Airline Network Planning and Scheduling: (Wiley Series in Operations Research and Management Science)

A concise resource to the best practices and problem-solving ideas for understanding the airline network planning and scheduling process Airline Network Planning and Scheduling offers a comprehensive resource that is filled with the industry's best practices that can help to inform decision-modeling and the problem-solving process. Written by two industry experts, the book is designed to be an accessible guide that contains information for addressing complex challenges, problems, and approaches that arise on the job. The chapters begin by addressing the complex topics at a broad, conceptual level before moving on to more detailed modeling in later chapters. This approach follows the standard airline planning process and reflects the duties of the day-to-day job of network/schedule planners. To help gain a practical understanding of the information presented, each chapter includes exercises and data based on real-world case studies. In addition, throughout the book there are graphs and illustrations as well as, information on the most recent advances in airline network and planning research. This important resource: Takes a practical approach when detailing airline network planning and scheduling practices as opposed to a theoretical perspective Puts the focus on the complexity and main challenges as well as current practices and approaches to problem-solving and decision-making Presents the information in a logical sequence that begins with broad, conceptual topics and gradually delves into more advanced topics that address modeling Contains international standard airline planning processes, the day-to-day responsibilities of the job, and outlines the steps taken when building an airline network and schedule Includes numerous case studies, exercises, graphs, and illustrations throughout Written for professionals and academics, Airline Network Planning and Scheduling offers a resource for understanding best practices and models as well as the challenges involved with network planning and scheduling.

