more things can go wrong, and there are fewer options in an emergency.

Route Selection

Proper flight planning includes careful route selection. In many cases, direct flights aren’t feasible in mountainous areas: terrain can easily “out-climb” many light aircraft. Flying direct also limits your options in the event of an emergency.

Consider planning a flight near Lake Tahoe, which is nestled in the High Sierra along the California/Nevada state line. Which route is best—A, B, or C?

Although the direct route, Route B, may be tempting, the best option would be to fly along Lake Tahoe using Route A. Flying along Lake Tahoe and through Spooners Summit Pass offers lower terrain, nearby roads for emergency landings, and a large body of water for ditching.

Tip : Altitude information on IFR charts can also benefit VFR pilots. Using MEAs, GPS MEAs, MOCAs, and OROCAs can help determine safe altitudes for en route flight planning.

Night Flight

Time of day.

On hot summer days, it’s often best to fly early in the morning when temperatures are cooler and winds are calm. High density altitude effectively “closes” some airports from mid-morning through early evening. Also, some airports operate on a seasonal basis. Be sure to check notams and phone ahead for details, and remember that density altitude changes throughout the day. Just because you can land somewhere doesn’t mean you’ll be able to safely fly out a few hours later.

Night Flying

Because terrain features can be very difficult, if not impossible, to discern at night, VFR-only pilots should seriously consider limiting themselves to daytime flights. Experienced mountain pilots treat night flights as instrument flights—and some avoid them entirely.

GPS and MFDs

Many GPS units and multifunction displays (MFDs) can depict terrain and obstructions—significantly enhancing situational awareness while flying in mountainous areas. Some GPS units offer a “mute” option for auditory terrain proximity warnings. If your GPS is so equipped, make sure you’re using that function appropriately.

Accident Case Study: Unintended Consequences

Repetition can increase complacency. Performing the same tasks in the same way may lead us to overlook things we take for granted, potentially ending in disaster. In this accident case study, we’ll look at why a twin-engine airplane impacted a mountain at night on what should have been a routine flight.

GPS is everywhere these days, but there’s still plenty of room for pilotage in the mountains. It’s always a good idea to cross-check GPS depictions (and charted landmarks) against what you can see out the window. You should aim to keep your eyes outside as much as possible—developing proficiency in pilotage will aid this essential aspect of mountain flying. You don’t want terrain to creep up on you because your eyes were inside. When flying below a ridge line or in a canyon, you should rely almost entirely on pilotage and dead reckoning. This may be a rusty skill, so go practice before flying into the backcountry.

In the mountains, the airplane is closer to its performance limits, the pilot is closer to the limits of his or her skill, more things can go wrong, and there are fewer options in an emergency.

Situational Awareness

Situational awareness must be maintained during all our flights, but it is especially critical in the mountains where conditions can change rapidly. These are a few important questions that need to be asked throughout every flight:

• Are your original performance calculations holding true?
• Are the fuel reserves still sufficient?
• Is the weather changing?

Any change could signal a potential hazard.

What if weather, passenger, or mechanical problems occur? Always be prepared to divert or return to the departure airport if necessary. Always give yourself an out in the mountains.

Emergency Landing Sites

Experienced pilots are always looking for the best emergency landing site. Identify possible landing sites on the sectional chart during preflight planning and reevaluate from the air. Use tools like Google Earth to get a more accurate picture of the terrain before the flight and familiarize yourself with landmarks. Also remember to file and activate a flight plan to assist in search and rescue operations, should they become necessary.

Potential emergency landing sites:

A low-flowing stream is relatively flat, but look out for any nearby trees. From a survival viewpoint, streams offer plenty of fresh water, fish, and wildlife. The open air above also makes it easier for search and rescue teams to spot you and your aircraft.

Grassy areas and meadows often provide suitable landing areas, but remember that tall grass can hide potholes, rocks, or other hazards. Be aware of recent weather as well. A muddy field with deep grass might grab onto your tires in a surprising way and flip the airplane if you aren’t prepared for it. Keep the aircraft out in the open to help search and rescue teams spot you more easily.

A dirt road

A dirt road is generally obstacle-free and long enough to accommodate a landing and takeoff. Additionally, the road can make it easier to locate the nearest civilization and may help search and rescue teams find you.

A paved road

Help shouldn’t be too far away if you manage to land on a paved road. Paved roads often provide a suitable landing and takeoff spot—but look out for power lines and traffic!

Real Pilot Story: From Miscue to Rescue

Watch as a series of delays, poor decisions, and lack of preparation turns a four-hour cross-country flight into a 30-hour survival crisis for a pilot and his family in the unforgiving Idaho backcountry.

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Case Study: Etihad Airways’ Centralised Planning Takes Flight

The case study below is based upon an entry that won the Financial Planning and Analysis (FP&A) category at the gtnews Awards 2014 .

