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Fleet Assignment

The document outlines the Fleet Assignment Problem, focusing on the objective of matching aircraft characteristics with flight requirements to minimize costs. It details key characteristics for fleet assignment, logical constraints, and various types of constraints including maintenance and crew considerations. Additionally, it introduces graphical representations and decision variables involved in the assignment process.

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0% found this document useful (0 votes)
10 views13 pages

Fleet Assignment

The document outlines the Fleet Assignment Problem, focusing on the objective of matching aircraft characteristics with flight requirements to minimize costs. It details key characteristics for fleet assignment, logical constraints, and various types of constraints including maintenance and crew considerations. Additionally, it introduces graphical representations and decision variables involved in the assignment process.

Uploaded by

Rania
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Fleet Assignment

Introduction
 Fleet Diversity: Major air carriers operate various aircraft types to compete in markets
with different characteristics, such as demand and length of haul.

 Fleet Mix: As of Summer 2008, most major US carriers operate about ten different
fleets, with no single carrier operating one fleet type.

Fleet Assignment Problem

 Objective: The main goal is to match aircraft characteristics with flight requirements to
minimize total costs.

 Process: Determines the assignment of aircraft types to each flight in the schedule.

Key Characteristics for Fleet Assignment

1. Seat Capacity: Should match the expected passenger demand.

2. Flight Range: Distance between origin and destination must be within the aircraft's flight
range, limited by fuel capacity.

Additional Fleet Characteristics

 Fuel Consumption: Optimal travel distance for best fuel performance.

 Airport Compatibility: Large aircraft may face limitations at small airports due to runway
weight or gate configuration.

 Landing Fees: Airports charge different fees based on aircraft weight or capacity.

 Noise Levels: High noise level aircraft may face restrictions or curfews at certain airports.

 Maintenance Requirements: Fleet maintenance station location may influence flight


assignments.

Logical Constraints in Fleet Assignment

 Fleet Availability: Number of flights assigned to a fleet type should not exceed the
number of aircraft available.

 Continuity at Stations: Number of inbound flights assigned to a fleet type should equal
the number of outbound flights at any station.
Graphical Representation of the Fleet Assignment Problem
Inputs to the Fleet Assignment Problem

 Timetable of the Air Carrier: Represents the schedule of proposed flights.

 Flight Details: Each flight is defined by its origin, destination, and scheduled
departure time.

 Passenger and Cargo Demand: Expected demand for each flight is provided.

 Fleet Information: Includes the count of aircraft and their main characteristics.

Objective of the Fleet Assignment Problem

 Assignment of Aircraft Types: The main goal is to assign an appropriate aircraft type to
each flight in the schedule.

Graphical Representation

 Nodes and Edges: Flights are represented as nodes in a directed graph, with edges
indicating possible aircraft assignments.

 Feasible Paths: Construct feasible paths in the graph to determine the optimal
assignment of aircraft to flights.

 Cost Minimization: The objective is to minimize the total cost while satisfying constraints
such as aircraft availability and maintenance requirements.

Time-Staged Flight Network


Introduction to Time-Staged Flight Network

 Graphical Representation: Represents the air carrier timetable.

 Airports and Time: Airports are shown as vertical lines, and time is represented
vertically along each line.

 Flights: Each flight is depicted by a diagonal arc (arrow) connecting two airports,
indicating departure and arrival times.

Extended Time-Staged Flight Network

 Types of Arcs:

 Flight Arc: Represents the movement of an aircraft along a flight leg.


 Ground Arc: Represents the time at a station for activities like deplaning,
unloading, cleaning, refueling, boarding, and loading.

 Remaining Overnight (RON) Arc: Represents the aircraft staying overnight at a


station to operate an outbound flight the next day.

Flight Assignment at Stations

 Inbound and Outbound Flights: Each station has a set of inbound (arrivals) and
outbound (departures) flights with different characteristics.

 Aircraft Type Assignment: Flights are assigned to different aircraft types based on
expected demand and haul length.

 Continuity Condition: The number of inbound flights assigned to an aircraft type should
equal the number of outbound flights assigned to it, ensuring continuity at stations.

Example of Flight Assignment

 Graphical Representation: Inbound and outbound flights at an airport station are shown
with arrows representing different aircraft types.

 Aircraft Type Balance: For each aircraft type, the number of inbound flights equals the
number of outbound flights.
Interconnection Nodes
Definition and Components

 Interconnection Nodes: Classify movements of a particular aircraft type at a given


station.

 Aircraft Serving Arrivals: Aircraft arriving at the station.

 Aircraft Serving Departures: Aircraft departing before the next arrival.

 Grounded Aircraft: Aircraft on the ground before the first arrival and after the
last departure, including those that do not depart before the next arrival.

