Responses to airport delays : a system study of Newark International Airport

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics; and, (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Engineering Systems Division, Technology and Policy Program, 2002.Includes bibliographical references (p. 119-121).Airport delays are a significant problem in the United States air transportation system. Between 1997 and 2000 the number of flights delayed increased by between 20 and 25% per year, despite only a 3 to 5% increase in enplanements per year. Newark International Airport (EWR), one of New York City's primary airports, is one of the airports in the United States most impacted by delays. Newark had the highest percentage of operations delayed in 1999, and was second only to LaGuardia Airport in 2000. Nearly 85% of delays at Newark are caused by adverse weather impacting the airport. Because of limited capacity and a very full schedule operated at the airport, when adverse weather impacts the airport departure operations are severely delayed. Despite this, unlike the national average, delays at Newark have not increased significantly since 1998. This indicates that the airlines, air traffic control (ATC), and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey have successfully adapted. On June 29, 2000, a research team from MIT visited Newark Airport to identify the key problems and assess the effectiveness of any adaptations made. Results of this study indicate that airspace capacity limitations downstream of the airport become a primary flow constraint at the airport, and that when these constraints occur they are the source of most surface delays. Responses to the delays at Newark have been both tactical and strategic. Key tactical ATC responses examined include the application of restrictions; re-routing with the help of the National Playbook; the use of decision-aiding tools; improved inter-facility communication; and utilization of runway 11-29. Key strategic ATC responses examined include the formation of the Air Traffic Control System Command Center, and the New York airspace redesign. A number of tactical airline responses to delays were also examined, including cancellation of low priority flights and the transfer of the passengers to ground transportation; pre-sequencing of departures; and improved access to information. Key strategic responses examined include changes to the schedule operated at the airport, and particularly flattening out of the banks operated; a new fleet, which requires less maintenance and has greater dispatch reliability; and improved relations with the FAA and Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. After examination of the problems at the 10 most delayed airports in the United States, the applicability of the key responses identified at Newark to these airports was also examined in detail. Those airports for which the most responses were identified to be applicable were Atlanta, San Francisco, Philadelphia and Dallas/Fort Worth. Those responses identified to be most applicable to other airports were the further extension of the National Playbook to other regions, the use of decision aiding tools, airspace redesign, pre-sequencing of departures, and a decrease in the number of operations at the airport. A policy analysis was completed for each of these responses.by Antony David Evans.S.M

Development of Methods of Increasing Terminal Flexibility and Control Authority: Option Year 1 Final Report

The focus of the NRA contract is to develop a What-if Analysis Tool for planning Departure Management Programs (DMP) at airports. This final report summarizes the work conducted throughout the option year, with a focus on use case specification for the what-if analysis capability and the implementation of the What-if Analysis Tool and its application to traffic and weather scenarios at Charlotte Douglas International Airport (CLT)

Development of a travel web site on a corporate internet

In early 1999, the Travel Department of Global Crossing (formerly Frontier Communications) was searching for a better way to transfer information between travel planners and travel counselors. At the same time, the corporation mandated that all departments within the corporation have a presence on the corporate intranet. Both of these goals would be accomplished by designing and developing a travel site on the corporate intranet. The next question was how to accomplish this task. Benchmarking, as well as research, was conducted to determine the best way to develop a travel web site. Courses in web design were taken, and information for the site was gathered. Content was gradually added to the site until it was ready to go live in front of the corporation. The site was continually updated and maintained. Travelers had increased opportunities to submit forms and register for events on-line. One of the main goals of the web site was to save time for both travelers and travel counselors. Through interviews with both of these groups, it was discovered that the web site was accomplishing its goal

Existing and Required Modeling Capabilities for Evaluating ATM Systems and Concepts

ATM systems throughout the world are entering a period of major transition and change. The combination of important technological developments and of the globalization of the air transportation industry has necessitated a reexamination of some of the fundamental premises of existing Air Traffic Management (ATM) concepts. New ATM concepts have to be examined, concepts that may place more emphasis on: strategic traffic management; planning and control; partial decentralization of decision-making; and added reliance on the aircraft to carry out strategic ATM plans, with ground controllers confined primarily to a monitoring and supervisory role. 'Free Flight' is a case in point. In order to study, evaluate and validate such new concepts, the ATM community will have to rely heavily on models and computer-based tools/utilities, covering a wide range of issues and metrics related to safety, capacity and efficiency. The state of the art in such modeling support is adequate in some respects, but clearly deficient in others. It is the objective of this study to assist in: (1) assessing the strengths and weaknesses of existing fast-time models and tools for the study of ATM systems and concepts and (2) identifying and prioritizing the requirements for the development of additional modeling capabilities in the near future. A three-stage process has been followed to this purpose: 1. Through the analysis of two case studies involving future ATM system scenarios, as well as through expert assessment, modeling capabilities and supporting tools needed for testing and validating future ATM systems and concepts were identified and described. 2. Existing fast-time ATM models and support tools were reviewed and assessed with regard to the degree to which they offer the capabilities identified under Step 1. 3 . The findings of 1 and 2 were combined to draw conclusions about (1) the best capabilities currently existing, (2) the types of concept testing and validation that can be carried out reliably with such existing capabilities and (3) the currently unavailable modeling capabilities that should receive high priority for near-term research and development. It should be emphasized that the study is concerned only with the class of 'fast time' analytical and simulation models. 'Real time' models, that typically involve humans-in-the-loop, comprise another extensive class which is not addressed in this report. However, the relationship between some of the fast-time models reviewed and a few well-known real-time models is identified in several parts of this report and the potential benefits from the combined use of these two classes of models-a very important subject-are discussed in chapters 4 and 7

