Airline Scheduling

"Anyone without the mind of a computer, the patience of Job, or the ability to compromise
need not apply." This sign should be on the. door of every airline's scheduling department.
Schedules represent one of the primary products of an airline and certainly the leading factor in a
passenger's choice of a particular carrier. Scheduling may also be one of the most difficult jobs in
any airline. Scheduling is one of the most vital functions in the business --as important as
forecasting, pricing, fleet planning, or financing. As we shall see, a schedule can make or break
an airline.”


Airline schedules, once published, must be flown by the company's flight crews, the
flight operations department must ensure that flights are scheduled in a fashion that will permit
them to be safely and efficiently operated. The following operational factors are important in
schedule planning:
• Airport runway lengths
• Aircraft fuel capacity
• Habitual adverse weather
• Air traffic control l and routings
• Crew time limits
• Employee agreements
Obviously airport runway lengths, aircraft fuel capacities, and so forth affect scheduling
decisions. Other less obvious but equally important factors in drafting schedules includes
weather, aircraft routings, and flight crew scheduling.

In this sense, the term weather is used to describe the type of condition that occurs ordinarily at
a specific locale during certain times of the day or seasons of the year. For example, in winter
months, weather may make it inadvisable to overnight an aircraft in a particular northern city
where hangar facilities are not available. Although overnighting might facilitate the operation of
a desirable late-evening arrival and early-morning departure, the need to remove snow and ice
from the aircraft after a storm might make such an operation impractical. Certain areas of the
country, such as the Gulf Coast, do not lend themselves to dependable on-time or safe operations
because of the likelihood of fog from shortly after midnight until sometime before noon. Often,
flights scheduled during this period must be delayed or canceled or, if operated, restricted in load
because of the excess fuel reserves required for safety
A second operational factor concerns air traffic control (ATC). ATC routings often
dictate longer flight times between two points than normal In addition; certain flight segments
are subjected to route closures and resultant time-consuming and costly diversion by military
actions.

Maani Sharma [ MBA Aviation ]
Manager Aviation NEWS Project

www.All-Aviation-NEWS.in

www.AeroSoftCorp.com

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www.AeroSoft.co.in

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