Esta pesquisa trata o Problema de Programação de Tripulantes (PPT), presente no planejamento operacional das empresas aéreas. O principal objetivo do PPT é atribuir um conjunto de tarefas aos tripulantes, considerando as regulamentações trabalhistas, as regras de segurança e as políticas das empresas, de tal maneira que o custo da tripulação seja mínimo. O PPT é normalmente dividido em dois subproblemas, resolvidos sequencialmente: Problema de Determinação das Viagens (PDV) e Problema de Atribuição de Escalas (PAE). No PDV, determina-se um conjunto de viagens que cubra todos os voos planejados. Em seguida, no PAE, as escalas, compostas pelas viagens escolhidas e outras atividades como folgas, sobreavisos, reservas, treinamentos e férias, são atribuídas aos tripulantes. Esta decomposição justifica-se pela natureza combinatória do PPT, porém não incorpora as disponibilidades e as preferências dos tripulantes em ambos os subproblemas (PDV e PAE), gerando assim custos extras relacionados aos conflitos que surgem durante a atribuição das escalas aos tripulantes no PAE. Além disso, as estimativas de custos adotadas no PDV não possuem caráter global, já que o custo real da programação só pode ser obtido após a atribuição das escalas. O estado da arte envolve a solução integrada do PPT, em que se elimina a necessidade de resolver inicialmente o PDV, provendo assim uma melhor estimativa de custo e uma programação final com melhor qualidade, por considerar os custos da tripulação, as disponibilidades e preferências dos tripulantes de forma global. O problema, no entanto, é NP-Difícil. Assim sendo, a metodologia proposta nesta pesquisa objetiva a solução do PPT de forma integrada, através de um Algoritmo Genético Híbrido (AGH) associado a um procedimento de busca em profundidade, levando em conta as particularidades da legislação brasileira. A metodologia foi testada, com sucesso, para a solução de instâncias baseadas na malha real de uma empresa aérea brasileira. / This master of science research treats the Crew Scheduling Problem (CSP), as part of the airlines operational planning. The main aim of the CSP is to assign a set of tasks to crew members, considering the labor regulations, safety rules and policies of companies, such that the crew cost is minimal. The CSP is divided into two subproblems, solved sequentially: Crew Pairing Problem (CPP) and Crew Rostering Problem (CRP). First, CPP provides a set of pairings that covers all the planned flights. Then, in the CRP, the rosters, encompassing the pairings and other activities such as rest periods, alert duties, reserve duties, training times and vacations, are assigned to the crew members. This decomposition is justified by the combinatorial nature of the CSP, but it not incorporates the crew members availabilities and preferences in both subproblems (CPP and CRP), generating extra costs related to conflicts that arise during the assignment of rosters to the crew members in the CRP. Besides, the costs estimations adopted in the CPP does not have a global character, since the real cost of the global schedule can be only obtained after the assignment of the rosters. The state of the art involves the integrated solution of CSP, where the CPP does not need to be solved, thus providing a better estimated cost and a better schedule quality, considering crew costs and also crew members availabilities and preferences globally. The problem, however, is NP-Hard. Therefore, the methodology proposed in this master of science research aims to obtain an integrated solution of the CSP, through an hybrid algorithm genetic associated with a depth-first search procedure, taking into account the Brazilian legislation. The methodology was tested, with success, to solve instances related a real network of a Brazilian airline.