Table of Contents:
List of Figures xi List of Tables xxv Preface xxvii Section 1 1 1 Brands of Airlines 3 1.1 Schedule Availability 3 1.1.1 Charter Airlines 3 1.1.2 Scheduled Airlines 4 1.2 Size and Domain of Service 4 1.2.1 Major Airlines 4 1.2.2 National Airlines 4 1.2.3 Regional Airlines 5 1.3 Business Model 5 1.3.1 Legacy Airlines (or Mainline) 5 1.3.2 Low‐cost Airlines 6 1.3.3 Ultralow‐cost Airlines 6 1.4 Ownership 7 1.4.1 Public or State Ownership 7 1.4.2 Private Ownership 7 1.5 Network Structure 8 1.5.1 Hub and Spoke 8 1.5.2 Point‐to‐Point 8 1.5.3 Hybrid 8 1.6 Transport Service Type 8 1.6.1 Cargo Airlines 8 1.6.2 Passenger and Cargo Airlines 9 1.7 Network Coverage 9 1.7.1 Domestic 9 1.7.2 International 9 2 Airline Network Structure 11 2.1 Introduction 11 2.2 Time Bank 14 2.3 Advantages of the Hub‐and‐spoke Network 23 2.3.1 Better Network Coverage 23 2.3.2 Mixed Portfolio of Passenger Demand 24 2.3.3 Dominance at the Hub 26 2.3.4 Economy of Scale Operations at the Hub 27 2.4 Limitations of the Hub‐and‐spoke Network 27 2.4.1 Congestion at the Hub 27 2.4.2 Schedule Vulnerability to Disruption at the Hub 28 2.4.3 Extended Ground Time for Resources 28 3 Airline Schedule Planning Decisions 31 3.1 Definitions 31 3.1.1 Demand Forecasting and Competition Analysis 31 3.1.2 Served Markets 32 3.1.3 Flight Frequency 32 3.1.4 Flight Departure/Arrival Time 32 3.1.5 Fleet Assignment 33 3.1.6 Aircraft Schedule 34 3.1.7 Crew Schedule 35 3.1.8 Gate Assignment 35 3.1.9 Other Resources 36 3.2 Relationships Among Scheduling Decisions 36 3.2.1 Flight Frequency and Fleet Assignment 37 3.2.2 Departure Time and City‐pairs 38 3.2.3 Departure Time and Demand 38 3.2.4 Fleet Assignment and Flight Arrival Time 39 3.2.5 Fleet Assignment and Flight Departure Time 40 3.2.6 Flight Departure Time, Arrival Time, and Block Time 40 3.2.7 Flight Departure Time and Aircraft Rotation 42 3.2.8 Flight Schedule and Fleet Assignment Balance 42 3.2.9 Maintenance Rotations and Fleet Assignment 42 3.2.10 Seat Capacity/Frequency and Demand 44 3.2.11 Feet Assignment and Flight Demand 46 3.2.12 Frequency and Departure Time 46 3.2.13 Departure/Arrival Time and Gate Availability 48 3.2.14 Departure Time and Crew Schedule 49 4 Measures of Performance 51 4.1 Operating Cost 51 4.2 Revenue or Income 52 4.3 Net Income (Net Profit) and Operating Profit 53 4.4 Flights 53 4.5 Available Seat Miles 55 4.6 Cost per Available Seat Miles (CASM) 56 4.7 CASM‐ EX or CASM‐EX Fuel 57 4.8 Passengers 58 4.9 Revenue Passenger Miles (RPM) 60 4.10 Total Revenue per Available Seat Mile (TRASM or Simply RASM) 61 4.11 Passenger Revenue per Available Seat Mile (PRASM) 61 4.12 Passenger Yield 62 4.13 Average Load Factor (LF) 62 4.14 Block Hours 66 4.15 Aircraft Utilization 66 4.16 Stage Length 66 4.17 On‐time Performance Measures 67 4.18 Aircraft Life Cycle 67 4.19 Aircraft Number and Diversification 68 5 Freedoms of Air Service 75 6 Slot Availability 81 6.1 Level 1 Airports 82 6.2 Level 2 Airports 82 6.3 Level 3 Airports 84 Section 2 91 7 Feasibility of a New Route 93 7.1 Business Plan 94 7.1.1 Proposed Property 94 7.1.2 Identifying Demand Feeders 94 7.1.3 Identifying the Size of the Demand Feeders 95 7.1.4 Analyzing Competition 96 7.1.5 Estimating Market Share 96 7.1.6 Estimating Total Demand and Unconstrained Market Share 101 7.2 Application of Feasibility Study on a New Airline Route 102 7.2.1 The Proposed Route 103 7.2.2 Identifying Demand Feeders 103 7.2.3 Identifying the Size of the Demand Feeding Markets 104 7.2.4 Analyzing Competition 105 7.2.5 Estimating Market Share 106 7.2.6 Estimating Total Flight Demand (Unconstrained Demand) 110 8 Market Share Models 113 8.1 What Is a Model? 113 8.2 Model and Historical Data 114 8.3 Model Development Example 115 8.4 Categorical Dependent Variable 119 8.5 Introduction to Discrete Choice Models 120 8.6 Itinerary Choice Models 123 8.7 Applying Itinerary Choice Models: An Example 131 9 Profitability Forecasting Models 139 9.1 Introduction 139 9.2 Model Input 140 9.3 Itinerary Builder Module 143 9.4 How the Model Works? 143 9.5 Load Factor, Market Share, and Market Concentration 144 10 Partnership Agreements 149 10.1 Introduction 149 10.2 Regional Airlines 150 10.3 Code‐share Agreements 151 10.4 Airline Alliances 154 10.5 Distribution Channels and Point of Sale 154 10.6 Loyalty Programs 156 10.7 Corporate Travel 156 Section 3 159 11 Basic Fleet Assignment Model (FAM) 161 11.1 Introduction 161 11.2 Graphical Representation: Time‐staggered Diagram 164 11.3 Problem Input 167 11.4 Problem Definition and Formulation 170 11.5 The Constraints of the Basic Fleet Assignment Problem 172 11.5.1 The Coverage Constraints 172 11.5.2 Resources Constraints 173 11.5.3 The Through‐flights Constraints 173 11.5.4 The Balance Constraints 174 12 A Walk‐through Example of the Basic Fleet Assignment Model 175 12.1 Problem Definition 175 12.2 The Objective Function 178 12.3 The Constraints 178 12.4 Interconnection Nodes 183 13 Application of the Basic Fleet Assignment Model 193 13.1 Introduction 193 13.2 Problem Input 193 13.3 Setting the Problem in Excel Solver 203 13.4 Solution Interpretation 208 13.5 Resources Constraints 210 13.6 Additional Constraints 213 Section 4 215 14 The Schedule Adjustment Problem 217 14.1 Introduction 217 14.2 Schedule Adjustment Decisions 218 14.3 Problem Formulation 219 15 Examples on the Schedule Adjustment Problem 221 15.1 Flight Deletion 221 15.2 Flight Addition 228 15.3 Flight Departure Time 235 Section 5 243 16 Itinerary‐based Fleet Assignment Model (IFAM) 245 16.1 Introduction 245 16.2 Spill Cost Estimates and Network Effect 246 16.3 Demand Recapture 248 16.4 The Flight–Itinerary Interaction 251 16.5 The Itinerary‐based Fleet Assignment Problem 254 17 Example on IFAM 255 17.1 Problem Definition 255 17.2 The Constraints of the IFAM Example 258 17.3 The Objective Function 259 17.4 Problem Solution 270 18 Comparing FAM and IFAM 279 18.1 Problem Definition 279 18.2 Problem Solution 285 Section 6 289 19 Integrated Schedule Design with the Itinerary‐based Fleet Assignment Model (ISD‐IFAM) 291 19.1 Introduction 291 19.2 Example of Demand and Supply Interactions 292 19.3 Aspects of Demand–Supply Interactions: Demand Correction Factors 293 19.4 The Schedule Design and Adjustment Problem 298 19.4.1 The Objective Function of ISD‐IFAM 298 19.4.2 The Constraints of the ISD‐IFAM 298 20 Example on ISD‐IFAM 301 20.1 Problem Definition 301 20.2 The Constraints of the Problem 304 20.3 The Objective Function 305 20.4 Problem Solving 324 20.5 Solution Interpretation 327 20.6 Changing the Operations Cost 331 Section 7 345 21 Schedule Robustness 347 21.1 Introduction 347 21.2 Less‐prone‐to‐disruptions Schedules: The Concept of Adding Slack Times 348 21.2.1 Slack in Flight Block Time 348 21.2.2 Slack Time of a Connecting Resource 349 21.2.3 Slack Time of an Inbound Flight 351 21.3 Recoverable Flight Schedules 353 21.3.1 Background 353 21.3.2 Station Purity 355 21.3.3 Short Cancellation Cycles 356 21.3.4 Maximizing Swapping Possibility 357 21.3.5 Allocating Standby and Reserve Crew 358 References 359 Index 369

About the Author :
Ahmed Abdelghany, PhD, is Professor in the Department of Management, Marketing, and Operations at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. His past experience includes being a senior analyst in the Information Services Division (ISD) at United Airlines. Khaled Abdelghany, PhD, is Professor and former Chair in the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at the Southern Methodist University. He has worked as an analyst in the ISD at United Airlines.