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Schedule disruptions are common place in the airline industry with many flight-delaying events occurring each day. Recently there has been a focus on introducing robustness into airline planning stages to reduce the effect of these disruptions. We propose a recoverable robustness technique as an alternative to robust optimisation to reduce the effect of disruptions and the cost of recovery. We formulate the recoverable robust tail assignment problem (RRTAP) as a stochastic program, solved using column generation in the master and subproblems of the Benders' decomposition. We implement a two-phase algorithm for the Benders' decomposition and identify pareto-optimal cuts. The RRTAP includes costs due to flight delays, cancellation, and passenger rerouting, and the recovery stage includes cancellation, delay, and swapping options. To highlight the benefits of simultaneously solving planning and recovery problems in the RRTAP we compare our tail assignment solution against current approaches from the literature. Using airline data we demonstrate that by developing a better tail assignment plan via the RRTAP framework, one can reduce recovery costs in the event of a disruption. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For reasons of tractability, the airline scheduling problem has traditionally been sequentially decomposed into various stages (e.g., schedule generation, fleet assignment, aircraft routing, and crew pairing), with the decisions from one stage imposed upon the decision making process in subsequent stages. Although this approach greatly simplifies the solution process, it unfortunately fails to capture the many dependencies between the various stages, most notably between those of aircraft routing and crew pairing, and how these dependencies affect the propagation of delays through the flight network. Because delays are commonly transferred between late running aircraft and crew, it is important that aircraft routing and crew pairing decisions are made together. The propagated delay may then be accurately estimated to minimize the overall propagated delay for the network and produce a robust solution for both aircraft and crew. In this paper we introduce a new approach to accurately calculate and minimize the cost of propagated delay in a framework that integrates aircraft routing and crew pairing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how air passengers' expectations, ticket price, airline service quality, value, passenger satisfaction and airline image determine their buying behaviour. To test the conceptual frameworks, path analysis was applied to data collected from Korean and Australian international passengers to examine differences between these two groups. Further analyses were undertaken on different passenger segments between national and foreign airline passengers. The results of the path analysis reveal that air passengers' buying behaviour differs significantly between Korean and Australian international passengers. Results also reveal that the determinants of air passengers' buying behaviour differ by airlines. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article investigates how perceived price, airline service quality, perceived value, passenger satisfaction and airline image determine passengers’ future behavioural intentions. To test the conceptual framework, structural equation modelling using a maximum likelihood estimator was applied to data collected from Australian international air passengers. It was found that there were significant relationships between the variables except for three paths. The three insignificant paths were the relationship between ‘perceived price and passenger satisfaction’, ‘service quality and airline image’ and ‘perceived value and airline image’. Perceived price, perceived value, passenger satisfaction, and airline image were each found to have a direct effect on passengers’ future behavioural intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper investigates how individual dimensions of airline service quality determine airline image and passengers' future behavioural intentions. To investigate the effects of individual dimensions of airline service quality, Structural Equation Modeling using a maximum likelihood estimator, was applied to data collected from Australian international air passengers. It was found that there were significant relationships between the variables except one path. The dimension of in-flight service and the dimension of convenience and accessibility were each found to have a positive effect on airline image, which was directly related to Australian international air passengers' future behavioural intentions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Gate-to-gate punctuality has long been the operational goal of the air transport industry. In this paper, an analytical model is proposed to simulate the efficiency of aircraft turnaround operations at airports. Scenarios for different aircraft punctuality performance have been modelled and tested. The concept of scheduling buffer time into the ground time of aircraft turnaround operations is introduced in the model at the expense of reducing aircraft productivity to minimize system costs from operational uncertainties. Stochastic functions are employed to simulate the inbound punctuality of arrival aircraft in order to take into account the punctuality uncertainties from the operation of flight schedules. Flight data from a European carrier is used to validate the model. Analyses show that the proper use of schedule buffer time in aircraft turnaround time can minimize system costs by balancing trade-offs between schedule punctuality and aircraft utilization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attempts to develop a simulation model to stimulate aircraft rotation in a multiple airport environment. Advantage of using Markovian concepts in the modelling of aircraft turnaround activities; Definition of the rotation of an aircraft; Factors to which the implementation reliability of an aircraft rotation schedule relies.