Ration By Schedule (RBS)

In the previous traffic management system, if an airline reported flight cancellations before a GDP is implemented, those flights were simply dropped from the FAA database. The airline was not be able to use the assigned arrival slots for substitution. If an airline reported a mechanical delay on a flight, the system would re-project its arrival time. If a GDP were run at that time, that flight would likely receive an additional delay on top of its mechanical delay. These effects were known as the "Double Penalty" issue which represented a barrier to implementing open data exchange. The airlines would simply not send in information that would produce clear adverse economical consequences. RBS removes this disincentive.

The concept of RBS is very simple. When arrival capacity is reduced, the limited arrival resources must be rationed. For scheduled carriers, the rationing should be based upon the original schedule, and not the current projections of demand.

The RBS concept has been integrated into all versions of GDPs, including extensions, revisions, blanket, and GAAP programs in FSM.