Airline Scheduling

1. Airline Scheduling

2. Airline Scheduling • Significance of airline scheduling • Flight scheduling • Aircraft scheduling • Crew scheduling • Facilities scheduling • Coordinating the flight schedule • Problems in executing the schedule

3. Significance of Airline Scheduling • Over 2000 highly interconnected flights per day • Strategic (marketing) significance: profits • Operational challenge: safety & efficiency

4. Flight Scheduling

5. Flight Scheduling • Basic elements: airports served, departure times, arrival times • Types of route structure: point-to-point, hub-&-spoke • Basic resources: aircraft, maintenance, crew, ground facilities • Flight schedule planning • Making flight schedule available (e.g. CRS) • Schedule Planning Division (Marketing Department)

6. Types of Route Structure • Point-to-point • Hub-and-spoke

7. Flight Schedule Planning • Internal factors • External factors

8. Internal Factors • Aircraft routing and maintenance requirements • Crew scheduling and training requirements • Ground facilities constraints • Marketing factors

9. Marketing Factors • Marketing analysis • Passengers • Competition • Financial impact • Traffic flow • Schedule salability • Time of day • Type of flight: non-stop, direct, connecting • Schedule adjustments • Time-zones • Station personnel • Turn-around time • Chain reaction effect • Load factor leverage • Cost is independent of load factor • Revenue varies in direct proportion to changes in load factor

10. External Factors • Airport/runway constraints • ATC/airspace constraints • Seasonal weather patterns • Travel agents • Hotel operators • Local community

11. Aircraft Scheduling

12. Aircraft Scheduling • Aircraft routing • Maintenance scheduling • Maintenance Operations Control (Maintenance Department)

13. Aircraft Maintenance Typical Maintenance Schedule for a Jet Aircraft Check Description Interval Duration En-route visual inspection each stop 30 min. Overnight ad hoc repairs 8 hrs up to 8 hrs A-check primary examination 125 hrs 8 hrs B-check intermediate inspection 750 hrs overnight C-check detailed inspection 3,000 hrs 5 days D-check major overhaul 20,000 hrs 15-30 days

14. Crew Scheduling

15. Netjets 7 on 7 off • 8-21 05 • CMH – EUS 1.1 • EUS – SUN 2.8 • SUN- APC 1.4 • APC – PHX 1.7

16. Day two • PHX – ASE 1.3 • ASE – SFO 2.2 • SFO – TRM 1.2 • TRM APA 1.7

17. Day three • APA BFM 2.4 • BFM – PDK 1.2 • PDK – CYYZ 1.7 • CYYZ – EWR 1.6

18. Day four • EWR – CGF 1.4 • CGF – ADS 2.3 • ADS – MMU 3.0 • MMU PHL .7

19. Day five • PHL – SOP 1.3 • SOP – PVD 1.7 • PVD – SFO 5.3 • SFO – SJC .7

20. Day 6 • SJC – MEM 3.6 • Airline home • I quit!

21. Crew Scheduling • Regular and reserve crews • Crew flight schedule • Crew training schedule • Crew Scheduling Division (Flight Operations Department) • Flight Attendants (Marketing Department)

22. Crew Flight Schedule • Line schedule • Bidding • Pairing

23. Duty/Rest Time Regulations FAR Part 121.481 • Maximum 8 flight hours between required rest periods • Maximum 30 flight hours per week, 100 flight hours per month, 1000 flight hours per year • 9-11 hours rest per day (depending on flight duty) • Release from all duty 24 hours during each 7-consecutive-day period

24. Crew Training Schedule • Base training • Flight academy • Initial, recurrent, transitional • Ground school, procedure trainer, flight simulator, aircraft • Line training • Revenue flights • Initial, recurrent, transitional • Check pilot on jump-seat

25. Facilities Scheduling

26. Facilities Scheduling • Types of flight • Origin • Thru • Turn-around • Termination • Ground facilities • Passenger services: ticket counter, gate, baggage claim • Ramp services: baggage, food service, water, fuel • Ground Services Division (Marketing Department)

27. Ramp Services Chocks in: 11:04 Passengers out: 11:05 Baggage out: 11:08 Food service truck: 11:08 Fuel truck: 11:30 Water truck: 11:45 More baggage out: 11:45 Mail out: 12:00 Baggage in: 12:05 Mail in: 12:15 Copilot walks-around: 12:15 Passengers in: 12:20 Doors locked: 12:48 Chocks out: 12:49 Turn-around: 1 hr 45 min

28. Schedule Coordination

29. Schedule Coordination • Flight Schedule • Marketing Department • Aircraft Routing and Maintenance Schedule • Maintenance Department • Flight Crew Schedule (pairing and training) • Flight Operations Department • Cabin Crew Schedule (pairing and training) • Marketing Department • Passenger Services Schedule (counters, gates, baggage claim) • Marketing Department • Ramp Services Schedule (gates, baggage, food, water, fuel) • Marketing Department

30. Scheduling Problems

31. Problems in the Execution of Schedule • Conflicts of interest • Schedule disruptions • Limited resources • Inherent limitations of hub-and-spoke system

32. Conflicts of Interest • Maintenance/service time versus aircraft utilization • Schedule efficiency (maximum resource utilization) versus schedule flexibility (slack use of resources and availability of spare resources) • Customer service versus economic/operational considerations • Solution:optimal balance (tradeoff) between conflicting factors

33. Schedule Disruptions • Can cost 2-3% of annual revenues • Role of SOC in disruption management & recovery • Types of disruption: delay, cancellation, diversion • Causes of disruption: weather, airport/airspace congestion, ATC equipment failure, aircraft problem, ground equipment problem • Chain reaction/multiplier effects • Impact of poor public relations/customer service • Solutions: optimal balance between schedule efficiency and schedule flexibility; collaborative decision making (CDM)

34. Limited Resources • Aircraft limitations • Crew limitations • Facility limitations • Solution: slack use of resources and availability of spare resources

35. Inherent Limitations of Hub-and-Spoke System • Uneven spoke length • Congestion at peak times • Idle between peak times • Multiplier effects of schedule disruptions