Etihad Airways, the national airline of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was established in 2003. It has grown rapidly, carrying 6.7m passengers by H1 2014 and reporting US$3.2bn in revenue, up 28% compared to the same time last year.

The airline has ambitious growth targets. With more than 200 aircraft on firm order to expand its existing fleet of 104, it realises that effective financial planning and analysis (FP&A) forecasting is essential to achieve its long-term financial targets. This is why it has remodelled its financial procedures and introduced an Adaptive Insights software tool.

The previous five-year forecasting process used at Etihad was a purely finance-driven exercise, with minimal involvement from external stakeholders. The financial planning unit at the airline would take a view on revenues, costs and future operational efficiencies in order to produce its long-term financials, without external input.

The cost modelling and profit and loss (P&L) outputs were previously based on aggregating a series of Excel and Access models. This took almost three months to pull together under the old system. More importantly, there was no ‘ownership of the numbers’ by the individual business units due to their lack of involvement.

The objective of Etihad’s new project, detailed here, was two-fold:

• To create ‘ownership of the numbers’ across the business.
• To reduce the time taken to generate and update the five-year plan Etihad uses for its long-term planning procedures.

In order to address the lack of ownership, the financial planning unit at Etihad took the bold step of completely excluding itself from generating underlying cost and revenue estimates. Going forward, all other business units would need to estimate their relevant costs and/or revenues (either absolutely or through drivers and rates). The financial planning team would limit itself to supporting business units in generating these numbers, while stressing that it was their responsibility. The team also explained it would later process these inputs from the respective business units into a consolidated and comprehensive five-year Etihad company plan. This dynamic and evolving plan could be changed and tested once the new procedure was up and running.

In order to ensure that the five-year plan was created in a more streamlined and efficient manner, Etihad Airways leveraged the capabilities of Adaptive Insights’ software to centralise departmental cost models into one consolidated planning application. This gives the airline the ability to evaluate changes in its operating plans quickly, and incorporate changes in key macroeconomic assumptions, including fuel, foreign exchange (FX) rates, interest rates and inflation. Each of these has the potential to significantly impact Etihad’s financial performance, which is why they are so vital. A process that had historically been extremely time-consuming and cumbersome has now been transformed and a dynamic forecasting and budgeting element is now possible.

Overcoming the Challenges

The main obstacle in moving towards a more dynamic FP&A-based approach at Etihad was the need to convince each business unit of the value of its active participation. The team needed to convince each individual business unit to engage and actively contribute into the five-year planning exercise. Due to the lack of departmental involvement in the past, there was some initial scepticism around the need for a plan, especially the higher level of engagement that was being requested.

The financial planning team, together with Etihad Airways’ corporate strategy unit, led meetings across the organisation with senior executives in order to highlight the importance of meaningful, achievable and measurable targets that were aligned with its corporate vision. This process helped to get project buy-in.

The mandate was explained to all stakeholders (in terms of both internal and external users of this information) and it was made clear that the five-year plan could serve as a platform upon which the following year’s budget would be built, which in turn would facilitate its compilation. The process was kicked off in March 2014 and completed less than two months later in May.

The second aspect of the project was to move all of the data into the Adaptive Insights tool by migrating it from a large number of disparate Excel and Access-based models. Initially, there was some pushback from the business units, which were not keen to relinquish control of their respective cost outputs. In order to mitigate these concerns, the financial planning unit helped departments to transfer their models into the Adaptive software. The team also conducted extensive end-user testing to ensure that the integrity of all cost models was retained during the course of the migration.

Furthermore, all business units were assured that they would continue to be the sole owners of their respective pieces within the planning application. The purpose of the centralisation push was more focused on ensuring that all key assumptions were aligned across the company, and this was clearly explained.

The Advantages

The successful completion of the project resulted in the recent publication of Etihad Airways’ five-year plan. This is the first such planning document to utilise the new process and technology. It is also the first time the task has been truly ‘business-owned’, with full involvement from each associated department and a centralised oversight mechanism in place.

The rollout of the new process has instilled discipline within the organisation, with each unit required to focus on establishing a roadmap for the airline’s progress and to think about how it can help the airline to advance over the next five years. By having clear expectations around what it is expected to deliver, each business unit within the firm was able to highlight the resources and funding requirements needed to achieve its key performance indicators (KPIs).

A critical by-product of this exercise included the development of the company’s first five-year manpower plan, with its feedback loop inputting into the airline’s medium to long-term facilities and IT planning procedures. The over-arching plan touches on all aspects of the business.

Another critical output of the project has been the publication of a detailed medium to long-term capital expenditure (capex) plan. This gives the treasury department at Etihad much needed visibility into funding requirements over the next five years, facilitating its ability to ensure that financing for all approved projects can be secured.

