What are preferred routes?

[ScottK]

I was looking around the Duats site and saw "look up preferred routes" under the Database Search section. I tried entering different airports to see what happened, but nothing did.

What exactly are preferred routes and how do you get them? I'm assuming these are for IFR flights.

 

[AggieMike88]

I was looking around the Duats site and saw "look up preferred routes" under the Database Search section. I tried entering different airports to see what happened, but nothing did.

What exactly are preferred routes and how do you get them? I'm assuming these are for IFR flights.

Not sure about DUATS, but in fltplan.com, FF, and some others, you can use this feature to see what IFR flight plan ATC recently assigned to flights between the two airports.

And it does help IFR pilots know what to ask for and what to expect when on their IFR clearance.

 

[Geico266]

I prefer routes that avoid stop overs at airports in dry counties.

 

[asgcpa]

I was looking around the Duats site and saw "look up preferred routes" under the Database Search section. I tried entering different airports to see what happened, but nothing did.

What exactly are preferred routes and how do you get them? I'm assuming these are for IFR flights.

On my latest IFR flight, my instructor had me plan the flight using foreflight and the routes function. Wouldn't you know it.....clearance was given as we had planned it.

 

[poadeleted20]

Preferred routes are IFR routings developed by the ARTCC's to provide for smooth flow of air traffic on busy city pair routes. You can find them in the back of the A/FD -- check the Table of Contents for "Routes/Waypoints". IIRC, DUATS will only find them if you put in the major airport pairs, e.g., for Atlanta to Detroit, ATL-DTW will find them but not PDK-DET. You can still file them for the reliever airports, but they won't pop up in DUATS.

 

[Perezhr]

On my latest IFR flight, my instructor had me plan the flight using foreflight and the routes function. Wouldn't you know it.....clearance was given as we had planned it.

Most of the time but not always. Filed IFR from Miami to Jacksonville last weekend using a preferred route. Received confirmation in Foreflight that my expected route was indeed what I filed. When I called ground (KTMB) to get my clearance got something totally different. ATC can always change your route, but generally speaking filing a preferred route increases your chances that you will actually get what you filed.


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[ScottK]

Thanks for the info everyone.

 

[midlifeflyer]

Thanks for the info everyone.

But be careful in your understanding. Ron explained exactly what "IFR Preferred Routes" are. What people have described ForeFlight, FltPlan.com and others doing is using records of actual IFR clearances given as a way of predicting what you might get.

Sounds similar, and the ForeFlight & Fltplan.com ones may actually be a better predictor than the actual ones, but they are very different. One is FAA officially published ATC preferred routes between major city pair; the other a data-driven survey of routes between any two airports that have been flown IFR.

 

[deeruck]

Here's the FAA's own searchable database of the different types of preferred routes.

But as already pointed out, recently assigned ATC routes are often a better guide to what you'll receive.