Jack, Like many things, there is nothing wrong with continuous descent approaches (CDA), but the devil is in the details. For example, FAA did an airspace redesign in Houston (hundreds of millions) to accommodate CDAs. The end result is that United had to add 2 minutes for every flight into Houston (IAH). Obviously, this is not the desired system result. In my latest article, " <https://greenlandings.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/What-Should-Airlines-Want-MTS-WINTER-2026.pdf> What Should Airlines Want?" (FAA's Manager's Association, Managing the Skies, Winter 2026 edition), I asked a simple question, "How should airlines want to fly their aircraft". Surprisingly, airlines had no answer for my question in the mid-1990s when I introduced FreeFlight, and they still have no answer today. In other words, airlines have yet to define what they mean when they say CDAs. >From my perspective, what airlines/users should want is to take off when they >want; fly the route, altitude, and speed they choose (e.g., wind efficient >route/altitude to an idle descent to a 5 NM final); change that route, >altitude, and speed as they require; navigate with the tools they select; land >when they arrive; and do this all without enroute or terminal area delays. What they need from ATC is to fly the airlineβs chosen plan without hitting another aircraft This is the goal. Where is the plan from airlines or FAA to meet it?
Michael xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx R. Michael Baiada cell - (303) 521-6047 [email protected] <mailto:[email protected]> From: Jack Keady via Mifnet <[email protected]> Sent: Tuesday, March 10, 2026 10:08 To: David Wardell via Mifnet <[email protected]> Cc: Jack Keady <[email protected]> Subject: [Mifnet π° 75627] continuous descent approaches A respected Mif-Aviator wrote "Don't get me started on continuous descent approaches" Keady asks "what's wrong with them? You just dial in the target point and desired altitude and the computer does the rest"
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