Reducing the effect of passengers’ non-compliance with aircraft boarding rules

The quest for efficient aircraft boarding strategies continues to generate lots of business and scientific discussions. Boarding strategies define rules and procedures aimed to reduce boarding time and operational cost. Most of the proposed strategies do not account for passengers’ non-compliance with boarding rules. Non-compliance is one of the major non-deterministic problems that can degrade any performance improvement to be expected from adopting a boarding strategy. To that, it is of paramount interest to shed light on this problem and introduce approaches for mitigating any related performance degradation in the boarding process. Although some recent research investigations considered the effect of non-compliance on the overall boarding time under different strategies, there was a lack of remedial actions. This paper dissects the operational characteristics of the non-compliance activity, proposes two different intervention approaches to deal with non-complying passengers, and analyzes the resulting impact under different categories of boarding strategies using a cellular-automaton-based simulation.     

Social distancing in airplane seat assignments

This paper addresses the airplane passengers’ seat assignment problem while practicing social distancing among passengers. We proposed a mixed integer programming model to assign passengers to seats on an airplane in a manner that will respect two types of social distancing. One type of social distancing refers to passengers being seated far enough away from each other. The metric for this type of social distancing is how many passengers are seated so close to each other as to increase the risk of infection. The other type of social distancing refers to the distance between seat assignments and the aisle. That distance influences the health risk involved in passengers and crew members walking down the aisle. Corresponding metrics for both health risks are included in the objective function. To conduct simulation experiments, we define different scenarios distinguishing between the relative level of significance of each type of social distancing. The results suggest the seating assignments that best serve the intention of the scenarios. We also reformulate the initial model to determine seat assignments that maximize the number of passengers boarding an airplane while practicing social distancing among passengers. In the last part of this study, we compare the proposed scenarios with the recommended middle-seat blocking policy presently used by some airlines to keep social distancing among passengers. The results show that the proposed scenarios can provide social distancing among seated passengers similar to the middle-seat blocking policy, while reducing the number of passengers seated close to the aisle of an airplane.     

A dynamically optimized aircraft boarding strategy

Airline carriers, airports and passengers have common interests in expediting the aircraft boarding process for economical, operational, and customer satisfaction reasons respectively. Several boarding strategies have been proposed in the literature aiming to reduce the boarding time. Several theoretical models were able to achieve near optimum performance, but ignored the important aspect of allowing family and groups to board together in cliques. Some other models achieved top performance by pre-assigning passengers to seats, which deprived them from the essential privilege of choosing their own seats. The Dynamically Optimized Boarding strategy is proposed to shorten the boarding time, reduce on-board interferences, and allow passengers' cliques to proceed together to their reserved seats. Passengers are sequenced in a boarding queue based on their seats' positions, associated cliques, and the possibility of interferences, immediately after the last check-in. They are required to board the aircraft according to their positions in the queue. A technology-aided announcement process can help in guiding batches of passengers to a small pre-boarding area in order to aggregate before boarding the aircraft. A simulation-based study showed that the proposed strategy achieved a near-optimum performance without breaching the passengers' right to walk in cliques to their preferred seats.     

A new model of luggage storage time while boarding an airplane: An experimental test

The boarding process is on the critical path of the turn-around. Reduction in boarding time can benefit airline carriers and airports and improve passenger satisfaction. However, aisle interference caused by passengers placing their luggage during boarding is a key factor leading to cabin congestion and low boarding efficiency. Therefore, the storage time for the carry-on luggage and its influencing factors is analyzed in this study. An experiment was conducted in a B737-800 model (1/3 size) to explore the factors effecting the time of luggage storage, and a new effective model of luggage storage time is proposed through a significance test and data fitting. The results show that the age of passengers, the type and quantity of luggage, and the existing luggage in the luggage bin have a significant impact on the luggage storage time; the rule of the variation in luggage placing time is similar between young adult passengers and middle aged passengers; the impact of the existing luggage in the overhead bin on the luggage storage time shows a stable trend in the initial period, but with the quantity of the luggage increasing to a certain point, the luggage storage time begins to increase sharply, which is known as a “jump”; and the luggage type has a great influence on the threshold value of jump. The results of the study can provide a reference for airlines to manage cabin luggage to improve boarding efficiency and improve passenger experience.     

