Question

For each objective, provide at least four policies to achieve the objective.

Long-Term objective:

1. Fleet Renovation: The first annual objective is to renovate 20 percent of the Delta Airline fleet which includes technology improvements and interior renovation. This objective should be completed within one year from which it starts.
2. Flight Capacity: The second annual objective is to operate five percent more full-capacity flights per year.
3. Operational Efficiency: The third annual objective is to improve total operational efficiency by five percent each year.

Answer 1

POLICIES TO ACHIEVE THE LONG TERM OBJECTIVES

I. FLEET RENOVATION: New technology helps in revolutionising air travel across the world. It would making flights more efficient and eco-friendly. It will also help to improve security and make flight planning and operations more effective. And, of course, it will also help in constantly changing passengers’ lives for the better – from faster check-ins and a better airport experience through to innovations that make flying more comfortable and rewarding. Some of the innovations and policies which would help in achieving this objective are as follows:

1. MAINTENANCE DRONES

Airlines can use maintenance drones to make inspection tasks faster and more efficient. They can be used to inspect lightning-strike damage in about 30 minutes, rather than the 4 to 6 hours it takes to do it manually. The drones also have the potential to scan fuselages, check parts are in good condition and plan repairs. Some analysts predict drone images of aircraft sections could be compared with online image databases, allowing defects to be detected automatically. Unmanned aerial vehicles could also be used to deliver spare parts in the future, cutting down on sourcing times and making repairs faster.

2. WEARABLE TECHNOLOGY

Wearable technology can also be employed as an innovation to the airlines. Uniforms of the former include LEDs to provide additional lighting in an emergency and to display important information like flight numbers. Similar lighting in ground staff jacket cuffs can be used to help with aircraft movement.

Engineers can benefit from LEDs in jacket hoods to illuminate work areas and leave both of their hands free for inspection and maintenance. In-built cameras and microphones allow remotely based colleagues to help troubleshoot technical issues, while air quality sensors allow wearers to monitor their work environment. While relatively simple innovations, the net result is to improve safety and make maintenance and repairs faster – delivering efficiencies to the flight operator.

3. THE POTENTIAL OF BLOCKCHAIN

Perhaps the biggest technological buzz in the air travel industry is centred on Blockchain technology, the system that powers the secure, virtual currency Bitcoin. Described as a ‘secure digital ledger of transactions and agreements’, Blockchain offers tamper-proof data that can be managed and shared via authorised access.

Blockchain could be a game changer for flight operators, which can use it to transform their maintenance and safety regimes. Data entered into the blockchain would allow companies to track where every part on a plane came from and exactly who had handled it, and when – bringing security and safety to new levels.

The technology could be also huge for passengers. Blockchain has the potential to link biometric ID with check-in and baggage handling systems, passport control, hotels, car rental agencies and much more – making the passenger experience fast and seamless without the risk of compromised or counterfeited personal data.

4. MORE EFFICIENT, ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY ROUTES

Flight operators now make use of new technology to optimise their routes and cut their emissions. For example, on a range of services Emirates is using technology that optimises routes for the prevailing weather, saving fuel and emissions – not to mention getting passengers to their destination quicker.

Future developments are even more exciting, with a solar-powered plane already successfully completing a round-the-world flight. It’s a big step towards reducing airlines’ reliance on fossil fuels, but it is likely to be many years before we see the world’s first solar-powered commercial aircraft.

II. FLIGHT CAPACITY: Approaches to managing capacity and demand can be categorized on the basis of timescale relative to flight operations: strategic planning and policies typically occurs months or even years in advance, tactical adjustments on a daily basis up to a few hours before operations, and real-time interventions immediately. Some of these policies which can be helpful in improving capacity by 5 percent each year are as illustrated below:

1. AIR TRAFFIC FLOW MANAGEMENT

Air traffic flow management (ATFM) refers to the process of optimizing, on a daily and hourly basis and in the presence of capacity constraints, the flow of air traffic in time and in space. ATFM will help in playing a growing role as a means of avoiding facility overload and reducing congestion costs at airports.

