Question

CASE STUDY
ALABAMA AIRLINE’S CALL CENTER
Alabama Airlines opened its doors in December 2001 as a commuter service with its
headquarters and hub located in Birmingham. The airline was started and managed by two
former pilots, David Douglas and George Devenney. It acquired a fleet of 12 used prop-jet
planes and the airport gates vacated by Delta Air Line’s 2001 downsizing due to September 11
terrorist attacks.
Table 1. Incoming Call Distribution
Time Between Calls (minutes) Probability
1 .11
2 .21
3 .22
4 .20
5 .16
6 .10
With business growing quickly, Douglas turned his attention to Alabama Air’s “800”
reservations system. Between midnight and 6:00 A. M., only one telephone reservations agent
had been on duty. The time between incoming calls during this period is distributed as shown in
Table 1. Carefully observing and timing the agent, Douglas estimated that the time required to
process passenger inquiries is distributed as shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Service-Time Distribution
Time to Process Customer Inquiries (minutes) Probability
1 .20
2 .19
3 .18
4 .17
5 .13
6 .10
7 .03
All customers calling Alabama Air go “on hold” and are served in the order of the calls received
unless the reservations agent is available for immediate service. Douglas is deciding whether a
second agent should be on duty to cope with customer demand. To maintain customer
satisfaction, Alabama Air wants a customer to be “on hold” for no more than 3 to 4 minutes; it
also wants to maintain a “high” operator utilization.
Furthermore, the airline is planning a new TV advertising campaign. As a result, it expects an
increase in “800” line phone inquiries. Based on similar campaigns in the past, the incoming call
distribution from midnight to 6:00 A. M. is expected to be as shown in Table 3. (The same service-time distribution will apply.)

Table 3. Incoming Call Distribution
Time Between Calls (minutes) Probability
1 .22
2 .25
3 .19
4 .15
5 .12
6 .07

Discussion Questions
1. Given the original call distribution, what would you advise Alabama Air to do for the
current reservation system? Create a simulation model to investigate the scenario.
Describe the model carefully and justify the duration of the simulation, assumptions, and
measures of performance.
2. What are your recommendations regarding operator utilization and customer satisfaction
if the airline proceeds with the advertising campaign?

Discussion Questions
1. Given the original call distribution, what would you advise Alabama Air to do for the
current reservation system? Create a simulation model to investigate the scenario.
Describe the model carefully and justify the duration of the simulation, assumptions, and
measures of performance.
2. What are your recommendations regarding operator utilization and customer satisfaction
if the airline proceeds with the advertising campaign?

Answer 1

Answer: ---- Date: ----29/11/2018

1)

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