Revenue management in airline operations : booking systems and aircraft maintenance services

Although the principles of Revenue Management (RM) have vaguely been used in business for a long time, an increasing number of organizations are implementing well structured RM systems in the last few decades due to the developments in science and technology, especially in economics, statistics, operations research and computer science. The improvements in information and telecommunication technologies, wide use of Internet, rise of e-commerce and successful supply chain management strategies have enabled organizations to model and solve complex RM problems. This dissertation research concentrates on airlines, the earliest and leading user of RM. Today, airlines face serious financial problems due to the increasing costs and competition. They continuously explore new opportunities especially in terms of RM to make profit and survive. In this study, two problems are analyzed within this scope; airline booking process with adapted options approach and aircraft maintenance order control through RM. First; a new approach, financial options approach, is proposed to sell tickets in airline reservation systems. The options are used to overcome the uncertainty in air travel demand and competitors' actions. The seat inventory control problem is formulated with overbooking and embedded options respectively. Then a simulation study is conducted the potential of using options in airlines booking process. Accordingly, empirical results show that they present an opportunity both to utilize capacity more efficiently and to value seats more precisely compared to overbooking approach. Secondly; a peak load pricing concept is applied for aircraft maintenance order control problem. Aircraft maintenance centers face with peak loads in some seasons and the capacity is underutilized in other seasons. A peak load pricing model is proposed to shift some of the price elastic demand from peak seasons to off-peak seasons to balance demand and supply around the year. A dynamic programming algorithm is developed to solve the model and a code is written in C++. Results show that the model improves both annual capacity loading factors and revenues without causing a discomfort from the perspective of the customers. The details of both studies are presented in this dissertation research. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT

A survey and evaluation of microbased computer aided design systems for design education and practice in Scotland primarily in the area of product design: their application, problems and potential solutions

The initial premise of the research centred around the relatively new adoption by the Product Design sector of Computer Aided Design technology. Problems were expected to occur in applying the hardware and understanding the terminology of the software by this sector which prides itself In its artisan skills. The aim of the work was to determine the extent of the adoption of Computer Aided Design and to clarify the problem areas. The research determined, by study of more experienced but similar Computer Aided Design users, that the expected problems Were not insurmountable and were being overcome by the constant improvements of computer hardware and software. However, the problems that were pinpointed actually involved the human issues encountered In working with a Computer Aided Design system and involved issues such as the management skills required, working conditions and understanding of the advantages and disadvantages of Computer Aided Design. The research focused on what had to be considered and what should be known about Computer Aided Design so that it could be effectively used in Product Design. The research was undertaken to establish general solutions to the introduction of Computer Aided Design into companies. These solutions are intended to provide a guide to potential and current users on how to improve the effectiveness of the use of Computer Aided Design systems in Product Design. The research has identified the themes and topics that should be covered in training staff on the use and potential of Computer Aided Design systems

Can proactive fuel economy strategies help automakers mitigate fuel price risk?

Detroit automakers have opposed mandated improvements in fuel economy since legislation was first proposed in the 1970’s. Their opposition is based, among other considerations, on the assumption that their customers value fuel economy only when fuel prices are high. This paper presents the findings of our on-going research that strongly refutes this assumption. Using data on sales, prices, and attributes of vehicles in 2005, we find that consumers are willing to pay, on average, $578 per MPG for higher fuel economy. At the price of gasoline prevailing in 2005,$2.30 per gallon, the $578 per MPG that consumers are willing to pay for fuel economy implies that consumers put more weight in choosing vehicles on future fuel savings than most analysts (including ourselves) had thought. The paper incorporates these new data-driven estimates of the value of fuel economy into an automotive market simulation model that has three components: a consumer demand function that predicts consumers’ vehicle choices as functions of vehicle price, fuel price, and vehicle attributes (the new estimates of the value of fuel economy are used to set the parameters of the demand function); an engineering and economic evaluation of feasible fuel economy improvements by 2010; and a game theoretic analysis of manufacturers’ competitive interactions. Using our model, we estimated the market shares and profits of automakers in 128 separate scenarios defined by alternative plausible values for the price of fuel and consumers’ discount rates. Under the fuel price risks and the competitive risks that automakers face, our analysis concludes that a proactive strategy of pursuing fuel economy improvements— above and beyond what is required by law—would increase annual profits for Ford ($0.5 billion to $1.4 billion), GM ($0.2 billion to $0.5 billion, and DaimlerChrysler ($0.1 billion). Even if the uncertainty over fuel price were removed, all three automakers would increase profits by pursuing fuel economy improvements, though the gains are smaller with fuel at $2.00/gallon.automotive industry; automakers; fuel econnomy; willingness to pay; game theory; consumer demand for fuel economy; Corporate Average Fuel Economy