Continuity Condition

 Balance of Aircraft: Total number of aircraft into the node must equal the total number
of aircraft out from the node.

 Aircraft Into the Node: Includes flight arrivals and aircraft remaining from the
previous interconnection node.

 Aircraft Out from the Node: Includes aircraft serving departing flights and those
remaining on the ground for the next node.

Examples of Interconnection Nodes

 Node Representation: Nodes are denoted as node n and node n + 1.

 Arrivals and Departures: I[a, e, n] and O[a, e, n] represent arrivals and


departures of aircraft type e at airport a.

 Total Input and Output: IN[a, e, n] represents total aircraft input to node n, and
OUT[a, e, n] represents total output.

Last Interconnection Nodes of the Day

 Remaining Overnight (RON) Aircraft: Aircraft staying overnight at the station.

 Next Day Input: RON aircraft represent input to the first interconnection node of
the next day.
The Main Requirement of the Fleet Assignment Solution
Objective

 Goal: Assign aircraft types to flight legs to minimize costs or maximize profitability.

Decision Variable

 Definition: For each flight, a decision variable xfe is defined, representing the
assignment of aircraft type ee to flight leg ff.

Cost Function

 Components: The cost function cfe is the difference between the operating cost and the
revenue generated when aircraft type e is assigned to flight leg f.

 Operating Cost: Includes fleet type, fuel burn rate, trip length, landing fees, crew
cost, etc.

 Revenue: Depends on expected passenger demand, airfare, cargo demand, and


tariffs.

Objective Function

 Minimize Total Cost: The objective is to minimize the total cost for all flights in the
schedule.

 Mathematical Representation:
 Where:

 F = Set of flights in the schedule

 E[f]E[f] = Set of aircraft types that can operate flight leg f

Constraints

 Feasibility: Ensure that the assignment meets various constraints, such as:

 Aircraft Compatibility: Some aircraft types cannot operate certain flights due to
noise levels, runway requirements, or above-water flying restrictions.

 Logical Constraints: Number of flights assigned to a fleet type should not exceed
the number of available aircraft.

The following set of constraints needs to be verified for a feasible fleet


assignment solution.
1. Coverage Constraints: Ensure exactly one aircraft type is assigned to each flight leg in
the schedule.

2. Sizing Constraints: Ensure the total number of used aircraft of any type does not exceed
the total available aircraft of that type.

3. Continuity Constraints: Maintain continuity of aircraft types to guarantee that, at each


station, any arriving aircraft can leave on a valid departing flight.

4. Through-Flight Constraints: Ensure that inbound and outbound flights of a through flight
are of the same aircraft type.

5. Maintenance Constraints:

 Overnight Maintenance: Ensure a minimum number of aircraft remain overnight


at specified maintenance stations.

 Proportional Allocation: Specify the minimum and maximum number of aircraft


that may remain overnight at each maintenance station.

 Time-Window Constraints: Ensure aircraft remain at a maintenance station for a


minimum time period for special maintenance activities.

6. Crew Constraints:

 Minimum Flying Hours: Guarantee a minimum number of flying hours for the
crew.
 Crew Domicile: Ensure enough originating flights at each crew base to match
crew qualifications.

 Rest Period: Ensure crew arriving on an evening flight have a corresponding flight
the next morning after the required rest period.

In total, there are six main types of constraints with specific sub-constraints under maintenance
and crew constraints.

1. Coverage Constraints
 Objective: Ensure exactly one aircraft type is assigned to each flight leg in the schedule.

 Mathematical Representation:

 Decision Variable xfe: Equals 1 if aircraft type ee is assigned to flight leg ff,
otherwise 0.

2. Sizing Constraints
 Objective: Ensure the total number of used aircraft of any type does not exceed the total
available aircraft of that type.

 Mathematical Representation:

 Variables:

 pepe: Number of available aircraft of type ee.

 ACe: Set of flight, ground, and overnight arcs of aircraft type ee crossing
the designated counting time.
Example

 Counting Time: At 5:00 AM, the number of aircraft, ground, and remaining overnight
(RON) arcs crossing the designated counting time should be less than the available
number of aircraft of type ee.

Handling Infeasibility

 Variables:

 ue: Under-use of aircraft type ee.

 oe: Over-use of aircraft type ee.

 Objective Function: Includes a large penalty for over-use and a small benefit for under-
use to avoid infeasibility.

3. Continuity Constraints
Objective

 Maintain Continuity: Ensure that at each station, any arriving aircraft can leave on a
valid departing flight.

Continuity Condition

 Balance of Aircraft: For every node and each aircraft type, the total number of aircraft
into the node should equal the total number of aircraft out from the node.

