2021 Customer initiative

The Customer initiative aims to address trajectory inefficiency by proposing optimal flight plan opportunities to aircraft operators.

It offers further value with prepared and coordinated tactical directs, and where possible, offers higher cruising levels and arranges exceptional non-standard routeings and profiles, thus relieving pressure on airline Operations Control Centres (OCCs) as far as possible.

The 2021 Customer Initiative trial took place from 15 September to 15 November 2021. 

It covered the airspace of Belgium, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, France, Switzerland, Ireland and the UK. Results are expected in early 2022.

The objective of the trial was to offer aircraft operators a unique customer service built on the positive results and feedback of the 2020 Customer Initiative (fuel, emissions, flying time and route charge savings).

An integral part of the Customer initiative, the pre-flight check, is a leap forward in day-of-operation customer services.

It seeks out the best possible planning and execution of flights in support of aircraft operations and fleet management by delivering pre-coordinated and agreed best possible flight profiles, saving fuel, CO₂, flying time and route charges, and also resolving or reducing fleet management criticalities where possible.

Procedures to reduce or remove departure delay due to air traffic flow management (ATFM) regulations, which were put in place at an earlier stage, remain untouched.

A combined effort is the key to the best results, focusing extra effort on priority situations and critical flights, and offering solutions which transcend regular constraints.

Given the importance of the intricacies of the network, we are sharing this idea with the Network Manager and other air navigation service providers.

Huge thanks to all those who joined the trial and helped us achieve as many valuable results as possible.

The ATM Portal is the solution which supports this service. If you would like to sign up for an ATM Portal account, wish to receive Pre-flight check routeing advice by email at your operations control centre (OCC) position, or have any questions, contact us to receive access.

The feedback provided by the participants during the trial has helped us co-create the best customer service. We will take the input into consideration for future operations.