Environmentally conscious design : an economic life cycle approach

Companies are under increasing pressure to deal with environmental concerns during product design, for it is the design process which primarily decides the environmental impact of a manufactured product over its life. Tools which assist in taking a life cycle view of the product are a necessary support to designers. Prime amongst these tools is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). However, a major criticism of LCA methodologies is that while they provide advice on environmentally superior product designs, they do not provide guidance on the economic impact. With product take back increasingly likely to become the responsibility of producer companies attention is now being paid to the later phases of a products life, such as maintenance and disposal costs. A new methodology is shown to be required to complement LCA, one which considers the economic implications of environmentally superior designs over the whole product life. It is argued that a major challenge of such a methodology will be how it deals with the uncertainty associated with the future. The research provides a review of product life cycle design methodologies and a critique of existing approaches to uncertainty. A design teams requirements for decision support that deals with product economic life cycle uncertainty is presented and a decision support methodology which meets these requirements is described. The methodology builds upon the theory of life cycle costing. In practice, the methodology integrates a computer based life cycle model with statistical techniques to quantify the contribution of life cycle variables. In bringing these proven but previously separate tools together the method resolves the issue of uncertainty in a novel and acceptable way. Through the use of an in-depth industrial case study, it is shown that the methodology provides practical support to the design team to produce economically superior product life cycle designs

Can proactive fuel economy strategies help automakers mitigate fuel-price risks?

http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/55389/1/99823.pd

Morocco: Laverde's gateway to Africa

Throughout its activity, Laverde has continuously worked to be seen in the national and international market as a prestigious company, focusing mainly on the quality of its products. In order to maintain its reputation, the company invests regularly in research and development and has also invested in new infrastructures. The new factory will guarantee superior levels of quality, the development of new product lines and the increase of Laverde's production capacity. For this reason, it will be necessary to dispose of merchandise and the company considers that it would be fundamental to adopt an internationalization strategy for a new continent, even though Laverde currently has a mainly export-oriented market. Morocco is a gateway to Africa and seems a good investment option, since it is a constantly growing country, in which the cosmetics sector is significantly appreciated. In addition, most of the raw materials used in Laverde products are from Morocco. However, nowadays nearly all of them are acquired through intermediate countries and the decision to enter in the Moroccan market can facilitate these trade links. A business plan will be elaborated, in order to analyse the investment decision and to formulate a strategy to enable the company to achieve sustainable growth and to consolidate its market position from a global perspective. For this reason, the strengths and competitive advantages will be identified and the opportunities and risks associated with the internationalization decision will be taken into account.Durante toda a sua atividade, a Laverde trabalhou continuamente para ser vista no mercado nacional e internacional como uma empresa conceituada, apostando principalmente na qualidade dos seus produtos. Com o intuito de manter a sua reputação, a empresa investe regularmente em investigação e desenvolvimento e, além disso investiu em novas infraestruturas. A nova fábrica vai permitir que a empresa garanta níveis de qualidade superiores, que desenvolva novas linhas de produtos e que aumente a sua capacidade produtiva. Por este motivo, surge a necessidade de escoar mercadoria e, apesar de atualmente a Laverde ter um mercado principalmente direcionado para a exportação, considera que seria fundamental adotar uma estratégia de internacionalização para um novo continente. Marrocos surge como uma porta de entrada em África e apresenta-se como uma boa opção de investimento, visto que se trata de um país em constante crescimento, no qual o sector da cosmética é significativamente valorizado. Além disso, grande parte das matérias-primas utilizadas nos produtos da Laverde têm origem em Marrocos. No entanto, atualmente são praticamente todas adquiridas através de países intermediários e a decisão de entrar no mercado Marroquino, pode facilitar estas ligações comerciais. Para analisar a decisão de investimento, será elaborado um plano de negócios de modo a formular uma estratégia que permita à empresa um crescimento sustentável e a consolidação da sua posição no mercado numa perspetiva global. Deste modo, serão analisados os pontos fortes e vantagens competitivas e identificadas as oportunidades e os riscos associados à internacionalização

Project definition study for research facility access and science education

This UTA/SMU project definition study describes critical customer services and research programs which draw upon SSC assets to meet regional needs in two major components: Science Education; Academic/Small Business R and D Facility Access. The location of the SSC in Texas constituted a significant stimulus to R and D activities in Texas, encouraging new initiatives in high energy physics, as well as stimulating other areas of physics and related sciences. An important aspect of maximizing the utility of the investment in the SSC should be to re-allocate SSC assets in ways that maintain that momentum. This study addresses several ways to achieve that end, extending benefits to all of physics, the sciences in general and particularly, to science education