Airbus Packing at Federal Express

Clive Thomas, Kevin Campbell, Gail Hines and Michael Racer
Additional contact information
Clive Thomas: Operations Research, Federal Express, PO Box 727, Memphis, Tennessee 38194
Kevin Campbell: Operations Research, Federal Express, PO Box 727, Memphis, Tennessee 38194
Gail Hines: Operations Research, Federal Express, PO Box 727, Memphis, Tennessee 38194
Michael Racer: Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152

Interfaces, 1998, vol. 28, issue 4, 21-30

Abstract: Success in the express-mail market hinges on paying attention to every parcel in the system. A key component is safe, efficient loading of aircraft. Federal Express, a perennial leader in the express business, has recently added the Airbus A300, a lighter aircraft, to its fleet. Because of the Airbus design, shear limits—shear being a measure of the downward forces exerted on the plane—are extremely sensitive to the loading, a problem not experienced in the heavier craft. We developed a heuristic for loading containers into positions on the aircraft to address loading preferences and maintain feasibility constraints.

Keywords: transportation; freight/materials handling (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 1998
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