Airline Network Planning and Scheduling

13Application of the Basic Fleet Assignment Model

13.1 Introduction

This chapter presents an application of the fleet assignment problem presented in the previous chapter. Given the values of the different parameters describing the problem, Microsoft Excel Solver is used to determine the optimal fleet assignment to the 16 flights considered in the schedule (Baker 2012). The network structure of the hypothetical airline is given in the previous chapter as shown in Figure 12.1. In addition, the flight schedules assuming the use of fleet types e1 and e2 are also given in Figures 12.2 and 12.3, respectively. All cost and revenue values given in this chapter are hypothetical values provided for illustration purposes only. Values used in real‐world applications are carefully estimated using thorough data collection and accounting methodologies.

13.2 Problem Input

As shown in the previous chapter, the hypothetical airline is assumed to operate 16 flights using two different fleet types. Figure 13.1 shows a snapshot of an Excel spreadsheet that describes the problem input. In this sheet, rows represent the 16 flights and columns represents the two fleet types, e1 and e2. In this sheet, the fleet assignment cost c_fe is given, which is the cost associated with assigning flight f to fleet type e ∀f ∈ F and ∀e ∈ E. As mentioned earlier, the assignment cost includes two main components: (i) the flight operating cost and (ii) the spill cost. The flight operating cost includes fuel cost, ...