Airline Network Planning and Scheduling

Ahmed Abdelghany, Khaled Abdelghany

• Publisher: Wiley
• Year: 2018
• ISBN:
  9781119275886
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Business
• Subtopic: Management
• Index: Business

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.

Section 1

1
Brands of Airlines

Different types of airline brands find its way in the highly competitive airline market serving customers with diverse travel preferences. It is almost impossible to come across two identical airlines. There are several characteristics based on which airlines are defined and classified. These characteristics play a significant role in the undertaking of the airline’s network planning and scheduling. Generally, airlines could be classified and branded based on schedule availability (chartered and scheduled airlines), size and domain of service (e.g. regional, national, and major), business model (legacy, low cost, and ultralow cost), ownership (publicly, privately, and mixed owned), network structure (hub‐and‐spoke and point‐to‐point), locality and network coverage (domestic and international), and transport service type (cargo only and passenger and cargo airlines). A combination of these characteristics defines the brand of the airline.

1.1 Schedule Availability

1.1.1 Charter Airlines

Charter airlines provide on‐demand and as‐needed service for a group of customers (or cargo) that share travel itinerary including origin, destination, and date of travel. Thus, these airlines do not provide a published flight schedule with pricing and seat availability. Any party that is interested in a customized travel service contacts the charter airline (or its agents) and agrees on initiating the flight. The agreement usually involves deciding on date of travel, origin, destination, pricing, and number of seats required. Charter airlines focus on serving customers with customized needs such as urgent or time‐sensitive travel, privacy, and need of flexibility (French 1995; Buck and Lei 2004). Charter airlines are also used in peak travel periods or during special events, when demand temporarily increases above available capacity. Example of these events include pilgrimage seasons (e.g. pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia), major sports champions and games, tour operations for tourism, etc. (Karlaftis and Papastavrou 1998; Williams 2001). Some charter airlines may also follow a set schedule, with a certain number of flights per week to desirable tourist destinations. Even in this case, individual passengers do not book their tickets for the flight; they are sold in bulk to a tour company or a travel agency. The departure time of these flights are usually flexible based on the preferences of the service requesters.

1.1.2 Scheduled Airlines

The scheduled airlines plan and publish flight schedules on regular basis ahead of the scheduled dates of operation. The published schedule involves detailed information on served markets, departure and arrival times of each flight, available seat capacity, pricing and associated ticket restrictions, and fees. The flight schedule is usually published a few months before its implementation. During this period, which is also known as the booking horizon, prospective travelers can shop among the available itineraries offered by all airlines and select (book) the one that meets their travel preferences. The published schedule might be subject to several minor modifications and amendments made by the airline during the booking horizon. The seat availability is updated when a new booking is materialized on any itinerary. Pricing and ticket restriction information are subject to more frequent updates, as airlines respond to changes in demand and competition with other airlines. The published schedule is made available to customers and travel agents. Thus, custo...