Definition
HAR refers to a set of published high altitude RNAV (area navigation) routes designed for use at FL390 and above. These routes are part of the FAA's high altitude airspace redesign and are intended for aircraft equipped to navigate using GPS or other approved RNAV systems, allowing them to fly more direct, fuel-efficient paths between waypoints rather than being tied to the ground-based Jet Route structure.
Plain English
HAR routes are special high-level flight paths above FL390 that let properly equipped aircraft fly more directly between points instead of zig-zagging from one ground navigation station to the next.
Context Anchor
Seen in instrument flight planning, en route clearances, and discussions of high-altitude area navigation routes.
Why Pilots Care
HARs let aircraft fly more efficient, fuel-saving paths at altitude while reducing controller workload and avoiding congested lower routes.
Grounding Statement
At high cruise altitudes, HAR helps keep many fast aircraft moving on predictable paths that controllers and pilots can both see and plan around.
Intuition Check
High altitude routing does not mean any route that happens to be high above the ground. In this FAA context, it means an organized routing system used in the high-altitude instrument environment.
Example Sentence 1
On the long leg from Los Angeles to New York, the dispatcher filed an HAR route at FL410 to take advantage of more direct routing.
Example Sentence 2
We filed a flight plan that used several HAR segments to avoid reported turbulence on the standard jet routes.