Ed lohr, deltas managing director of fleet strategy, explained that the airline looks at the entire cost of jet the purchase price, the maintenance costs, fuel efficiency and other factors before making decisions. An optimization model for aircraft maintenance scheduling. We have developed an integrated fleet and crew robust planning method to provide fleet assignment. Airline network planning and scheduling offers a comprehensive resource that is filled with the industrys best practices that can help to inform decisionmodeling and the problemsolving process. Therefore, the daily flight schedule of the airline must be prepared in. The airline planning process involves decisions ranging from longterm strategic decisions such as fleet planning and route planning, to mediumterm decisions about schedule development 16. William gibson airline fleet planning and aircraft investment valuation 4 0. Airlines have a tendency to match their capacities and passenger. Though maintenance scheduling comes as an end stage in an airline operation, it has potential for cost savings.
For example, using the utiliza tionturntime model for a pointtopoint carrier with an average turntime of 40 minutes gives an estimated utilization level of 2,304 trips. Fleet planning is a process of strategic importance for an airline. Airline business strategy driver for aircraft financing. Peter belobaba network, fleet and schedule strategic planning module 11. Most important long term decision impacting airline planning and operations. The tree is composed of nodes, which represent points of. The airline fleet assignment problem involves assigning aircrafts to flights to maximize profit. Your planning strategy needs to include plans for the types of vehicles you will own, the number you need and the way you will maintain them. Fleet planning the airline industry is basically one of the major industry around the globe which services every corner in the globe approximately. There are only two fundamental reasons for acquiring new or different aircraft. Making sure aircraft are the best suited for specific market needs both now and into the future is especially important for any airline. In any particular country, the airline industry is one basic industry that can affect other industries such as the tourism and the global airline manufacturing industry. Oct 19, 2015 ed lohr, deltas managing director of fleet strategy, explained that the airline looks at the entire cost of jet the purchase price, the maintenance costs, fuel efficiency and other factors before making decisions. Modelling static fleet selection and composition and dynamic fleet development.
Decisions depend heavily on the evaluation process to assess the impact of the new aircraft on the airlines financial performance. A concise resource to the best practices and problemsolving ideas for understanding the airline network planning and scheduling process. The main purpose of this paper is to reveal how multiairline competitive behaviors impact airline fleet size and structure by enhancing the existing routebased fleet planning model with. In order to save costs from the procurement and maintenance of extra aircrafts, the airline operators would always seek to minimise the fleet size, while at the same time being able to operate all the flights without shortage of aircraft. Airports are considered to be the gateways to the world, and the success and failure of the business in this sector is directly or indirectly affects on other industries such as tourism, hotel and airline manufacturing industries. Fleet is the total number of aircraft that an airline operates, as well as the specific aircraft types that comprise the total fleet. Airline schedules planning and route development 3 11. Timetable development aircraft rotations and timetable constraints 4. Airline fleet composition fleet composition is critical longterm strategic decision for an airline. Fleet composition is critical longterm strategic decision for an airline. Huge capital investment has a long term operational and economic horizon. Fleet assignment optimization problem definition and objective.
Has significant impact on the financial position of the airline, its operating costs and specifically the ability to service routes profitably. The flight schedule is the central element of an airline s planning process, aimed at optimizing the deployment of the airline s resources in order to meet demands and maximize profits. In contrast to most studies that did not consider slot purchase which would affect the service frequency determination of airlines, this paper proposes a novel approach to solve the fleet planning problem subject to various. This third edition brings the picture fully up to date, representing the latest developments in aircraft products and best practice in airline fleet planning techniques.
Learn how to structure the fleet planning process and how to analyse alternative fleet solutions. This model is exemplified with a hypothetical airline based at belgrade airport. Business plan questions pdf provides a list of important questions to consider when writing the business plan. The flight schedule is the central element of an airlines planning process, aimed at optimizing the deployment of the airlines resources in order to meet demands and maximize profits. Fleet planning selecting the right aircraft at the right time is one of the most important steps in the airline planning process. Airline fleet planning and utilization hours comparison.
Deltas fleet strategy driven by opportunity, flexibility. Peter belobaba network, fleet and schedule strategic planning module 2. Fleet managers should be able to view common routes that their vehicles take and identify alternate routes or travel schedules for. In the course of reassignment an aircraft is assigned to a trip rather than a single. With a global fleet size approaching 40,000 aircraft by the year 2025, the use of historical utilization data could play a key factor towards profit maximization in strategic forecasting for airline maintenance and fleet planning through the study and implementation of past trends. The current airline environment is very competitive and dynamic. The airline industry is a representative industry with high cost and low profitability. A threestage airline fleet planning model is developed in this paper. Pdf airline schedules planning and route development. Aircraft fleet planning introduction the aviation sector is one of the major industries around the world and plays a key role in a countrys trade. Pdf scenario tree airline fleet planning for demand. Second, a portion of the traffic represented highly valuable feed between the origination point and major hubs, where it would.
Pdf chapter 2 airline planning and schedule development. Our research framework is anchored on three major problems in the airline. Fleet planning strategies must contain these four key. There are two basic approaches to aviation demand forecastingtopdown or bottomup. The objectives of dlr air transportation systems research on airline fleet planning are. The model considers approximate fleet mix, fleet size and aircraft selection for short and medium haul routes. Airlines have evolved over the past 70 years from simple contract mail carriers into sophisticated businesses. A thorough understanding of aircraft performance, aircraft economics and the leasefinance sector that is essential to the fleet planning decision, we can run customized fleet evaluations. Threestage airline fleet planning model sciencedirect. This paper proposes an innovative multiperiod modeling approach to solve the airline fleet planning problem under demand uncertainty.
