Keywords
Citation
Chatziaslan, L. (2006), "Airline Operations and Scheduling", International Journal of Operations & Production Management, Vol. 26 No. 6, pp. 689-689. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443570610667000
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2006, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
The book features 14 chapters, one appendix and is organised in three parts. It contains 63 figures and 86 tables. Part 1 begins with the relevant definitions and the introduction of basic concepts of linear and integer programming (Chapter 2) before moving to the specific problems of planning optimisation in the following chapters.
Together, Parts 1 and 2 cover the main issues of airline operations from flight and crew scheduling (Chapters 3 and 6), to fleet and gate assignment (Chapters 4 and 9), aircraft routing (Chapter 5), manpower planning (Chapter 7), and revenue management (Chapter 8). Part 3 introduces the concept of complexity and heuristics (Chapter 11) and includes a real‐life case study and two simulation cases.
The case study presented in the first two parts of the book, although simplified, succeeds in demonstrating the unique problems and constraints that set airline scheduling apart from other operations. Readers can follow the comprehensive, worked examples to formulate the problems and create the models that support decision making in the industry.
The layout and organisation of the book is logical and simple to follow. However, the format could be improved as the absence of some form of “highlighters” makes important points hard to stand out from the text and equations.
The author states his purpose as creating a textbook or support material for business, management and engineering students interested in airline operations, and the book fulfils this purpose. Although it does not require any prior specialised knowledge in optimisation modelling it does demand a good understanding of basic statistics and some experience with linear and integer programming. To fulfil its role as a textbook more successfully, it would benefit from the inclusion of more examples or problems for the readers to engage with. The book would appeal to audiences interested in the management/business case behind airline operations rather than in optimisation modelling.