Benefit-Cost Analysis of a 2022 Point-to-Point ATM Concept

In order to significantly improve future National Airspace System (NAS) capacity, we have developed a new NAS operational concept under the auspices of NASA’s Virtual Airspace Modeling and Simulation (VAMS) program. The core concept – based on using advanced communication, navigation, surveillance, and Air Traffic Management (ATM) technologies and more Point-to-Point (PTP) flights – enhances the NAS payload capacity and efficiency by both relieving the throughput-limited hub-and-spoke airports and by providing more direct services to the traveler or shipper. The central premise that drives development of this concept is that there is a growing demand for more time-efficient, hassle-free, point-to-point and on-demand air transportation that better serves the traveling public and cargo shippers . Under Concept PTP, this demand is more effectively served by utilizing the existing network of non-hub-and-spoke public airports rather than depending on the the larger airports and the existing hub-and-spoke operational paradigm . In this paper, we describe an effort to quantify the benefits and costs of such a future PTP ATM operational concept. A majority of the work focused on the potential business case for specific improvements to the Chicago metropolitan area in 2022. Future air traffic demand generation and NAS-wide simulation evaluation runs are detailed. The analysis suggests the significant potential for future NAS capacity improvements from implementation of the PTP concept.