Summary points:
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Fleetwide Activation: Southwest Airlines is outfitting its entire Boeing 737 fleet—over 700 aircraft—with Honeywell’s SmartRunway and SmartLanding software, enhancing runway safety via real-time alerts during taxi, takeoff, and landing.
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Improved Pilot Situational Awareness: The software, enabled by Honeywell’s EGPWS, provides aural and visual alerts to help pilots avoid excessive speed, incorrect runway alignment, or unstable approaches, aiming to reduce runway incidents.
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Next-Gen Safety Technology in Development: Honeywell is also testing SURF-A, a new cockpit alerting system that uses GPS and ADS-B data to detect runway traffic threats. Certification is expected in 2026, expanding Honeywell’s runway safety suite.
PARIS - Southwest Airlines in Dallas and Honeywell in Phoenix announced that the commercial carrier is equipping its entire fleet of Boeing 737 aircraft with Honeywell’s SmartRunway and SmartLanding software to improve runway safety during taxi, takeoff, and landing.
More than 700 Southwest aircraft have already been activated with the software, which operates through the Honeywell Enhanced Ground Proximity Warning System (EGPWS) already installed on the fleet. The system is designed to enhance flight crew situational awareness by providing real-time aural and visual alerts, particularly during critical phases of flight.
"Safety is at the heart of everything we do at Southwest," said Andrew Watterson, chief operating officer of Southwest Airlines. "Honeywell's SmartRunway and SmartLanding software will provide our pilots with enhanced situational awareness to ensure the highest level of safety while operating on runways throughout the network."
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SmartRunway and SmartLanding notify pilots of key safety concerns, including excessive speed during taxi, approaches that are too high or too fast, or incorrect runway alignment. The software aims to prevent runway incursions and unstabilized approaches - scenarios that can lead to accidents. It is certified for most Boeing and Airbus aircraft as well as many business jets.
"Today’s pilots face increasing challenges, including unpredictable weather and dense traffic in limited airspace, forcing them to make split-second decisions during takeoff and landing," said Jim Currier, president and CEO of Honeywell Aerospace Technologies. "Fortunately, as the challenges evolve, so does the technology that provides the information they need in real time."
Honeywell is also developing Surface Alerts (SURF-A), a new cockpit safety feature expected to be certified on commercial aircraft in 2026, pending regulatory approvals. SURF-A uses GPS, Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B) technology, and analytics to warn pilots of potential runway traffic conflicts. Like SmartRunway and SmartLanding, SURF-A will also be enabled through the EGPWS.
In 2015, Southwest selected Honeywell cockpit systems for its order of 240 Boeing 737 MAX aircraft. The carrier was also the first to adopt Honeywell’s Integrated Multi-Mode Receiver technology across its fleet.
Jamie Whitney
Jamie Whitney joined the staff of Military & Aerospace Electronics and Intelligent Aerospace. He brings seven years of print newspaper experience to the aerospace and defense electronics industry.
Whitney oversees editorial content for the Intelligent Aerospace Website, as well as produce news and features for Military & Aerospace Electronics, attend industry events, produce Webcasts, oversee print production of Military & Aerospace Electronics, and expand the Intelligent Aerospace and Military & Aerospace Electronics franchises with new and innovative content.
