BANK STRUCTURE GENERATOR

SPECIALIZED OPERATIONS RESEARCH MODEL

The bank structure is the structure of arrivals and departures at a hub. As such, it forms the heart of the schedule.

Bank structures affect the commercial impact of the schedules, their efficiency and the overall network earning power.

In each situation, there are literally millions of possible configurations and the Bank Structure Generator helps in balancing these main profit drivers.

  • Balancing main profit drivers
  • Optimal number of banks
  • Optimal timing of banks
  • Achieve critical mass
  • Review millions of variants

BANK STRUCTURE

The sensitivity of airline profits to the bank structure is very high.

Well know companies have jeopardized their future for decades by underestimating this.


A solidly designed bank structure requires a scrutinous trade-off between different profit drivers:

NETWORK EARNING POWER

A hub can only be successful if it generates enough connecting value to justify the extra costs.

Thus, banks need to have sufficient critical mass, while they also should not grow so big that they choke their own success.

Balancing the number of banks for optimal connectivity is crucial to the earning power of the hub.

COMMERCIAL POSSIBILITIES

The timing of the banks dictates departure times across the network.

This is the most visible effect of the structure. While it must be weighed heavily in the trade-off, it's also important to not sub-optimize on this factor alone.

The Bank Structure Generator's objective input helps to avoid this.

EFFICIENCY

The bank structure sets restraints to the efficiency of resources like fleet, crew, airport staff and facilities, etc.

If a bank structure compromises fleet utilization, for instance by forcing long overlays in out-stations, this is an inefficiency that the company will carry along for years.

So it is crucial to avoid this.

ROLE IN PROCESS

Bank structures can vary in number of banks, timings of the banks and other vital characteristics. In each situation, there are literally millions of possible configurations.

The Bank Structure Generator uses a MILP Operations research routine to extract the options that best balance the main profit drivers in an airline's specific situation.

This forms an ideal starting point for more detailed evaluations.

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