2. INCREASING CAPACITY PER SLOT

Airport capacity is measured in aircraft movements per hour. But the reason for the existence of commercial airports and, hence, what really matters is the ability to serve large numbers of people (and large amounts of cargo). The considerable potential for growth along this dimension relies on a set of conditions that will motivate airlines to use larger aircraft . Any reduction in capacity (as measured by the number of aircraft movements per hour) occasioned by the increased presence of larger aircraft in the fleet mix will be slight relative to the resulting increase in the number of seats the airport can process per hour.

3. EFFICIENT RECOVERY FROM IRREGULAR OPERATIONS

Air traffic operations are often disrupted by poor local or regional weather, such as snowstorms or major thunderstorms, that result in lengthy flight delays and numerous cancellations and missed passenger connections. Because these disruptions (“irregular operations”) account for a disproportionately large fraction of operational costs, it is critical that airlines be able to recover quickly and efficiently from such situations. To this end, the most advanced airlines have developed decision support capabilities that include dynamic operations recovery through rescheduling and re-optimization of resources. Essential to such recovery efforts is the sharing of real-time information among airlines, national and regional air navigation service providers (ANSP), and even passengers.

4. EFFICIENTLY DISTRIBUTING DEMAND

Passenger demand, especially for short- and medium-range flights, tends to peak strongly in the morning and evening hours. In the absence of any demand management interventions, aircraft operations at major airports are consequently also highly peaked. A need, thus, exists for improved demand management procedures that (a) consider the trade-off between delay and airport utilization, and (b) base slot allocation decisions, at least in part, on relevant economic criteria.

III. OPERATIONAL EFFICIENCY: Airlines can become more efficient through improvements in a variety of areas, such as aircraft and crew utilization, payload, maintenance check times and fuel consumption. There are many ways in which airlines may reduce their fuel consumption. Some of the policies for improving operational efficiency annual objectives by 5 percent each year are as follows:

1. REAL-TIME DATA AND FLEXIBILITY

An airline is one organisation that simply cannot function – or be compliant – without having accurate logs and tailor made solutions, giving them an overview of everything from maintenance processes and expenditure to aircraft documentation/manuals. And it’s this data and flexibility that gives an operator the capacity to react to unplanned maintenance events, keeping its aircraft off ground for as long as possible.

In addition, the module features a maintenance control diary that gives airlines the chance to report aircraft information including handover reports or AOG information and a technical library that can record all documentation received as well as manage copyholders worldwide. Plus, it perfectly compliments other Envision modules, such as the Operations Manager, by utilising the information from the other components, which removed the need to input data more than once.

2. FORECASTING AND PLANNING

Forecasting and planning module is a popular solution for airlines; it gives them the ability to utilise complex control combinations for scheduled and unscheduled maintenance for both fixed and rotary wing aircraft on civil and military programmes and through its comprehensive functions ticks many money-saving boxes. Importantly, it gives users the confidence to work on forecasting scenarios for both actual and planned programmes to deliver true maintenance effectiveness comparisons, as well as the confidence to change aircraft programmes so that airlines can compare actual dues against potential dues on a parallel planned programme. With this module an airline can do just that. And when paired with the Operations Module, planned maintenance visits are visible on the operations planning boards, giving an even clearer overview of internal processes and operations.

3. WORKSHOPS AND CONFERENCES

Workshops are a comprehensive and interactive platform for airline staff to improve their understanding of operational efficiency and cost management in the areas of Flight Operations, Technical Operations, Ground Operations, Operations Control Centre (OCC), and Operations Planning.

4. ON-SITE ASSESSMENTS AND IMPLEMENTATION ASSISTANCE

On-site assessments assist airlines in identifying, quantifying and prioritizing opportunities for improvement and reducing operational costs. The assessment is conducted through the analysis of the airline’s data, interviews with key personnel and observation of the operation (i.e. ramp, hangar and in-flight) as required.