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Automatic Optimization of Subproblems in Scheduling Airline Crews

Author

Listed:
  • Efthymios Housos

    (Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Patras, GR-26500 Rio-Patras, Greece)

  • Tony Elmroth

    (Carmen Systems AB, S-41103 Goteborg, Sweden)

Abstract

Scheduling crews is critical to operating an airline. We developed a selection process for selecting subproblems that reduces the size of the problems solved and improves the quality of the solutions. By focusing on solving the weekly and fully dated crew-scheduling problems, we developed a natural methodology for solving subproblems that calculates all the possible connections of one day while fixing the connections of all the other days. Results with large fleets of many carriers show that this process produces superior solutions to the weekly and fully dated problems even if the daily solution of the crew-scheduling problem is not available. Improving the weekly and fully dated problems provides significant benefit and flexibility to the crew-scheduling process. Most important, our method allows for the continuous maintenance and support of the solution close to the actual day of operation. Traditionally, airlines have fully optimized the daily solution, while optimizing the weekly solution manually. The method is in use at Lufthansa, SAS, Alitalia, and KLM and is producing excellent results for the weekly and fully dated crew-scheduling problems.

Suggested Citation

  • Efthymios Housos & Tony Elmroth, 1997. "Automatic Optimization of Subproblems in Scheduling Airline Crews," Interfaces, INFORMS, vol. 27(5), pages 68-77, October.
    • Handle: RePEc:inm:orinte:v:27:y:1997:i:5:p:68-77
    DOI: 10.1287/inte.27.5.68
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    Citations

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    Cited by:

    1. Maenhout, Broos & Vanhoucke, Mario, 2010. "A hybrid scatter search heuristic for personalized crew rostering in the airline industry," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 206(1), pages 155-167, October.
    2. K Papoutsis & C Valouxis & E Housos, 2003. "A column generation approach for the timetabling problem of Greek high schools," Journal of the Operational Research Society, Palgrave Macmillan;The OR Society, vol. 54(3), pages 230-238, March.
    3. Valouxis, Christos & Gogos, Christos & Goulas, George & Alefragis, Panayiotis & Housos, Efthymios, 2012. "A systematic two phase approach for the nurse rostering problem," European Journal of Operational Research, Elsevier, vol. 219(2), pages 425-433.

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