 Obtaining the optimal fleet mix: A case study about towing tractors at airportsJia Yan Du, Jens O. Brunner and Rainer Kolisch Omega, 2016, vol. 64, issue C, 102-114 Abstract: Planes do not have a reverse gear. Hence, they need to be towed by tractors when leaving the gate. Towing tractors differ with respect to investment as well as variable costs and plane type compatibility. We propose a model which addresses the problem of a cost minimal fleet composition to support towing service providers in their strategic investment decisions. The model takes into account a maximum lifetime, a minimum duration of use, an overhaul option and a sell option. In a case study with a major European airport (our cooperating airport) we generate a multi-period fleet investment schedule. Furthermore, we introduce a 4-step approach for demand aggregation based on flight schedule information. We analyze the impact of demand variation, flight schedule disruptions and cost structure on the optimal buy, overhaul and sell policy. The scenario analyses demonstrate the robustness of the investment schedule with respect to these factors. Ignoring the existing fleet, a green field scenario reveals saving potentials of more than 5% when applying this model. Keywords: Airport operations management; Turnaround processes; Fleet composition problem (search for similar items in EconPapers) Downloads: (external link) Related works: Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:jomega:v:64:y:2016:i:c:p:102-114 Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from DOI: 10.1016/j.omega.2015.11.005 Access Statistics for this article Omega is currently edited by B. Lev More articles in Omega from Elsevier |
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