Boeing

Boeing Air Traffic Management Leads Team to Pursue FAA Traffic Flow Management Modernization Program

The Boeing Company [NYSE: BA] announced today that its Air Traffic Management business unit has formed a team that has responded to a screening information request (SIR) released by the Federal Aviation Administration. The FAA is seeking bidders to design, produce and implement a new, fully integrated air traffic flow system that will maximize use of the capacity of the National Airspace System.

The current traffic flow management system has evolved over time from a number of subsystems and tools that are not fully interoperable. In addition, the constraints in capacity, performance and operational requirements the system now faces raise serious concerns at the FAA and among industry stakeholders about the overall future viability of the system.

The initial SIR, the first step in a two-step selection process, requests information about the bidder's technical capabilities regarding traffic flow management. The members of the Boeing-led team and the capabilities they bring to the effort to modernize the air traffic flow system are:

  • The Boeing Company -- extensive experience with integration of large-scale systems and development of open-system architectures, along with advanced modeling and simulation tools such as the Total Airport and Airspace Modeller (TAAM), the National Flow Model (NFM) and the Regional Flow Model (RFM)
  • Raytheon Company, Air Traffic Management Systems -- proven expertise in the design, development, integration, testing, deployment and support of FAA large-scale systems, including Integrated Terminal Weather System (ITWS), Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS) and Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS)
  • Metron Aviation Inc. -- developer and maintainer of collaborative decision-making and other tools used by the FAA, including core tools used to model and implement traffic management initiatives within the Enhanced Traffic Management System (ETMS), such as Flight Schedule Monitor (FSM)
  • KENROB -- system administrator for the FAA's ETMS, including design, development, process improvement, and software maintenance for tools such as the fly.faa.gov website, the Operational Information System (OIS), and ETMS WatchDog, which is used to monitor each TFM site's communications status, software revision level and data feed status
  • RLM Software -- domain knowledge and experience in current systems, including development and on-going support of the ETMS communications infrastructure, which provides and monitors data transfer across systems and applications
  • WSI Corporation -- provider of weather data products and systems to the ETMS, developer of software to supply real-time weather data, imagery and value added products to the FAA, other government agencies, general aviation and 80% of the top U.S. airlines.

The Boeing Team capability statement was submitted to the FAA on June 25. The FAA expects to announce a down-selection decision in August, and to release the second SIR in late August or early September. The contract is currently expected to be awarded in June 2004.

Boeing established its Air Traffic Management unit in November 2000 to dramatically improve air traffic systems throughout the world. Its aims are to make flying even safer and more secure, significantly reduce delays, congestion and environmental impact, keep aviation affordable and accessible for commercial, military, business and general aviation users, and enable seamless global aviation operations.

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For further information:
Tim Neale
Boeing Air Traffic Management Communications
703.584.2700
Debbie Nomaguchi
Boeing Air Traffic Management Communications
425.373.2780