Perturbações na malha aérea ocorrem em todo o mundo e afetam econômica e operacionalmente as empresas aéreas. Em 2016, os gastos que essas perturbações causaram às empresas aéreas e aos seus clientes giraram em torno de US$60 bilhões, cerca de 8% da receita de todas as empresas aéreas do mundo. Este trabalho apresenta uma Heurística Matemática Híbrida, envolvendo otimização por programação inteira mista, para resolver o Problema da Recuperação da Malha Aérea de uma empresa, em até vinte minutos, para uso do Centro de Controle Operacional (CCO) da empresa aérea. A solução consiste em uma nova programação de voos que minimiza os custos da alteração da malha aérea e atenda as restrições impostas por um cenário de múltiplas perturbações, quais sejam: atrasos, cancelamentos de voos, fechamento ou redução de capacidade aeroportuária e manutenções não-programadas. Além da heurística, apresenta-se também um modelo de fluxo em rede com programação inteira para resolver de forma exata o Problema da Recuperação da Malha. Esse modelo obteve resultados em instância de até 500 voos, para todo tipo perturbação, em tempo de execução razoável, exceto para as instâncias em que a capacidade aeroportuária estava muito comprometida. A heurística matemática híbrida apresentou resultados com diferenças de até 5% com relação ao ótimo para as instâncias com até 6000 voos, independentemente do nível de perturbação imposta à malha aérea, com tempo de execução que permite o seu uso prático. / Schedule disruptions occurs worldwide and affect economically and operationally the airlines. In 2016, disruptions cost airlines and their customers around $60 billion, or about 8% of worldwide airline revenue. In this thesis, a Hybrid Math-Heuristic including a mixed-integer linear optimization is presented. It is aimed at assisting airlines to solve the Aircraft Recovery Problem through their Operations Control Centers (OCC) in up to twenty minutes. The solution consists in a new changed schedule that minimizes the cost of changes and deals with constraints related to a scenario with multiple disruptions: delays, flight cancelations, closures or airport capacity reduction and non-scheduled maintenance. Besides the heuristic, a network flow integer programming model is presented to provide exact solutions to the Aircraft Recovery Problem. The Exact Model achieved optimal results for instances with up to 500 flights subjected to all kinds of disruptions in reasonably times, except for instances with highly constrained airport capacity. The Hybrid Math-Heuristic achieved results with maximum optimal GAP of up to 5% for instances with up to 6.000 flights, no matter the level of the imposed disruption, with time of execution that permits its use in practice.

A presente tese apresenta proposições para o desenvolvimento e aplicação de técnicas de mineração de textos, de modo a contribuir para a gestão de operações nas áreas médicas e de negócios. Os objetivos desta tese são: (i) identificar e estruturar técnicas de mineração de texto, de modo a elaborar um método para prever internações de pacientes provenientes de emergências hospitalares, tendo como base somente os registros textuais não estruturados escritos por médicos durante o primeiro encontro médico-paciente; (ii) comparar previsões realizadas pelo método proposto no objetivo (i) com análises médicas realizadas por humanos, de modo a verificar se computadores podem atuar de forma autônoma na tarefa de previsão de internações de pacientes provenientes de emergências hospitalares; e (iii) identificar e estruturar técnicas de mineração de texto, de modo a elaborar um método para prever a satisfação de clientes de companhias aéreas, tendo como base as avaliações escritas e publicadas por passageiros na internet. Os métodos propostos utilizaram diferentes técnicas de mineração de textos, sendo validados por estudos de caso. Em relação à área médica, o método proposto pode realizar previsões em tempo real sobre a necessidade de leitos, ajudando as equipes de gerenciamento de leitos a melhorar os processos de fluxo de pacientes. Além disso, verificou-se que tanto médicos (iniciantes ou experientes), quanto máquina, tiveram desempenhos semelhantes na tarefa de previsão de internação de pacientes. Já em relação à área de negócios, o método proposto permitiu extrair dimensões de satisfação de avaliações online, além dos sentimentos associados a elas, considerando diferentes perfis de passageiros, serviços e períodos de tempo. Desta forma, foi possível prever a recomendação de companhias aéreas baseado nas avaliações escritas por passageiros. / This dissertation presents propositions for the development and application of text mining techniques, in order to contribute to operations management in the medical and business areas. The objectives of this dissertation are: (i) identify and structure text mining techniques, in order to propose a method to predict admissions of patients from hospital emergencies, based only on unstructured textual records written by physicians during the first encounter with patients; (ii) compare predictions made by the method proposed in objective (i) with medical analyses carried out by humans, in order to verify if computers can work autonomously in predicting hospitalizations of patients coming from hospital emergencies; and (iii) identify and structure text mining techniques to develop a method for predicting airline customer satisfaction based on online customer reviews. The proposed methods used different text mining techniques, being validated by case studies. Regarding the medical area, the proposed method was able to perform real-time forecasts about the need for beds, helping bed management teams to improve patient flow processes. In addition, it was found that both physicians (novice or experienced) and machine had similar performances in predicting patient hospitalization. In relation to the business area, the proposed method allowed to extract satisfaction dimensions of online customer reviews, as well as sentiments associated to them, considering different profiles of passengers, services and time periods. It also enabled the prediction of airline recommendation based on online customer reviews.

