Honeywell Provides Satellite Precision Landing System for A380 Landing

Next-Gen SmartPath System Provides Safer, More Precise Aircraft Navigation

(Amsterdam, March 17, 2009) -- Honeywell (NYSE: HON) announced today that Qantas Airlines has received approval by the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to use the Honeywell SmartPathTM Ground-Based Augmentation System (GBAS) at Sydney International Airport for satellite-based landings on their A380 aircraft. The Honeywell SmartPath GBAS is the next-generation navigation technology that supports precision approach and landings using Global Positioning System (GPS) satellite data and transmits digital guidance signals to aircraft systems.

Airservices Australia, with whom Honeywell has worked on SmartPath GBAS in a coordinated effort, has been actively engaged in the use of GBAS technology since 1999 and has been operating the Honeywell SmartPath GBAS ground station in Sydney since November 2006. Qantas had previously been approved to fly GBAS approaches with their Boeing 737 fleet, recording more than 1,600 GBAS landings in Sydney to date with precision guidance provided by Honeywell's SmartPath GBAS. A GBAS landing on the A380 was first demonstrated during the Airbus A380 test flight in Sydney in June 2007. Honeywell provides the Flight Management System and 11 other products and systems for the Airbus A380.

Currently, aircraft use Instrument Landing System (ILS) technology, an older technology with technical limitations that impact flight path flexibility and airport throughput. ILS is also susceptible to signal interference by weather and obstacles, including large aircraft like the A380. This can result in significant disruptions to airport traffic and cause delays. Replacing ILS with GBAS has been identified in the FAA's NextGen and Eurocontrol's SESAR programs as critical enablers for improving air traffic capacity.

"The improved safety from the accuracy and stability of the approach provided by Honeywell's SmartPath GBAS versus the older ILS technology is one of the major benefits to pilots," said TK Kallenbach, Honeywell Aerospace Vice President, Marketing and Program Management. "A single GBAS can support landing operations on multiple runways simultaneously, eliminating the need for multiple ILS systems at airports with more than one runway. This new system will reduce acquisition and maintenance cost while providing aircraft operators and airports with safer and more efficient operations."

Source : Honeywell International, Inc. (NYSE: HON) - click here for more information