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 9 of 9

     The Future – The DCM model relies on being able to change the fleet composition to maximize swapping opportunities and thereby maximize profit. While Comair already has an established fleet composition well in line with many of DCM’s results, there is room for improvement. Firstly, the 50-seater is very prevalent in Comair’s fleet structure (63%) compared with the other configurations. More 70 and 40-seaters in relation to the 50-seater would result in better performance. However, since the 40 and 50-seaters share everything except acquisition costs, it is not necessarily feasible to bring more 40-seaters onto the property. For this reason, it would be beneficial to introduce a whole new type to the lower end of the capacity scale. A 30-40 seat aircraft would increase the fleet types and, in turn, the flexibility. Although Canadair does not make a 30-40 seat aircraft that shares a common type rating with the CRJ series, the same grouping technique applied to the 70-seater could be applied, allowing aircraft swapping. Along with the 40,50, and 70-seat jets, Canadair also builds a 86-90 seat jet that shares a common type-rating with rest of the CRJ family. The addition of this aircraft at Comair would dramatically increase the flexibility and profit potential of DFP. An agreement with the labor groups to allow integration between 70 and 90-seat crews would further increase flexibility and swapping potentials. A swap between a 70 and 90-seat crew would then not require a crew scheduling change, making the swap as simple as a 40/50-seat swap.

      While dynamic fleet planning is certainly not a new concept, new advances in computer technology and software have made it possible to streamline the process and extract more profit. The integral efficiency of Comair Airlines has put it in a position to greatly benefit from this. After the acquisition of regional jets in 1993 that analysts first warned of and now applaud, many other regionals have been quick to catch up. With dynamic fleet planning, Comair would be able to increase efficiency, customer satisfaction, and profits, and gain a distinct advantage over the rest of the regional airline industry.

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