In order to perform their duties, airline pilots must have no clinical diagnosis of mental illness or any substance use disorder. However, provisions have been in place since the 1970s that provide for a return to work for airline pilots with alcohol problems. To date, over 5,000 airline pilots have undergone rehabilitation for Alcohol Use Disorder (AUD) and successfully returned to work. An important gap in the literature remains with regard to what extent improvements in cognitive performance may be experienced by airline pilots who complete treatment and to what extent age influences the amount of change. This study examined the archival data of 95 male Caucasian pilots who were assessed for cognitive performance shortly after entry to 30-day inpatient treatment and approximately 5 months later during the return to work evaluation. A nonexperimental within subjects design compared pre- and post-treatment scores on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-IV (WAIS-IV) full scale and 4 index scores as well as differences for age groups (25 to 44, 45 to 54, and 55 to 64). Repeated measures ANOVA revealed that there were significant gains on all WAIS-IV measures pre-post treatment for AUD. MANOVA results indicated no differences between age groups. These findings support current Federal Aviation Administration program practices with regard to returning airline pilots to work following rehabilitation and a sufficient period of abstinence. The potential of this study to promote the agenda of social change may be substantive for raising awareness of the cognitive deficits associated with AUD and how these may impact the safety of flight operations.

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本文研究重點在台灣航空票務市場上的銷售通路分析，利用國外市場包括已開發國家美國、日本市場在這領域的趨勢發展，來和台灣國內的市場現況作比較分析；而大陸市場以（上海為主）的引用，則是著眼在兩岸直航業務正大力發展，市場潛力和影響力都有無限可能，因此也特別收集資料作為比較參考的目標之一。也由於票務市場的銷售通路多元發展、多管齊發，在總結歸納下依同業（B2B）和直客（B2C）來作區隔。因二者的通路業務在市場上仍有部份重疊衝突的地方，可透過理論模式的導入分析，清楚得知。特別介紹 E航國內前三大代理批售旅行社在市場通路上的開發建構情況與實際業績佔比的消長比較，都深受各家業者在市場策略的制定和經營重心的支配。 研究中主要以票務銷售的市場通路經營為核心。因此首先利用STP模式來作市場區隔和產品定位，輔以AIETA模式說明，再透過4P+4C的銷售工具和邏輯作奧援解析，清楚明白B2B2C的通路生態鏈的異同之處。利用垂直銜接和水平整合作互補，提高效益的同時，也能降低成本，不論是業者或消費者都能達到多贏策略。在文中又以競合策略理論論述三批售商在通路經營上的轉型歷程所面臨的狀況，雖能研究之前的業績消長和影響因素，但仍需要時間驗證優勝劣敗，端賴往後決策者的經營智慧和執行力。最後再以策略管理中的產業矩陣模式分析，在產業環境中產品通路與營運範疇的公司競爭力，透過SWOT分類出弱勢和威脅落點的策略型態，作最後的總檢視，也將全文研究作一對應結論。希望能更清楚現行的市場通路競爭力不足之處，也可明白未來努力改進強化的方向！ 可以發覺到任何通路、任何市場網際網路的電子商務開發和專業平台的建置已是趨勢，更是現在競爭力爭高下的決戰點！不只是入門的基本配備，也都更持續研發高階進化的功能，以簡化流程、加速大量去化！雖然機位機票的銷售對通路批售商無任何的庫存壓力，但對供應商航空公司卻有無比沉重的時效性負擔！因為機位和飯店是最無存貨價值的商品，起飛後空位價值轉為零。因應配合產品銷售特性，讓我們拭目以待更快速、更高效率的電子商務模式出現。 能有機會親上一線市場通路佈局規劃銷售競爭，結合所知所學和所體驗、所經歷彙整成此一研究，是不可多得的際遇！雖然市場通路銷售歸類畫分為二：B2B，B2C。但就猶如當今的尖端3C產業也是在0和1的程式邏輯中演化銳變成今日超級明星產業，看似簡單其實包含無窮的變化與複雜。 / This research report is focused on analyzing the air tickets sales channels in Taiwan’s airline industry market through the comparison of its evolving trend in the developed country such us United States and Japan versus that in the Taiwan market. Furthermore, Mainland China’s booming travel market is adduced in this research while using Shanghai as the focal city because of the impact and the unlimited potentiality that have been brought onto it by the unfolding cross-strait direct flight service. I particularly collected relevant data for this market with the intension to use it as one of the comparison targets. Moreover, due to the multiple developed sales channels present in the market, I have segmented my conclusion into 