Journal of Aerospace Operations - Volume 1, issue 1-2

Authors: Curran, Richard

Article Type: Editorial

DOI: 10.3233/AOP-2011-0012

Citation: Journal of Aerospace Operations, vol. 1, no. 1-2, pp. 1-1, 2011

Authors: Curran, R. | Beelearts, W. | Abu-Kias, T. | Repco, M.J.F. | Sprengers, Y.L.J. | van der Zwet, P.N.C.S.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This paper gives insight in the development of a Value Operations Methodology (VOM) that can be used to support Value Driven Design (VDD). The VOM establishes expressions for operational value levers that are incorporated into a weighted value function. This value function is then used to optimize the design variables that are incorporated into it so that the design process is actively driven by value assessments that provide design decision metrics. However, the VOM is generic in nature and has a much wider range of influence to the design process for any engineering product. The methodology is verified by …means of a case study, analyzing the value difference between the Boeing 737-200, Boeing 737-800, Embraer ERJ-145 and the Airbus 319 as part of a use-case study. In fact, the fundamental conclusion from the work presented is actually that VDD simply promotes the sustained application of the main utility values that were originally recognised but which, due to the complexity of the product and enterprise, tends to be disaggregated into isolated requirements. Ultimately, this leads to optimisation at a sub-system level and that is especially unacceptable for a complex system (with many sub-systems), whereas the re-focus of VOM helps to significantly shift the design effort back to creatively solving the main goal, rather than simply and somewhat robotically making sure the requirements are satisfied. The verification and validation work presented is recognised as indicative but the authors believe that it is extremely significant in pointing towards the potential gains from sustaining a more holistic appraisal and approach through-out the design process. Notwithstanding, the key message of the paper is the need for value modelling within engineering so that we are in control of the consequences of what we are actualising, where value is realised through operational delivery and excellence. This paper has presented a broad methodology in opening up a significantly different approach to aircraft design that is both performance and economics driven while also incorporating other crucial drivers of a much more holistic nature, proactively rather than reactively. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/AOP-2011-0011

Citation: Journal of Aerospace Operations, vol. 1, no. 1-2, pp. 3-27, 2011

Authors: Castelli, Lorenzo | Pesenti, Raffaele | Ranieri, Andrea

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Air Traffic Flow Management delays are often caused by multiple capacity constrained air traffic resources. In this context, we propose an individual rational and weakly budget balanced market-based negotiation mechanism between flights and the network manager. This mechanism allows flights to pay for reducing their delays or get compensations if they accept an increased delay, with respect to the delay allocated under a First-Planned-First-Served policy. Specifically, we introduce a Lagrangian-based primal distributed heuristic that enables flights to determine the market price of the airspace resources composing their business trajectories. Some computational experience based on a real case instance is reported.

Keywords: Air Traffic Management (ATM), Air Traffic Flow Management (ATFM), Collaborative Decision-Making (CDM), SESAR, Contract-based Air Transportation System (CATS)

DOI: 10.3233/AOP-2011-0001

Citation: Journal of Aerospace Operations, vol. 1, no. 1-2, pp. 29-40, 2011

Authors: McEwan, W. | Butterfield, J.

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Traditional business models in the aerospace industry are based on a conventional supplier to customer relationship based on the design, manufacture and subsequent delivery of the physical product. Service provision, from the manufacturer's perspective, is typically limited to the supply of procedural documentation and the provision of spare parts to the end user as the product passes through the latter stages of its intended lifecycle. Challenging economic and political conditions have resulted in end users re-structuring their core business activities, particularly in the defence sector. This has resulted in the need for original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to integrate and manage …support service activities in partnership with the customer to deliver platform availability. This improves the probability of commercial sustainability for the OEM through shared operational risks while reducing the cost of platform ownership for the customer. The need for OEMs to evolve their design, manufacture and supply strategies by focusing on customer requirements has revealed a need for reconstruction of traditional internal behaviours and design methodologies. Application of organisational learning is now a well recognised principle for innovative companies to achieve long term growth and sustained technical development, and hence, greater market command. It focuses on the process by which the organisation's knowledge and value base changes, leading to improved problem solving ability and capacity for action. From the perspective of availability contracting, knowledge and the processes by which it is generated, used and retained, become primary assets within the learning organisation. This paper will introduce the application of digital methods to asset management by demonstrating how the process of learning can benefit from a digital approach, how product and process design can be integrated within a virtual framework and finally how the approach can be applied in a service context. Show more

