Airways lands US contract

By DANIEL RIORDAN aviation writer

Airways Corporation will be part of a consortium building a $US200 million ($NZ480 million) air traffic control system for the United States Government.

The state-owned enterprise is part of a group led by US technology giant Lockheed Martin chosen to develop a system for tracking oceanic flights that controllers currently log on slips of paper.

The system is based on technology developed by Airways Corporation and used by it to control traffic in the areas of the Pacific for which New Zealand is responsible under international air traffic control agreements.

Several contractors were in the running for the Federal Aviation Administration's advanced technologies and oceanic procedures contract.

Although the price of the contract has not been disclosed - a firm, fixed-price contract will be signed after final negotiations between Lockheed and the FAA are completed next month - sources close to the deal were reported as estimating the cost of the system at about $200 million.

The system will allow planes on long routes across the Pacific and Atlantic to fly closer together and on preferred tracks and altitudes, yielding fuel savings for airlines and shorter flight times for passengers.

Because radar coverage is not available above oceans, controllers have tended to rely on limited routes and long distances between planes to ensure safety. Aircraft positions have traditionally been determined by pilot reports or inferred from time and speed.

Australian company Adacel Technologies is also in the Lockheed consortium.

Last year, Airways Corporation was part of another Lockheed-led consortium which missed out on running part of Britain's air traffic system. It also partners Lockheed in other overseas markets.