2 categories: B2B and B2C. Nevertheless, I adduce theories and models as analysis tool to illuminate the overlapped and conflicting area between the B2B and B2C sales channels. In my research, I also use E-airline’s top 3 wholesalers in Taiwan’s air tickets sales market to explore on how each of its market strategy and business focus attribute to their business performance and market share. The core target of my research thesis is aimed at the sales channels of air tickets. STP model is firstly being used for market segmentation and product positioning; AIETA model is used as a supporting measure. It is then followed by 4P + 4C sales tool to support the logic flow and to illuminate the discrepancy on B2B2C channel chain. The combination of both the vertical link and horizontal integration has served as a complement to increase efficiency and reduce cost. This in return brings forward a win-win strategy that benefits both the general agencies and consumers. In the thesis, the concept of co-opetition is being adopted to discourse upon the situations being encountered by the aforementioned 3 wholesalers during their transitional process. Although my study can focus on the ebb and flow of their performance as well as the co-related attributing factors, it takes time to attest to the survival of the fittest depending on the business operation wisdom and the executing ability of their policy makers. Lastly the industry-matrix model is being applied to analyze the company’s competing edges on the product sale and operation scope in the industry; while SWOT model is adduced as a final review to verify which strategic pattern falls on the quadrant of weakness and threat; this overall derives to the conclusion of my thesis. Hopefully, it will shed lights on the lacking area that lies in the present market sales channels and will illuminate the direction leading to a more prominent future in the industry. It is also worth mentioning that the trend in the e-commerce and professional platform development through internet has inevitably become the crucial factor that leads to success in the competing battle field. Not only the basic threshold, the continual research for advancement, the simplified procedures and the capacity for expansion are all important competing factors. Although the air tickets wholesalers carry no ticket inventory pressure upon themselves, the airliners have to bear the heavy burden of timely sales of their products. Empty airline seat loses its commodity value the moment the aircraft taking off, just like the hotel room inventory which zeros out its value with the past of time. To better utilize the time sensitive products provided by the airliners and hotels, it is foreseeable that more speedy and high efficient sales channels will be prevalent in the days ahead of us through the evolving e-commerce business model. Having the opportunity to involve my research with the forefront sales channel distribution and to intertwine it with the competitive edges in the market based on my personal background and related knowledge is quite a unique experience. Although the sales channels in my research have been segmented into B2B and B2C, the emerging 3C technology will inevitably become tomorrow’s superstar in the industry. Just like the progressive evolution of 0 and 1 equation through the logic flow, something appears easy and simple on the surface may carry an inexplicable complexity of its own.

