iscover
Airservices Australia is expanding a trial of cross-boundary user-preferred routing (UPR) following a successful 11-month first phase.
The trial, which initially included 38 routes between Australian/New Zealand and Indonesian/Singaporean airspace, will be extended to include the national air navigation service providers (ANSPs) of Papua New Guinea and Fiji, as well as three additional airlines.
This content is available exclusively to Australian Aviation members.
A monthly membership is only $5.99 or save with our annual plans.
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
- Unlimited access to all Australian Aviation digital content
- Access to the Australian Aviation app
- Australian Aviation quarterly print & digital magazines
- Access to In Focus reports every month on our website
- Access to our Behind the Lens photo galleries and other exclusive content
- Daily news updates via our email bulletin
Cathay Pacific, Jetstar and Fiji Airways will join Qantas, Air New Zealand, Garuda Indonesia and Singapore Airlines as participating carriers in the trial, which will grow to 70 flights per day including four additional Qantas routes.
“UPR, under which airlines can specify their own flight path based on weather conditions, is already used in Australian-managed airspace over the Pacific and Indian oceans and across large areas of upper airspace across Australia,” Airservices said in a statement.
“By taking advantage of tailwinds and avoiding headwinds, pilots can reduce flying time and thus the amount of fuel used by the aircraft.”
According to figures released by Airservices, three airlines recorded 614,966kg total fuel savings and 1,394,134kg total carbon emissions savings in the first five months of the trial, with a single Sydney–Hong Kong flight saving 2,000kg of fuel.
“This trial contributed to total carbon emission savings from UPR in Australian-managed airspace of 4,231 metric tonnes in May 2025, up 37 per cent when compared to the same month in 2024,” Airservices said.
Rob Sharp, chief executive of Airservices, said flexible routing “maximises efficiency, convenience and sustainability, without compromising on safety”.
“Shorter travel times improve both the traveller experience and the sustainability of air travel. The fuel savings and carbon emissions add up quickly over multiple flights, so it is great to be able to bring in more operators and city pairs,” he said.
“We’re thrilled to be expanding the UPR trial in close collaboration with other regional ANSPs and airlines, who’ve been crucial to its success. Collaboration enables innovation, solutions and flexibility in what is a complex system.
“It’s important for Airservices to support airlines to reduce carbon emissions in line with our environment and sustainability strategy.”
According to Allen Dickinson, head of fleet operations at Qantas, the trial has been a boon to the Flying Kangaroo.
“User-preferred routing continues to deliver great benefits for Qantas, enabling further fuel and time savings on our international flights to and from Australia,” he said.
Carbon emission reductions from the use of UPR are part of efforts for global aviation to reach net zero by 2050.
