Improving ETMS default route assignment

Analysis was conducted to recommend improvements in selection of default routes, which FAA's enhanced traffic management system (ETMS) uses to project airspace sector demands before airlines file flight plans. The problem is that current ETMS default route predictions are poor for long-haul flights. This makes it difficult for air traffic managers to plan traffic flows. In this paper, various methods of selecting default routes for ETMS are presented and evaluated. The best of them are recommended for implementation. The recommendations are planned to be implemented in future ETMS releases and are predicted to noticeably improve default route selection.