Reducing airplane boarding time by accounting for passengers' individual properties: A simulation based on cellular automaton

The increase of air travel puts tremendous burden on airline companies. A time saving boarding strategy is required to improve the utilization of airplane boarding time and explore flexible time management strategies. Firstly, an improved boarding strategy is introduced by assigning individual passengers to seats based on the number of luggage they carry. Passengers with the most luggage board onto the plane first. To test the behavior of boarding strategies under different conditions, a sophisticated simulation environment based on cellular automata model is designed. Simulation results indicate that the improved boarding strategy shows an excellent efficiency and robustness comparing with other strategies.     

A fast airplane boarding strategy using online seat assignment based on passenger classification

The minimization of the turnaround time, the duration which an aircraft must remain parked at the gate, is an important goal of airlines to increase their profitability. This work introduces a procedure to minimize of the turnaround time by speeding up the boarding time in passenger aircrafts. This is realized by allocating the seat numbers adaptively to passengers when they pass the boarding gate and not before. Using optical sensors, an agility measure is assigned to each person and also a measure to characterize the size of her/his hand-luggage. Based on these two values per passenger and taking into account additional constraints, like reserved seats and the belonging to a group, a novel seat allocation algorithm is introduced to minimize the boarding time. Extensive simulations show that a mean reduction of the boarding time with approximately 15% is achieved compared to existing boarding strategies. The costs of introducing the proposed procedure are negligible, while the savings of reducing the turnaround time are enormous, considering that the costs generated by inactive planes on an airport are estimated to be about 30 $ per minute.     

Impact of landing fees on airlines’ choice of aircraft size and service frequency in duopoly markets

A one-shot simultaneous game-theoretic model is applied in a duopoly market to investigate how airport landing fees could influence airlines’ decisions on aircraft size and service frequency. It is found that higher landing fees will force airlines to use larger aircraft and less frequency, with higher load factor for the same number of passengers. It is also found that airlines will be better off if some of the extra landing fees are returned to airlines as a bonus for airlines using larger aircraft, which consequently reduces airport congestion.     

Passengers perceptions of airport branding strategies: The case of Tom Jobim International Airport – RIOgaleão,Brazil

This study examines the passengers perceptions of Tom Jobim International Airport – RIOgaleão branding strategies and its impact to their experiences in light of the airport branding elements proposed by the literature. To achieve these aims it was conducted a semi-structured interview with the airport's branding manager and a questionnaire with the passengers (n = 92). The findings showed that the airport's new management company has been employing tourist branding strategies using a mix of elements, but it is possible that these actions have had the main objective of raising the airport to international service standards, whereby the operation of terminals by large companies is a trend. It was also concluded that some of the airport branding elements (i.e. logos and slogans) are well developed and represent a higher impact on passenger experience, while others (i.e. retail pricing strategies) require further attention and new approaches in order to improve passenger experience in the terminal.     

Future aircraft turnaround operations considering post-pandemic requirements

Air Transportation is a major contributor to international mobility and has high requirements to ensure safe and secure operations. Aircraft ground operations are impacted significantly by the current pandemic situation so that standard operating procedures need a redesign to incorporate the upcoming sanitation requirements. In particular, the passenger boarding process is challenged with requirements for physical distances between passengers, while in addition to standard cleaning, the cabin has to be disinfected after each flight. We evaluate potential alterations of these two aircraft cabin processes with respect to a pre-pandemic reference aircraft turnaround. The implementation of microscopic approaches allows to consider individual interactions and a step-wise process adaptation aiming for an efficient operational design. We find a significant extension of boarding times (more than doubled) if the physical distance rule is applied. The new disinfection process further extends the critical path of the turnaround, so we see a high impact on airport and airline operations. To compensate for the increased workload and process times, we provide an integrated cleaning and disinfection procedure with additional personnel. Our results indicate that the pre-pandemic turnaround times cannot be maintained for the same seat load, even if the process adaptations are being implemented. However, a seat allocation scheme with empty middle-seats (seat load of 67%) and the use of an apron position (additional use of rear aircraft door for boarding) enable pre-pandemic turnaround times without additional cleaning personnel. Aircraft turnarounds at terminal positions require between 10% (with additional personnel) and 20% (without additional personnel) more ground time.     