Request pdf threestage airline fleet planning model one of the main factors affecting airline success is bringing supply and demand as. The beginners guide to fleet management encore protection. Fleet planning route planning airline schedule development the future. Iata consultings airline strategic planning develops innovative approaches to business strategy while taking into account market and competition trends,operational improvements, traffic forecasts, flight schedules, and company assets. In the first stage of the model, the fuzzy logic system is applied to determine the appropriate aircraft mix small or medium to serve the routes in consideration. It is a huge industry having its effects on other industries as well. Fleet is the total number of aircraft that an airline operates, as well. Airlines have led other industries in the application of.
Written by two industry experts, the book is designed to be. Fleet planning is carried out by airlines to determine the quantity and type of aircraft to be purchased or leased in order to provide a profitable service throughout the longterm planning horizon. The core revenueprofit contributor for any airline is delivered by operating its aircraft fleet. In this paper, we present an overview of contributions to airline scheduling made by operations research professionals during the past 20 years or so. Airline fleet planning varies from airline to airline, depending e. The aircraft maintenance scheduling is one among the major decisions an airline has to make during its operation. Airplane utilization and turntime models provide useful information for schedule planning, fleet planning, operations planning, and economic and financial analysis. Overview of fleet planning management, from traffic forecasting to network planning and fleet definition. The airline planning process the global airline industry. The book has a comprehensive information about the entire fleet planning process in details from general theories to the detailed economics, which formed the best available literature for fleet planning.
Different fleet assignment solutions cause dramatically different performance in subsequent crew planning and operational processes. Threestage airline fleet planning model request pdf. Thus we can improve the network by choosing the right aircraft type, at the right time, in the right place. A knowledge of future equipment needs of the airlines is essential information for the airline planner or aircraft manufacturer. Written by two industry experts, the book is designed to be an accessible guide that contains information for addressing complex challenges, problems. Chunhua gao, ellis johnson, barry smith, integrated airline fleet and crew robust planning, transportation science, v. I definitely recommend this book to any person who is interested in airlines fleet planning. Pdf airline fleet assignment and schedule planning. First, the pointto point service portion of the route was highly competitive, even hypercompetitive. Each aircraft type has different technical performance characteristics e. Buying the big jets has been published since 2001 to provide expert guidance to all those involved in aircraft selection strategies. Optimization model and algorithm design for airline fleet. Between these extremes, forecasting horizons of 1,5, or 10 years are common for plan ning changes and improvements of airport facilities, estimating atc workload, projecting air earner fleet requirements, and financial planning.
Either the current aircraft can no longer perform the mission due to changes in the mission or the aircrafts operating conditions obsolescence, costs, performance, etc or due to the fact that the current aircraft is no longer cost effective in terms of the companys required. To establish a successful and inherent fleet plan, it requires a well mixture of commercial knowledge, engineering knowhow, the ability to predict the future, and as always some luck clark 2007, p. A strategic fleet planning is vital as it has a great impact on the economic efficiency of airlines 1. Optimal airline fleet planning and management strategies under stochastic demand teoh lay eng the stochastic nature of the world has posed significant challenges to such a competitive airline industry. However, the times, available seats, and costs ultimately depend on the fleet selection. This paper presents a multiobjective mathematical programming model to optimize airline fleet size and structure with consideration of several critical factors severely affecting the fleet planning process. The problem is modeled using a scenario tree approach. Preferences for valuation techniques in graham and harvey 2001, gibson and morrell 2005. Therefore, airlines should carefully plan their schedules to ensure that overall profit is maximized. We focus our attention on the steps of the airline schedule planning process involving schedule design and fleet assignment. The planning process of an aircraft fleet for an airline is basically not different from any other planning activity in an economic environment. Home services fleet planning fleet planning optimizing airline fleets to drive revenue enhancements and cost savings. Schedule development process airline supply terminology sequential approach to schedule planning 2.
The beginners guide to fleet management page 3 analyzing recorded data, extrapolating issues from the data, and recommending solutions. Connect with embark few things define an airline more than the aircraft the airline operates. Airline fleet assignment plays important role for efficient operation of airlines. Mergers and acquisitions planning network and fleet planning develop and optimise network and route plans for airlines route planning and schedule development, alliances hub design and optimization, slot remarketing fleet planning, aircraft leasing and remarketing financial services evaluate airline investment opportunities. When answering the whenquestion the airline will take into account the development of demand for transport capacity, the age and cost of its current fleet and the availability of new, more efficient aircraft.
Constructing a profitable schedule is of utmost importance to an airline because its profitability is critically influenced by its flight offerings. Essentially, strategic fleet planning is vital for airlines to yield a higher profit margin while providing a desired service frequency to meet stochastic demand. The airline planning roadmap pdf offers a conceptual sense of the necessary steps in launching an airline from idea through launch. Fleet managers should be able to view common routes that their vehicles take and identify alternate routes or travel schedules for decreasing idle times and avoiding heavy traffic patterns. Often, used aircraft make the most economic sense for the airline. The threestage model for fleet planning involves approximate fleet composition, fleet sizing and aircraft type selection based on fuzzy logic, heuristic and analytic approaches, and multicriteria decision making, respectively. When considering planning strategies, fleet managers must consider four key priorities. Maintenance scheduling is an easily understood but di. Maintaining consistent profitability requires that appropriate tradeoffs be made between the often competing objectives within planning, marketing and operations. Analysis and planning phd thesis in doctoral program in transport systems supervised by professor antonio pais antunes and professor morton okelly, presented to the department of civil engineering of the faculty of sciences and technology of the university of coimbra december 2017. An optimization model for aircraft maintenance scheduling and.