Furthermore, by storing all cost models in the Adaptive Insights solution, the finance team can now evaluate competing operating plans much more easily and quickly assess their impact on income statements. In addition, this means quick recommendations can now be made to senior management about the profitability impact of any decisions. This flexibility has given the financial planning team a greater influence on the network that the airline operates.

As each business unit still retains ownership of its departmental models and contributes to the centralised data repository, it is able to update its models easily. The new forecasts, which will be done regularly from now on, flow directly into the dynamic evolving five-year plan.

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The Financial Cockpit: Three Levers and One Flight Plan Harvard Case Solution & Analysis

Home >> Finance Case Studies Analysis >> The Financial Cockpit: Three Levers and One Flight Plan

This case concentrates on the use and interpretation of the DuPont model return on equity: return on sales, financial leverage, asset turnover, and financial ratios, in particular the following four. Students consider how these ratios are used to evaluate a business' s financial performance for one year, over time, and in comparison with other companies within and outside the focal company's industry. Additionally they learn how these ratios provide insight into a company' s business model via the margins it is able to get, the productivity with which it uses its assets, and the business's aggressiveness (or lack thereof) in using borrowed money to finance its operations.

The Financial Cockpit Three Levers and One Flight Plan case study solution

The case is rooted in the basic assumption that "ROE is the ratio most often used to assess profitability of a company" and it's "important to both present and future shareholders." Thus, the leading role in the case scenario, Jill Keyes, has gravitated to the DuPont replica. The case concludes with a set of inquiries that Jill Keyes has left for her succeeding follow up-these supply the fundamental assignment for students.

PUBLICATION DATE: July 29, 2010 PRODUCT #: UV5225-PDF-ENG

This is just an excerpt. This case is about FINANCE & ACCOUNTING

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Spatiotemporal landscape pattern changes and their effects on land surface temperature in greenbelt with semi-arid climate: A case study of the Erbil City, Iraq

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• Published: 06 September 2024

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• Suzan Ismail 1 &
• Hamid Maliki 1  

Urban expansion of cities has caused changes in land use and land cover (LULC) in addition to transformations in the spatial characteristics of landscape structure. These alterations have generated heat islands and rise of land surface temperature (LST), which consequently have caused a variety of environmental issues and threated the sustainable development of urban areas. Greenbelts are employed as an urban planning containment policy to regulate urban expansion, safeguard natural open spaces, and serve adaptation and mitigation functions. And they are regarded as a powerful measure for enhancing urban environmental sustainability. Despite the fact that, the relation between landscape structure change and variation of LST has been examined thoroughly in many studies, but there is a limitation concerning this relation in semi-arid climate and in greenbelts as well, with the lacking of comprehensive research combing both aspects. Accordingly, this study investigated the spatiotemporal changes of landscape pattern of LULC and their relationship with variation of LST within an inner greenbelt in the semi-arid Erbil City of northern Iraq. The study utilized remote sensing data to retrieve LST, classified LULC, and calculated landscape metrics for analyzing spatial changes during the study period. The results indicated that both composition and configuration of LULC had an impact on the variation of LST in the study area. The Pearson’s correlation showed the significant effect of Vegetation 1 type (VH), cultivated land (CU), and bare soil (BS) on LST, as increase of LST was related to the decrease of VH and the increases of CU and BS, while, neither Vegetation 2 type (VL) nor built-up (BU) had any effects. Additionally, the spatial distribution of LULC also exhibited significant effects on LST, as LST was strongly correlated with landscape indices for VH, CU, and BS. However, for BU, only aggregation index metric affected LST, while none of VL metrics had a relation. The study provides insights for landscape planners and policymakers to not only develop more green spaces in greenbelt but also optimize the spatial landscape patterns to reduce the influence of LST on the urban environment, and further promote sustainable development and enhance well-being in the cities with semi-arid climate.

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Conceptualization: Hamid MALIKI, Suzan ISMAIL; Methodology: Hamid MALIKI, Suzan ISMAIL; Formal analysis: Suzan ISMAIL; Writing - original draft preparation: Suzan ISMAIL; Writing - review and editing Hamid MALIKI, Suzan ISMAIL; Funding acquisition: Suzan ISMAIL; Resources: Suzan ISMAIL; Supervision: Hamid MALIKI; Software: Suzan ISMAIL; Visualization: Suzan ISMAIL; Project administration: Hamid MALIKI, Suzan ISMAIL; Data curation: Suzan ISMAIL; Investigation: Suzan ISMAIL; Validation: Suzan ISMAIL. All authors approved the manuscript.

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Ismail, S., Maliki, H. Spatiotemporal landscape pattern changes and their effects on land surface temperature in greenbelt with semi-arid climate: A case study of the Erbil City, Iraq. J. Arid Land (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-024-0027-x

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Received : 13 April 2024

Revised : 26 July 2024

Accepted : 13 August 2024

Published : 06 September 2024

DOI : https://doi.org/10.1007/s40333-024-0027-x

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