Robust Crew Pairing for Managing Extra Flights

Abstract

This paper discusses a modeling approach to robust crew pairing when a set of extra flights are likely to be added to the regular flight schedule. The set of these possible extra flights is known at the planning stage. We demonstrate that these extra flights may be incorporated into the schedule if necessary by modifying the planned crew pairings appropriately and without delaying or canceling existing flights. To this end, we either identify a pair of crews whose schedules may be (partially) swapped while adding an extra flight into the schedule or show that an extra flight may be inserted into the schedule of a crew without affecting others. We note that deadheading may be necessary in either case. For these two types of solutions, we define the appropriate feasibility rules with respect to the common airline regulations. Then, we suggest a robust mathematical programming model that aims at maximizing the total number of such solutions while keeping the increase in the crew cost at an acceptable level. The baseline solution for comparison is found by a conventional crew pairing model in the literature which ignores robustness at the planning stage and relies on recovery procedures at the time of operation. We then conduct computational experiments on a set of data generated from the actual data of an airline company. We solve the crew pairing problem both with the proposed robust model and the conventional model. Our results demonstrate the benefits of the proposed modeling approach.

Available Versions of this Item

• Robust Crew Pairing for Managing Extra Flights. (deposited 30 Oct 2007 14:54) [Currently Displayed]
  • Robust Crew Pairing for Managing Extra Flights. (deposited 06 Nov 2008 11:13)
    • Robust crew pairing for managing extra flights. (deposited 04 Feb 2009 13:37)
      • Robust crew pairing for managing extra flights. (deposited 30 Nov 2009 21:40)