Collaborative Flow Manager (CFM)

Airways’ Collaborative Flow Manager (CFM) creates significant fuel and cost savings, minimising delays and maximising efficiencies across the aviation supply chain.

Intelligent flow management

Using smart flow management and sequencing, our arrivals management systems provides sophisticated airborne queue management that maximises airport capacity and reduces the workload of controllers.

Collaborative Flow Manager (CFM) enables airlines to work collaboratively together – and with us – to schedule departures and arrivals to avoid airport congestion. This tool also gives airports greater certainty around their traffic timings, so they can most effectively allocate resources.

CFM allows airlines to move aircraft around to best suit the needs of their fleet and their customers, resulting in better on-time performance. Fuel consumption and greenhouse gas emissions are also lowered thanks to reduced holding patterns in the air and minimised engine idling on the ground.

CFM has changed the entire domestic passenger operating environment in New Zealand. An earlier version of CFM, called Collaborative Arrivals Manager, received two IT Industry Awards and an international achievement award, recognising it as an innovative, leading-edge use of technology.

CFM was first introduced in Wellington in 2008 and subsequently rolled out to Auckland in 2009, then Queenstown and Christchurch in 2013.

Great for people and great for the environment 

Since its introduction, CFM has achieved:

•  500,000 tonnes CO2 avoided
•  6% fuel savings per year
•  Over 300,000 minutes of inflight delay saved per year.

CFM works seamlessly with Performance Based Navigation to achieve efficiencies across Airways’ air traffic services. We will continue to pursue opportunities to reduce the aviation industry’s greenhouse gas footprint through technological advancements and smart ATM.