Delay and Flight Time Normalization Procedures for Major Airports: LAX Case Study

This report presents methodologies for normalizing performance of the National Airspace System (NAS). The purpose of the study is to develop the capability of isolating the performance of NAS enhancements, such as those being made under the Free Flight Phase I program. It is often not possible to observe the effect of such enhancements directly, because of the confounding influences of weather, demand, and conditions elsewhere in the system. The analysis presented here shows how linear and non-linear regression models can be used to statistically remove a large proportion of these confounding effects, increasing the possibility that the effects associated with the enhancement will be detectable.