Measuring the causes of airline customer dissatisfaction

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, 2001.Includes bibliographical references (p. 109-112).by Trin A. Mitra.S.M

A Comparison of airline websites

The online travel business is widely expected to be one of the Internet\u27s biggest commerce breakthroughs by the millennium. Airlines have focused their web efforts on reinforcing their relationship with their customers. As the largest airline and the fourth-largest airline in the world respectively, both United Airlines and Northwest Airlines, the leaders of e-commerce in the transportation industry, have established a strong presence at the emerging travel purchase outlets being used by a growing number of airline consumers . The literature review focuses on the application of Blur\u27s effects (Davis, 1998) on the two and describes their main development in customer service and main operations of current travel agents in providing customers with in-time and whole package service. Comparison tables illustrate the detailed features of United Airlines\u27 and Northwest Airlines\u27 Websites regarding the ten attributes of an offer. Overall, the results show that homepage and Internet sales provide the customer conveniences, flexibility and choice. Without question, Internet purchasing, Internet check in, automatic paging, on-board Internet access, new on-line procurement sites, have brought the business-to-business efficiencies that will help organizations contain costs. They are becoming truly interactive places, where customers use information in ways that really add value. The improvements in speed and convenience, including features now available with hand held PDA\u27s, are generating a higher volume of online sales and higher number of repeat Airline Websites Thesis 3 customers. The study shows the new concepts of Internet integration in terms of homepage development in the airline industry. The author believes that airlines should create, establish and apply these new trends to expand their market, keep the niche in the burgeoning e-commerce industry, allow themselves to seize new opportunities in the rapidly developing e-commerce arena, grow, and increase the ability to compete with other rivals in the future

From city’s station to station city: An integrative spatial approach to the (re)development of station areas

Since its origin, the railway station has had a complicated relationship with the city, demanding periodical updates, particularly regarding spatial issues. With the aim of improving the liveability of station areas, current redevelopment projects are reconceptualising them as balanced transport ‘nodes’ and ‘places’ in the city. However, the proposed spatial solutions do not fully support the sought after economic, social and environmental performances. These intentions continue to be predominantly bounded with the (abstract) planological level, not finding appropriate translation at the (concrete) spatial design level. Further, the interdisciplinary nature of the highly complex planning and design processes of station areas, which should contribute to enhance the performance of their spaces, reinforces constraints and relegates architecture to a marginal role in this quest. It is thus necessary to understand how architecture can contribute to the improvement of the spatial performance of contemporary stations areas, supporting their current reconceptualization. To gain this understanding, the research explored the factors which influence the spatial definition and performance of European High Speed Train station areas, using “design research†and “research by designâ€. Via a theoretical integrative framework, synthesized from knowledge developed by architecture and other sciences, case studies of ‘through’ stations were analysed and compared. Six cases, encapsulating the most recurrent relative positions of the railway (infrastructure and the station building) towards the(ir) direct built environment, were chosen out of a large sample. For each category (cases with railway tracks at (a) ground level, (b) elevated level and (c) underground level), two cases, featuring an adapted station building and a newly built one, were studied. Their physical and functional characteristics were mapped at several scales and moments (in history), as well as redesigned. A variety of positive and negative approaches and solutions to the problem were identified. The research is rounded up with a set of ‘design recommendations’ meant to improve the performance of station area spaces, based on the results of the (graphical) analyses and the redesign exercises. In general, to attain such performance the (physical and functional) integration of the public spaces of the station and of its surroundings, along with the specific (spatial) characteristics of the city they are located in, are crucial. The desirable concentration of transport and non-transport functions must be clearly organized in space, dismantling barriers to their accessibility. To operationalize such integration in all categories of cases, architecture must go beyond its traditional scope regarding intervention scale and methodology. This requires a structural change to the station area’s design task, which should be organized around spatial goals commonly subscribed by all stakeholders, and in which architecture should have a central role. Such renovated awareness on the approach to the redevelopment of station areas is necessary for the improvement of their spatial performance. In this way the ‘city’s station’ can become a ‘station city’ which enhances the city’s liveability, instead of draining it out

Robust crew pairing : delays analysis and implementation of optimization approaches

Thesis (S.M.)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Aeronautics and Astronautics, February 2006.Includes bibliographical references (p. 91-92).With increasing delays and airport congestion that disturb airline operations, the development of robust schedules is becoming crucial. Increased traffic and poor weather are a few of the causes of airport congestion, rising delays and lengthening passenger trips. In this thesis, we identify the latest trend in the flight arrival and departure delays, differentiating major U.S. airports from other smaller airports. We also quantify the types of delays airlines should work to mitigate. We then analyze the effects of schedules changes that were implemented by a major U.S. airline at their largest hub. We measure the effects of these schedule changes on on-time performance, taxi time, plane utilization, and passenger connection and total travel time. We also analyze how extensive is the practice of adding buffer time to flight times to improve schedule reliability. Finally, we propose and implement a new model to achieve robust crew schedules, that is, crew schedules that are less likely to be inoperable due to disruptions during operations. We show that with an increase in crew costs of 0.2%, we can decrease the number of times crews must connect between different aircraft by 32%.by Pierre Leroyer.S.M