Addressing Aviation’s Major Challenges with Aviation Planning Services

“An hour of planning can save you 10 hours of doing.” This quote from?Dale Carnegie, the renowned American developer of business training courses, says it all. Good planning is essential since aviation today is more challenged than ever. Persistent labor shortages, air traffic control delays, increased demand, adverse weather conditions, aircraft mechanical problems, and geo-political developments are rampant. To address these challenges and remain competitive, airlines, airports and ground handlers require advanced aviation planning services.

Keep in mind too that the cost of disruptions to airlines in the pre-COVID period has been estimated to be 8% of airline revenue or approximately?$60 billion annually worldwide. Back in 2011, the European Commission, in its “Flightpath 2050: Europe’s Vision for Aviation Report,” suggested that intermodal transport, whereby different transport modes could be integrated, might be an effective way to improve the travelers’ experience and address some of aviation’s challenges.

Now, however, there are advanced technologies that can enable passengers to gain an improved traveling experience using air transportation and without increased dependence on other modes of transport. One example gaining widespread interest is Planning as a Service Optimization software. In addition to not requiring lengthy and complex installations, aviation planning software supports effective, strategical, and tactical planning that optimizes decision-making and resources, while helping to enhance the passenger experience.

From SLA-Based Workload Calculations to Scenario Planning and KPI Assessments

Using aviation planning services software, planners can address flight disruptions by applying scenario planning to calculate and compare alternative scenarios to determine the most viable option. This scenario capability also facilitates future planning by providing information on the impact of changes to flight schedules and the what-if scenarios.

To best manage increased demand, fight data and service level agreement (SLA)-based workload calculations for both staff and equipment is supported through the software’s rule-based defaults for flight linkage, passenger, and baggage data. Optimized shift demand planning achieved via optimized workload coverage (e.g., using shifts, roster lines, task-based shift planning, etc.) is also supported.

Supporting Aviation Companies’ Operational Preparation

Consider the typical way an operations manager for a ground handler or airport prepares for day’s operations. Prior to each season, the operations manager will obtain the seasonal flight schedules for each airline using the specific airport. These schedules come in different formats, for example, a CSV file or in the SSIM format. These schedules have to be merged into one document to enable the operations manager to calculate the workload for all of the flights. Once this task is accomplished, he must determine if there is adequate staff with the right skills available to cover the calculated workload.

An additional determination that must be made is (...)

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