Article ID: | iaor2001814 |
Country: | United States |
Volume: | 30 |
Issue: | 2 |
Start Page Number: | 41 |
End Page Number: | 53 |
Publication Date: | Mar 2000 |
Journal: | Interfaces |
Authors: | Soumis Franois, Desrosiers Jacques, Solomon Marius M., Lasry Arielle, McInnis Daniel |
Keywords: | scheduling, networks, vehicle routing & scheduling |
Air Transat operates charter flights to vacation spots. In 1993, it had an opportunity to expand, but its manual planning and scheduling system could not support rapid growth. Air Transat acquired the airline operations management system ALTITUDE, a three-module optimization package for aircraft routing, crew pairing, and monthly work assignment. The system helped the airline to streamline planning and scheduling and to focus on its core business and expansion rather than internal operational problems. By reducing the planning cycle, increasing operational flexibility, and supporting marketing, the system helped the company to become the largest charter operator in Canada. ALTITUDE ensures cost-effective solutions by optimizing planning and scheduling problems and allowing easy interfacing among them. It saved the company an estimated eight to 12 percent of total costs during the first year and over a million dollars during the second year in operation.