Changes in airport operating procedures and implications for airport strategies post-COVID-19

Covid-19 is demanding a lot of changes in the realm of our daily lives. The aviation industry is also facing unprecedented changes in the management environment. Financial tensions across the sector are rising. This study suggests that the airport strategy's direction focusing on commercial revenue management. After Covid-19, safety and hygiene will be the top priority. As a result, changes in airport operating procedures are inevitable. The most noticeable difference will be the strengthening of the verification process for passengers' health conditions. Dwell time increase can be the by-products. This study identifies a dwell time increase has a more significant impact on increasing the existing purchasers' spending than creating new buyers. Airport operators can introduce a service differentiation perspective, such as a dedicated service, to utilize the current buyers' dwell time more faithfully. Also, the rise of online channels requires airport operators to change sales strategies, reinforcing emotional promotion to stimulate impulse buyers' willingness-to-buy. Before Covid-19, there was little effort to reconcile operation policies and commercial revenue despite the growing importance of revenue management. However, now it is time to change. Pre-Covid-19, passengers were advised of using off-airport processes, such as online check-in and mobile boarding passes. Now, getting passengers to the airport quickly and securing their dwell time can be financially more beneficial. It is necessary to incorporate the commercial revenue perspective into operation policies post-Covid-19 actively. Our finding indicates that even a passenger with solid purchasing power may lose the purchasing intention when assigned to an unfavorable gate or terminal. Airport operators need a better understanding of passenger and flight characteristics when determining operation policy, such as gate allocation or membership services.     

A study of the airline boarding problem

The airline industry is currently under intense pressure to simultaneously increase efficiency, customer satisfaction, and profitability. The boarding process is one way to achieve this objective as it lends itself to adaptive changes. The purpose of this paper is to determine the most cost-effective way to board passengers and still maintain quality and customer satisfaction. We conclude that the best strategy is to use a non-traditional methodology of outside-in or some modification thereof. The findings suggest that airline managers should consider issues related to evenly distributing boarding activity throughout the aircraft, developing more effective policies for managing carry-on luggage, and using simultaneous loading through two doors.     

Experimental test of airplane boarding methods

We report the results of an experimental comparison of airplane boarding methods. This test was conducted in a mock Boeing 757 fuselage, located on a Southern California soundstage, with 12 rows of six seats and a single aisle. Five methods were tested using 72 passengers of various ages. We found a significant reduction in the boarding times of optimized methods over traditional methods. These improved methods, if properly implemented, offer the potential for significant savings to airline companies.     

Simulation method for dispatching national border security manpower to mitigate manpower shortage

Recently, a record number of passengers have entered and exited Taiwan from Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport (TTIA). The number of passengers from Taiwan to mainland China has increased largely because of the improvement of cross-strait cultural interaction and other policies, as well as the opening of direct flights. Not only located in the transport hub of the East Asia Taoyuan International Airport is becoming more important and can provide 24 h Airport service, but also airport immigration officers must take 24 h shift to carry out the passenger document inspection requirement, Immigration officers can be fatigued by long shifts, thus negatively affecting border security clearance efficiency and work performance. Consequently, innovative management practices regarding immigration officers are necessary to strengthen international cooperation against terrorism. This study used system simulation Delphi interviews and a heuristic algorithm to determine the required number of airport immigration officers during a fixed passenger waiting time, for improving the efficiency and stability of airport immigration officers who work to consolidate the border security of the country. The results showed that the utilization of airport immigration officers at Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport is higher than 97.99%, and their work hours have been reduced by more than 54.68%. These results proved that using a system simulation can reduce long work shifts and negligence, which can lead improved border security and airport service quality. Additionally, the simulation results that when the National Immigration Agency and Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport implement the biometrics verification system for noncitizens, significant manpower shortages are expected. These shortages can cause complaints from customers and result in a negative image of the quality of airport service. Assigning priority to setting the E-GATE system to compensate for the lack of immigration officers would result in more efficient and effective border security.     

Airline strategies for aircraft size and airline frequency with changing demand and competition: A simultaneous-equations approach for traffic on the north Atlantic

Airport planners need to know the forecast demand on the facilities provided airside at airports. For this they need to know how airlines will deal with traffic in terms of the size of aircraft and frequency of service. In response to increasing demand, airlines may increase capacity by increasing the frequency of flights or they may choose to increase aircraft size. This may yield operating cost economies. If the airports they operate from are capacity constrained they will be limited in the extent that they can change frequency that will limit their ability to compete with the number of frequencies offered. Consequently, these airports are excluded as are major hubs as frequencies will be influenced by connecting passengers. Routes are identified on the north Atlantic that can be analysed and conclusions are suggested on the basis of three stage least-squares estimates for pooled time series-cross section data. An increase in passengers on the whole will result in a larger increase in frequency than in aircraft size but the impact of competition does not yield significant results due to the strategy of excluding certain categories of airport.     