<p>By today’s date there are a lot of companies that are in great need of restructuring their paperwork in a more organized way. This can be excellent arranged with the help of properly constructed computer software. The aviation industry is no exception, but actually a good example of this. Täby Air Maintenance (TAM) is a company which is situated in Örebro. Their main business is aircraft maintenance on a variety of aircraft models. TAM has so far handled their work by hand or with the help of a majority of small computer programmes. The information has now become too abundant and the different kinds of software being used are no longer a working tool for the company. There is therefore a demand for an exhaustive programme which has the capacity to take care of all parts in logistics and production. The purpose is to examine and evaluate three different makes of software and form a recommendation to TAM of which one suits their needs the best. The software was Airsoft, MX System and System Airline Management (SAM). The evaluation has been performed with the help of demo versions of the programmes, manuals and support from contacts at the different manufacturers. The programmes were initially dealt with one at a time and then compared towards each other and towards the demands from TAM. The software which in the end was recommended was SAM, and the decision was based on a number of reasons. The main reason was the user friendliness of the software - the fact that its logical structure makes it easy for its user to swiftly understand the concept and thus learn how to use it quickly. This results in profits, both in time and money.</p> / <p>Idag är många företag i trängande behov av att strukturera upp sitt pappersarbete på ett mer ordnat sätt. Detta kan ske på ett effektivt sätt med ett anpassat och ändamålsenligt strukturerat datorprogram. Flygbranschen är inget undantag, snarare ett bra exempel på detta. Täby Air Maintenance (TAM) är ett företag som är beläget i Örebro och utför underhåll på flygplan i varierande storlek. TAM har hittills skött arbetet för hand och med hjälp av ett flertal mindre datorprogram. Informationen har dock blivit alldeles för omfångsrik och de olika programmen är inte längre ett fungerande instrument för verksamheten. Det krävs därför ett heltäckande program som har kapaciteten att ta hand om alla delar, såväl logistik som produktion. Syftet är att undersöka tre olika program och ge en rekommendation på det som passar företaget bäst. Programmen är Airsoft, MX System och System Airline Management (SAM). Undersökningen har utförts med hjälp av demoversioner, manualer och stöd från kontaktpersoner hos tillverkarna. Programmen undersöktes först var för sig och därefter jämfördes de mot varandra och mot TAMs krav. Det program som rekommenderades var SAM. Detta beror på en mängd orsaker, där den främsta orsaken var programmets användarvänlighet - det faktum att dess logiska uppbyggnad gör det lätt för användaren att snabbt kunna sätta sig in i strukturen och därmed lättare kunna lära sig att använda det. Detta i sin tur ger vinster i både tid och pengar.</p>

<p>The 1990s were one of the most profitable periods for European airline companies, mainly because of development of world economy and increasing globalisation trends. However, towards the end of the decade, a global economic downturn, high oil prices and new forms of competition turned the industry towards troubled times. The European air-travel industry had to face and accept the new airline business concept, called low-cost or no-frill airlines. In these conditions, traditional airlines had to rethink their strategies and question the old business model. As a response to the competition, European traditional full-service airlines formed alliances or networks to expand the route network and to increase efficiency. Although joint actions of airlines within alliances started to grow, full-service airlines continued to report losses in the weak business environment, in which the low-cost airlines were growing. This thesis aims at identifying the strategic decisions the European traditional airlines have made during the recent downturn in the industry and how the case companies perceive customer value in the alliance they are members of. In order to conduct this study, the authors have chosen two airline companies from two large European alliances. Interviews have been used as a main information source. Interviews were conducted with managers of companies, which at the same time were representatives of companies in the respective alliances. The secondary material such as previous interviews, annual reports of companies, recent studies in thefield, were used as complementary data. Findings and analysis at the end are introduced in response to general market situation, and as a company - alliance information.</p>

The 1990s were one of the most profitable periods for European airline companies, mainly because of development of world economy and increasing globalisation trends. However, towards the end of the decade, a global economic downturn, high oil prices and new forms of competition turned the industry towards troubled times. The European air-travel industry had to face and accept the new airline business concept, called low-cost or no-frill airlines. In these conditions, traditional airlines had to rethink their strategies and question the old business model. As a response to the competition, European traditional full-service airlines formed alliances or networks to expand the route network and to increase efficiency. Although joint actions of airlines within alliances started to grow, full-service airlines continued to report losses in the weak business environment, in which the low-cost airlines were growing. This thesis aims at identifying the strategic decisions the European traditional airlines have made during the recent downturn in the industry and how the case companies perceive customer value in the alliance they are members of. In order to conduct this study, the authors have chosen two airline companies from two large European alliances. Interviews have been used as a main information source. Interviews were conducted with managers of companies, which at the same time were representatives of companies in the respective alliances. The secondary material such as previous interviews, annual reports of companies, recent studies in thefield, were used as complementary data. Findings and analysis at the end are introduced in response to general market situation, and as a company - alliance information.