Keywords: Organisational Learning, Availability Contracting, Through Life Management, Digital Manufacturing

DOI: 10.3233/AOP-2011-0003

Citation: Journal of Aerospace Operations, vol. 1, no. 1-2, pp. 41-53, 2011

Authors: Hollingsworth, Peter

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The design of modern aerospace systems is commonly an exercise in creating and working with complex systems. This complexity stems from a combination of the complexity of the system itself, the interaction with environment that it operates in and often the organization which is creating the system. Historically, this complexity has been seen as a source of risk and uncertainty, especially with respect to the future performance and utility of the system. Consequently actions were taken to minimize the downside risk, and especially eliminate what were considered significant failure modes. This risk minimization encompasses both technical and programmatic aspects. As …a response the behavior of the program becomes inherently ‘stiff’ and is less likely to evolve to meet changes in the environment. Consequently it may actually be more likely that the program will fail suddenly and late in its development. One possible theory that helps to describe these behaviors and may unlock some of this information is Catastrophe Theory. When combined with a utility approach, specifically a Value-Driven approach this has the option to help organize the concept exploration and decision making phases of design. Show more

Keywords: Aerospace design, bifurcations, catastrophe theory, requirements, value, operations

DOI: 10.3233/AOP-2011-0004

Citation: Journal of Aerospace Operations, vol. 1, no. 1-2, pp. 55-70, 2011

Authors: Carmona Benitez, Rafael Bernardo | Lodewijks, Gabriel

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This paper examines the effects that low-cost carriers (LCC's) produce when entering new routes operated only by full-service carriers (FSC's) and routes operated by low-cost carriers in competition with full-service carriers. A mathematical model has been developed to determine what routes should be operated by a low-cost carrier with better possibilities to subsist, as a first step towards reaching the most convenient route; additional factors must be considered after running the proposed model, such as route passenger demand and aircraft characteristics not took into account in this paper. The proposed model was set up by analyzing The United States domestic …air transport market. Distance is the only variable taken into account by the model. This model analyses the relation between the real fare data ($) and the distance (miles). The model generates three lines that includes amongst them 68% of the approximately 18,000 routes by calculating a standard deviation and estimates the minimum, maximum and average fare for a low-cost carrier given the distance the model determines in which routes a low-cost carrier could be successful by comparing, route by route, different airline fares against the low-cost minimum, maximum and average fare estimated per distance. Show more

Keywords: Airline competition, full-service carrier, low-cost carrier, airfare pricing determinants, airline-airport relationship

DOI: 10.3233/AOP-2011-0005

Citation: Journal of Aerospace Operations, vol. 1, no. 1-2, pp. 71-94, 2011

Authors: Günther, Thomas | Hildebrandt, Matthias | Fricke, Hartmut | Strasser, Moritz

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: The current paper stresses the high priority of accurate taxi time calculation and suitable pre-departure management strategies in the context of Airport Collaborative Decision Making (Airport CDM) and contributes to an improved overall understanding of the associated requirements. Based on data analysis performed at Frankfurt Airport this paper compares results of static and advanced taxi time calculation. Contrarily to static calculations, where look-up tables for stand-runway-relations are used, advanced taxi time calculation takes into account the current traffic situation and calculates taxi times dynamically. The paper shows that the taxi time uncertainties when using static data lead to only 42% …of flights within the accuracy of ± 2 minutes according to the requirements of the Airport CDM Implementation Manual for short term predictions (maximum 30 minutes before off-block). The application of advanced taxi time calculation leads to significant improvements with 66% of flights within the accuracy of ± 2 minutes at the moment when the aircraft leaves the stand. Hence, app. 50% more predictions are compliant with the Airport CDM requirements compared to static data. Based on these results, the paper assesses the effects of improved taxi time predictability onto airport operation efficiency with particular focus set to taxi time reductions due to minimized queuing at the departure runway. It is shown that advanced taxi time calculation contributes to a reduction of delays, fuel burn, CO2 emissions and costs for airspace users compared to the use of static look-up tables. However, it is also emphasized that the shifting of delays from the runway holding positions to the stand does not necessarily contribute to efficiency improvements. It is recommended that the pre-departure sequencing strategy must be chosen cautiously in dependence on the fuel and time costs for airlines as well the amount of departure delay that has to be absorbed. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/AOP-2011-0006

Citation: Journal of Aerospace Operations, vol. 1, no. 1-2, pp. 95-106, 2011

Authors: Stroeve, Sybert H. | van Doorn, Bas A. | Bakker, G.J. (Bert)

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Agent-based dynamic risk modelling supports the design of future air traffic operations by risk analysis methods that account for the performance variability of the interacting operators and systems, and the resulting emergence of safety occurrences. The paper shows the application of this modelling approach in a risk assessment cycle of a future A-SMGCS level 3 supported taxiing into position and hold operation. Accident risk results have been obtained by Monte Carlo simulations of a multi-agent dynamic risk model. The uncertainty in the risk has been evaluated using sensitivity analysis and feedback of operational experts.

