PAF KIET

Airline Operation

Aircraft Routing
21. Aircraft Routing

• 21.1 Definition Aircraft Routing

• Aircraft Routing is the process of assigning each individual aircraft (tail

number wise) in fleet to flight legs (routes). Also known as Tail
Assignment. The major objective is to maximize revenues by optimal
utilization of resources (aircraft). E.g; PIA has its tail number of B777
aircraft are AP-BGJ, AP-BGK or AP-BGK etc. Here AP is the two letter
code designator for Pakistan and BGK, BGJ and BGL are serial number
of aircraft at the time of registration with Civil Aviation Authority.
21. Aircraft Routing

• 21.2 Concept of Aircraft Routing

• In fleet there are various type of aircraft. The best approach is to
optimize their performance by using it adequately on the routes the
airline fly. However, there are certain issues being faced by airlines
like; Maintenance issues, flight coverage, and aircraft balance and
also the availability of maintenance facilities at few locations. The
scheduler has to ensure the availability of aircraft for the assigned
flight leg. It has to be assured that the flight leg has to be carried out
by the same aircraft (tail number) except during the maintenance
checks.
21. Aircraft Routing
• 21.3 Definitions
• Maintenance Checks A, B, C, D…… To remain airworthy every aircraft has to fulfill the
maintenance requirements as recommended by the manufacturer. It includes aircraft hull,
engine, spare parts etc. During the checks the aircraft is taken out of schedule for certain time
and the flight leg is flown by an alternate aircraft. This factor is the core point of aircraft routing as
the efforts should be put in to make the availability of aircraft with maximum cost saving possible.
(Chart below)
•
No Check Recommended Maintenance Time

1 A 200-250 flying hrs 24-48 hrs

2 B Twice a year One week

3 C Once every 2 years One week

4 D 5-6 years Two – three weeks

21. Aircraft Routing

• 21.4 Definitions
• Maintenance Routing is the approach that schedule is repeated over a period of
time.
• Turnaround Time is the minimum time required from time it lands until it is ready
to depart again. As per industry average it is usually 30-45 minutes for small
aircraft (up to 50 seats), One hour to 1.5 hrs for Narrow body (150 – 200 seats)
and 1.5 to 2 hrs for wide body aircraft (300 plus seats). This includes; taxi time,
disembarkation, unloading of baggage, cleaning, inspections, boarding and
loading of baggage. Of course the airport and number of passengers also have
some effect on it.
• Valid Routing is the validation of routing after incorporation of turnaround time
21. Aircraft Routing

• 21.5 Definitions
• Routing Cycle is when an aircraft starts from a city and after completing its flight
legs returns to same city. The duration of cycle can vary e.g; flights going from
Karachi to Islamabad daily makes three to four cycles whereas flight going o
Toronto may complete its cycle after 36 hours. The aircraft routing does cater to
the issues related to the cycles for the smooth functioning. Flight coverage and
size of fleet has its own effects. PIA has its main engineering facility at KHI where
all checks are performed whereas for A320 and ATR aircraft it has two facilities for
check A only at Lahore and Islamabad. Therefore the aircraft routing should be
such that it must incorporate the availability of aircraft for maintenance and
regular schedule also.
• Flight Coverage requires that every flight must be covered or flown
 PAF KIET
Airline Operation

Crew Scheduling
22. Crew Scheduling
• 22.1 Definitions
• Crew scheduling involves the process of identifying sequence of flight legs and
assigning both the cockpit and cabin crews to these sequences. Total crew cost is
usually the second largest figure after fuel especially in new aircraft. On the
average they sum up to around 4-5% of the operating cost.
• Crew Pairing is a sequence of flight legs within the same fleet that starts and
ends at same crew base.
• Crew base is the home station in which the crew actually lives. Large airlines have
more than one crew bases. The objective of crew pairing is to find a set of
pairings that covers all flights and minimizes the total crew cost.
22. Crew Scheduling
• 22.2 Definitions
• Duty: A working day of a crew may consists of several flight segments. The flight
duty hours vary from 8-10 hrs for both cockpit and cabin crew. The next duty will
start after completion of mandatory rest.
• Rest (FDTL,Flight Duty Time Limitations) These are the rules and regulations
concerning the rest of crew as prescribed the Civil Aviation Authority and are
strictly mandatory. The violation may cause suspension of licenses and restriction
or downgrading of category of airline.
• Sit Connection A connection during duty is called as sit connection. This involves
waiting time on part of crew for changing planes onto their next leg of duty.
21. Crew Scheduling
• 22.3 Definitions
• Crew Rostering is the second phase of crew scheduling. After crew pairing crew
rostering is the process of assigning individual crew members to crew pairings.
The factors which influence the crew scheduling involve; crew training, rest
period, seniority, influence exerted by unions and groups. However, the main
objective is to optimize the crew utilization with maximum cost saving without
compromising on safety standards.
• Bid Line procedure The airlines assign crews to schedules based on their in house
priority system. This method where the employees bid for pre constructed rosters
are called bid line procedure.
• Process of assigning roster to cockpit and cabin crew are different as the cockpit
crew can fly only that aircraft for which they have a current and valid licenses.
Whereas the same restriction isn’t applicable for the cabin crew.
21. Crew Scheduling

• 22.4 Definitions
• Pairing Generators: Pairing is the sequence of flights assigned to crew members.
Starting with a crew base and adds all the feasible flight legs according to
specified rules and ending at same crew base from where it started. A pairing
satisfying all the rules is called legal pairing. The length of pairing varies according
to situation and environment. The pairing may span from one to five days. Some
of the rules involved in generation of pairing; total daily flight time and min and
max sit connection time. For large airlines or vast network the pairing is also very
large.
 PAF KIET
Airline Operation

Manpower Planning
23. Manpower Planning
• 23.1 Definitions
• Airline product is measured by punctuality, regularity, functionality, accuracy,
quality and affordability (price).
• The basic objective of manpower planning is to derive a cyclic plan for each
employee so that the total manpower cost is minimized, efficiency and utilization
are maximized provided the requirments and regulations are met.
• Manpower planning encompass induction, training, job assignment and HR
scheduling. HR scheduling includes; actual work plans including working and non-
working days, times, shifts, locations and leave periods.
23. Manpower Planning
• 23.2 Definitions
• In airlines the type of manpower varies to a large extent so the task of manpower
planning becomes complicated but very important. The type of HR includes;
captains, first officers, flight stewards, air hostesses, flight operations, scheduling,
ground crew, baggage handlers, passenger services, reservation staff, cooks,
janitors, engineers, mechanics, administration, finance, legal, trainings, security
and supply chain etc
• The current industry average of manpower per aircraft is 125-150. However,
many airlines e.g PIA has more than 400 employees per aircraft which is one of
the highest in world