This thesis addresses two issues which arise in the context of airline revenue management. In the first part of the thesis, we develop an incentive mechanism to prevent revenue leakage caused by customers buying down. In the second part of the thesis, we discuss the revenue sharing problem between alliance partners and develop a mechanism by which the combined revenue can be distributed fairly among them. Situations which give rise to impossibility and possibility results are established. The practice of revenue management, employs the principle of differential pricing of a product based on various product restrictions. These product restrictions segment the market in such a manner so as to maximize the revenue. Airline industry which pioneered the practice of revenue management generally prices low for those who book early and high for those who book late for essentially the same seat. The low-fare products are targeted towards the market segment comprising of those customers who have a low valuation (reservation price) for the product (who are typically leisure customers, also called as low-fare customers).The high-fare product, on the other hand is targeted at the market segment comprising of customers who have a high valuation (reservation price) for the product (business class customers, also called as high-fare customers). However, it may happen that customers with high valuation for the product may also buy the low-fare product if it is available. This behavior of high-fare customers buying a low-fare product due to its availability is called the customer buy-down behavior. Such a customer behavior causes revenue leakage to the airline industry. Revenue management literature that primarily focuses on pricing and seat inventory control does not account for the customer buy-down behavior. In Part I of the thesis we address this issue of customer buy-down behavior. We develop an incentive mechanism in the form of a new product bundle which would attract only the high-fare customer. High fare customers such as business class customers typically have repeated travel plans, while low fare customers such as leisure travelers typically do not travel repeatedly. The proposed incentive mechanism takes advantage of this characteristic of high fare customers that distinguishes them from the low fare customers. In general, high fare product permits cancellation and does not impose any travel restrictions, and a low fare product, on the other hand does not permit cancellation and has other travel restrictions associated with them. A high fare customer with potential future travel plan might associate uncertainties with respect to travel dates and his ability to procure a low fare ticket for future travel. This uncertainty is exploited in the proposed product bundle. The new product bundle permits the customer to cancel the ticket for the future journey and relaxes the restrictions associated with the requested day and the future travel day. Such incentives would attract only the high fare customer and the low-fare customer will not be enticed by this product bundle. This is because the low fare customer is a one-off traveler. Thus, the acceptance of the product bundle by the customer reveals that he is a high-fare customer and its denial reveals that he is truly a low-fare customer. We determine the optimal price to be charged for each of the days (requested day and the future travel day) and the refund value for the future travel day. We find that multiple optimal solutions exist, and its existence indicate a win-win situation for both the customer and the seller. The customer benefits through the incentives offered and the seller benefits in the form of additional revenue that is achieved in the process of preventing revenue leakage. In Part II of the thesis, we discuss the revenue sharing problem between alliance partners of a network. Airlines form alliances and coordinate through activities such as code sharing, scheduling of flight arrival and departure times, arrival and departure gates, frequent flyer programs, airport lounges and ground facilities among several others. Code sharing is a key feature among the coordinated activities of alliance partners. Parallel code sharing refers to code sharing between carriers operating on the same route to increase frequency of services and to strengthen market position. Complementary code sharing refers to carriers using each other’s flights to provide connecting services, where they do not offer a full service on their own. The main objective of the complementary code share flights is to increase scope of the partner’s network, allowing them to supply service on markets where they did not operate before. When complementary code shared flights aim at maximizing their combined revenue, it might lead to inequitable distribution of revenue and may cause an alliance partner to lose revenue. In Part II of the thesis, we address this issue of achieving a fair division of the combined revenue generated by the alliance network. The common assumption in revenue sharing methods that are generally practiced is that airline’s valuation of seats in the alliance network is common knowledge. However, in reality it is not true. We therefore consider the valuations of the carriers of their respective products as private information and the price of the product over the entire network to be common knowledge. Under such an information environment, we formulate the problem in the bargaining framework. We discuss the implementation of two solution concepts; namely the Shapley value and the Core of a cooperative game. For the two person cooperative game, the Shapley value equally distributes the surplus among the two parties, while the core allocations of two person cooperative game consists of all possible proportions of the distribution of the surplus. In a bargaining set up, the parties communicate their valuations through sealed bids and agree upon a transfer rule. We analyze two situations. In the first situation we assume that the two parties do not associate any cost towards failure to arrive at an agreement. We determine the optimal bids for the two parties and prove that these optimal bids do not implement any desired point on the core i.e., desired proportion of the distribution of the surplus (which includes the Shapley value).This impossibility result motived the analysis of the second situation, in which we assume that the two parties associate costs towards failure to arrive at an agreement. We once again determine the optimal bids and prove that for a certain structure of the bargaining costs, any desired point on the core, including the Shapley value can be implemented by enticing the players to reveal their true valuations.