Airline Empires - Airline and Aviation Articles, Airline Simulation - Dynamic Fleet Planning

Dynamic Fleet Planning - a Regional Application

Written by Courtney Miller
Tuesday, 24 January 2006
Page 3 of 9 Information – Many airlines today operate a very primitive form of DFP. Typically, if a flight is oversold and there is a larger aircraft standing-by with a reserve crew able to fly it, a decision is made by a supervisor to swap the aircraft. While this system works, it barely scratches the surface of benefits to be reaped from DFP. A complex algorithm is required to ensure schedule integrity, while at the same time, maximizing flexibility and revenue. This algorithm would have to be constantly used to calculate conditions as they are changing. The speed, accuracy and frequency of these calculations require a sophisticated computer system that would be forced to communicate with several other systems. Information on aircraft schedules, crew schedules, current ticketing information and trends, past ticketing information and trends, and maintenance schedules would need to be gathered and analyzed by the DFP system to ensure minimum disruption in the system, and maximum benefit. Using this system aircraft could be better aligned with the passenger demand for that day, without being forced to use spare aircraft or reserve crews. Passenger loads could be watched closely, and in conjunction with revenue management, aircraft can be assigned, and reassigned weeks, days, even hours before departure. There are several different types of DFP systems, with information available to the public. Each system specializes in a specific function, whether it be aircraft routing, or optimal aircraft selection. SimAir – The SimAir model is nothing more than a simulation to evaluate the current policies in place at an airline. Specifically, delays and schedule interruptions are simulated using an airline’s schedule, returning results of the daily operation. SimAir can be a useful tool in comparing an airlines operational flexibility with and without DFP. Reducing and coping with schedule interruptions are the SimAir’s main goals, however it can easily be adapted to simulating a DFP scenario. << Start < Previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Next > End >>