Germany’s changing airport infrastructure: the prospects for ‘newcomer’ airports attempting market entry

Despite fluctuations for economic or political reasons, the number of passengers and volume of cargo carried by air is growing quickly, leading to a shortage of airport capacity in some European regions with few slots available at some hubs. This problem has accelerated the trend towards an increase in airport capacity for larger aircraft everywhere, a process which started in the UK and is now continuing throughout Europe, especially in Germany. Apart from development at the hubs, however, many small airports have also been enlarged, former military airbases have been converted to civilian use, and new runways are to be built in areas away from centres of population. These changes have occurred within a short period of time. In Germany, the number of available airports with runways over 1800 m will have doubled in a period of 10–15 years.     

Management of airport congestion through slot allocation

The lack of airport slots (the time allocated for an aircraft to land or take off), particularly at airports which experience congestion, have reached unmanageable proportions in recent years. The International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) records that, by the end of 1997, there were 132 slot controlled international airports. The World of Civil Aviation, 1997–2000. ICAO Circular 273-AT/113, p. 12 (118 year round and 14 during peak seasons). Between 1989 and 1998 the reported number of commercial aircraft in service increased by about 60% from 11,253 to 18,139 aircraft. In 1998, 1463 jet aircraft were ordered, compared with 1309 in 1997, and 929 were delivered compared with 674 aircraft in 1997. In 1998, the total scheduled traffic carried by airlines of the 185 Contracting States of ICAO amounted to a total of about 1462 million passengers and about 26 million tonnes of freight. These figures¹ are reflective of the rapidly increasing frequency of aircraft movements at airports, calling for drastic management of airport capacity. To cope with the demand, airlines are forming strategic alliances with themselves by utilizing such commercial tools as franchising, leasing and interchange of aircraft. The management of airport capacity through slot allocation is a critical consideration for the world aviation community. This article analyses the problem and discusses various issues related thereto.     

Dynamic management of aircraft stand allocation

This paper aimed to present an original approach for solving the aircraft stand allocation (SA) problem dynamically when due to operational disturbances, the planned allocation cannot be accomplished. The proposed Multiple-criteria Dynamic Stand Allocation (MDSA) method uses fuzzy logic to support decision-making under uncertainty. The MDSA method provides effective solutions in a short time, necessary for traffic management in case of delays, emergency, and untypical cases. It considers partially conflicting points of view of different airport users (airport managers, air traffic controllers, airlines, handling agents, and passengers) and may significantly support managers on the SA problem. The approach proposed can also be used for creating an initial SA plan for a considerable number of aircraft.     

Estimating hourly variations in passenger volume at airports using dwelling time distributions

A mathematical model using a probability density function of the terminal dwelling time distribution is developed to estimate the number of passengers arriving at an airport terminal at various times. A two-way ANOVA that tests the effects on different airports and access time durations were carried out, and the results showed a significant difference between terminal dwelling times among airports. The paper also provides some insight into airport terminal operation when there are significant changes to flight schedules and the introduction of new airlines, etc.     

Modelling of aircraft rotation in a multiple airport environment

The objective of this paper is to develop a simulation model to simulate aircraft rotation in a multiple airport environment. The developed aircraft rotation model (AR model) consists of two sub-models, namely the aircraft turnaround model, which describes the operation of aircraft turnaround activities at an airport and the Enroute model, which simulates the enroute flight time of an aircraft in the airspace between two airports. Delays due to operational disruptions from aircraft turnaround activities are modelled by stochastic variables in the aircraft turnaround model. Uncertainties from schedule punctuality are modelled by probability density functions in the Enroute model. The proposed aircraft rotation model is employed to carry out a case study by using real schedule and punctuality data from a European schedule airline. Simulation results when compared with observation data validate the effectiveness of the aircraft rotation model. The proposed model is also found suitable for airlines to serve as a schedule planning and analysis tool.     

Airport–airline interaction: the impact of low-cost carriers on two European airports

This paper uses case studies to look at the impact of low-cost airlines on two European airports. Low-cost airlines continue to exert an influence in air transport markets and small airports face pressures to compete for their business. The low-cost model motivates airlines to negotiate contracts that significantly reduce aeronautical revenues, leaving airports to compensate by seeking commercial revenues from the increase in passengers. This has consequences for the airports, their passengers and the relationship between the airport and its existing operators. It is found that it is important for airport management to see both passengers and airlines as customers and to understand the resultant revenue streams, before negotiating preferential contracts with low-cost carriers.