 Aircraft Into the Node: Includes flight arrivals and aircraft remaining from the
previous interconnection node.

 Aircraft Out from the Node: Includes aircraft serving departing flights and those
remaining on the ground for the next node.

Example

 Node Representation: For node nn:

 Aircraft Into the Node: Flight arrivals (3) + Aircraft remaining from previous node
(2) = Total aircraft into the node (5).

 Aircraft Out from the Node: Departing flights (4) + Aircraft remaining on ground
for next node (1) = Total aircraft out from the node (5).

Mathematical Representation

 Continuity Constraints:
Where:

 NN = Set of interconnection nodes  A = set of airports


 E = set of aircraft types.
 EE = Set of aircraft types

4. Through-Flight Constraints
Definition

 Through Flight: An aircraft traveling from point A to point B with a stop at intermediate
station C to drop off and pick up passengers.

 Passenger Convenience: Passengers traveling from point A to point B do not


change aircraft at the intermediate station, avoiding gate connections.

Importance in Fleet Assignment

 Convenience: Air carriers schedule through flights to increase passenger convenience.

 Fleet Assignment Requirement: The fleet assignment solution must ensure that inbound
and outbound flights of a through flight are of the same aircraft type.

Example

 Hypothetical Schedule: If an air carrier plans for flights F1 and F2 to be a through flight
at a station, both flights must be assigned to the same equipment type.

Mathematical Representation

 Through-Flight Constraint:

If F1 and F2 are through flights, then e∈E[F1]∩E[F2]If F1 and F2 are through flights, then e∈E[F
1]∩E[F2]

 Ensures: Both flights F1 and F2 are assigned to the same aircraft type.

5. Maintenance Constraints
Objective

 Consider Maintenance Activities: Ensure the fleet assignment takes into account the
location and timing of maintenance activities.
Types of Maintenance Constraints

1. Overnight Maintenance

 Requirement: A minimum number meme of aircraft of fleet type ee must remain


overnight at specified maintenance stations.

 Mathematical Representation:

 Where:

 RON[e]RON[e]: Set of RON arcs for aircraft type ee at maintenance


stations.

2. Proportional Allocation

 Minimum and Maximum Limits: Specify the minimum and maximum number of
aircraft that may remain overnight at each maintenance station.

 Mathematical Representation:

 Where:

 RON[e,s]: Set of RON arcs for aircraft type ee at maintenance


station ss.

 lse: Minimum number of aircraft of type ee at station ss.

 use: Maximum number of aircraft of type ee at station ss.

3. Time-Window Constraints

 Minimum Time Period: Aircraft must remain at a maintenance station for a


minimum time period for special maintenance activities.
 Mathematical Representation:

 Where:

 W[e,s]: Set of time-window arcs for aircraft type ee at


maintenance station ss.

 Kse: Minimum number of aircraft of type ee required to remain at


station ss for a pre-specified time period.

Example

 Maintenance Facilities: If an air carrier locates its maintenance facilities at LAX and ORD,
the fleet assignment must ensure that the required number of aircraft remain overnight
at these stations.

6. Crew Constraints
Objective

 Consider Crew Requirements: Ensure the fleet assignment takes into account crew
locations, qualifications, and service conditions.

Types of Crew Constraints

1. Minimum Flying Hours

 Requirement: Guarantee a minimum number of flying hours for the crew, as


specified in their contracts.

 Mathematical Representation:

 Where:
 block timefe: Flight time of flight ff when operated by aircraft
type ee.

 Lce: Lower bound on flying hours for crew qualified for aircraft
type ee.

 Uce: Upper bound on flying hours for crew qualified for aircraft
type ee.

2. Crew Domicile

 Requirement: Ensure enough originating flights at each crew base to match crew
qualifications.

 Mathematical Representation:

 Where:

 aa: Crew domicile.

 AA: Set of crew domiciles.

 O[a]O[a]: Set of outbound flights from domicile aa.

 bfe: Minimum departures required for aircraft type ee at


station aa.

3. Rest Period

 Requirement: Ensure crew arriving on an evening flight have a corresponding


flight the next morning after the required rest period.

 Mathematical Representation:

 Where:

 t: Terminator flight arriving at night.


 J[t]: Set of flights originating the next morning after the required
rest period.

 xte: Assignment of aircraft type ee to terminator flight t.

Other Considerations

 Noise Levels: Avoid noisy fleets at certain airports.

 Curfews: Consider curfews on some fleets at certain airports.

 Runway and Gate Suitability: Ensure aircraft types are suitable for the runway and gate
configurations at airports.

 Cargo Traffic and Capacity: Take into account cargo traffic and capacity constraints.

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