Keywords: safety, multi-agent system, dynamic risk model, air traffic management, TOPAZ, airport

DOI: 10.3233/AOP-2011-0007

Citation: Journal of Aerospace Operations, vol. 1, no. 1-2, pp. 107-127, 2011

Authors: Niţă, Mihaela F. | Scholz, Dieter

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This paper identifies several meaningful business opportunity cases in the area of aircraft cabin conversion and refurbishing and predicts the market volume and the world distribution for each of them: 1) international cabins, 2) domestic cabins, 3) aircraft on operating lease, 4) freighter conversions and 5) VIP completions. This implies the determination of cabin modification/conversion scenarios, along with their duration and frequency. Factors driving the cabin conversion and refurbishing are identified. Several aircraft databases, containing the current world feet as well as the forecasted fleet for the next years, are analyzed. The results are obtained by creating a program able …to read and analyze the gathered data. It is shown that about 38000 cabin redesigns will be undertaken within the next 20 years. About 2500 conversions from jetliners into freighters and 25000 cabin modifications at VIP standards will emerge on the market. The North American and European markets will keep providing good business opportunities in this area. The Asian market, however, is growing fast, and its very strong influence on demand puts it in the front rank for the next 20 years. Show more

DOI: 10.3233/AOP-2011-0008

Citation: Journal of Aerospace Operations, vol. 1, no. 1-2, pp. 129-153, 2011

Authors: Öttl, Gerald | Böck, Philipp

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: Airport categorizations offer a basis to derive representative scenarios for air traffic related simulation purposes. A methodology for an application specific airport categorization was developed as presented in this paper. Existing categorizations were identified to insufficiently reflect operational characteristics of airports and mostly to omit quantitative statements, which are a crucial simulation input. The presented approach shows a way to enhance an existing baseline categorization using application specific airport similarity parameters. A set of typical airports for each category can be specified by analyzing air traffic schedule data. Clustering techniques, the core element of the methodology, are applied to identify …outliers, which are subsequently removed. The remaining group of airports is used to calculate the boundaries of the analyzed category as well as the representative scenario parameter values. The proposed approach is presented step by step for one category and the exemplary application in noise trading scheme simulations. Additional results for use in airport capacity analyses are provided. The presented approach offers the possibility to derive traffic scenarios that represent the characteristics of a multitude of airports within one category. In general a different set of similarity parameters can lead to different category boundaries and representative values. The results are application driven, as proven by the examples. Show more

Keywords: Airport, Air traffic, simulation, Airport categories, clustering, similarity

DOI: 10.3233/AOP-2011-0009

Citation: Journal of Aerospace Operations, vol. 1, no. 1-2, pp. 155-170, 2011

Authors: Ghobbar, Adel A. | Alves, Vera

Article Type: Research Article

Abstract: This research was carried with the aim of analyzing Martinair M&E impact on the network performance and providing an efficient tool to predict delays and the On-Time Performance (OTP). The methodology undertaken in this research is based on conventional analytical methods to identify the ‘real’ delay root causes and their relative importance. The growth of delays and unplanned ground times are analysed in different ways, not only using rates and duration but also per month, per quarter, per year, per station and per Maintenance Delay Categorization Groups (MDCG). Fishbone diagrams are drawn to completely identify and understand the root …causes. Statistical analysis (Binomial Logistic Regression and GLM-ANOVA) is applied to investigate the significance of the maintenance factors and their interactions and to build a regression equation which allows the development of the predictive model. The predictive model gives valid OTP results and enables managers and engineers to take preventive measures in order to enhance punctuality. Show more

Keywords: Aircraft delay, punctuality, on time performance, dispatch reliability, aircraft maintenance

DOI: 10.3233/AOP-2011-0010

Citation: Journal of Aerospace Operations, vol. 1, no. 1-2, pp. 171-189, 2011