PLANNING A ROBUST SCHEDULE

If you want more intelligent solutions than just relaxing block times or adding ground times, our schedule robustness planning is your answer. It brings better punctuality with less efficiency-loss.

A dominant factor in passenger appreciation is punctuality. It's also one of the most intangible topics to manage. Many parties are involved in a complicated process that is steered by Murphy.

By sophisticated statistics-based scheduling refining and in-depth tuning of operational processes, our schedule robustness planning combines better punctuality with better efficiency:

• BUFFERS ONLY WHERE EFFECTIVE: The punctuality buffer tuner calculates exactly where extra ground times, operational reserves or block time buffers are effective.
• BETTER PUNCTUALITY: This makes it possible to allocate buffers where they have the best effect in securing a robust schedule.
• LESS EFFICIENCY LOSSES: It also makes it possible to identify which buffers are poorly effective and release them for extra production.
• CO-ORDINATED EFFORTS: Refocus in the operation from delay-code based prevention measures to co-ordinated efforts for limiting the impact of disturbances.

THE STEPS OF SCHEDULE ROBUSTNESS PLANNING
A Schedule Robustness Planning project unfolds in five steps:

3- ASSEMBLY MORE ROBUST SCHEDULE

4- REVIEW PROCESS CHANGES

The project closely involves company professionals, to verify steps and to address possible complications for implementation of the recommendations as soon as possible.

Thru time of the project is 2-5 weeks, depending on airline size and availability of company information.

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PROJECT OPTIONS

A Schedule Robustness project can be followed by support in streamlining processes, like the aircraft turnaround process or Airport Peak rationalization.

VALUE OF PUNCTUALITY
The client is unhappy with a delay. But how to weigh that?

No airline is without operational disruptions and passengers know or understand that. The impact of a delay is also different per individual. Where one may be heavily frustrated about 15' delay, another sees a 2hr delay as a minor glitch.

Nevertheless, there is no discussion that delays have a cost and we quantify both cost effects and revenue effects to enable a rational trade-off with measures or investments to improve punctuality.

DELAY CODES
Most airline efforts to control or improve on time performance concentrate on prevention. A detailed administration of delay codes helps to identify regular sources of disruptions. When applied well, it is a good way to tackle one side of the issue.

However, in practise delay codes often trigger a caroussel to pass on the hot potato, while missing out on the core of the matter. The core of the matter is that disruptions cannot be ruled out, even with the best managed departments. Efforts to cope with the impact of delays are just as important as efforts to prevent them.

POSSIBILITIES OF THE OPERATION

While the schedule has clear impact on Schedule Robustness, it is just as important to reach sufficient flexibility in the operation. This requires a specific company atmosphere. If each department sub optimizes in preventing delay codes, this aspect is easily sacrificed.

Only when departments or crew feel safe to make extra efforts to compensate for delays beyond their control, such flexibility can be achieved.

Some departments might need to make extra investments for contingency purposes even if they could deliver a good quality themselves at a higher efficiency. These kind of unorthodox trade-offs create a better balance between prevention, scheduling measures and flexibility.