Airline Network Design by Mixed Integer Linear Programming: The Case of Small Size Airlines

摘要

In this paper, two categories have been considered: optimizing economic issues in long-term planning of regional airline network structure; and the importance of changes in demand in different months of the year in airline network design. A mixed integer linear programming model has been provided in this study which, compared to previous models, considers issues such as capacity constraints and network planning issues. Moreover, the most important initiative of this article is entering two parameters: cost (non-profit) due to losing customers and expenditures of the unused capacity. These two parameters will help the model identify the best supply in each path. Various demand functions have been used in solving the model. Based on conducted analyses, using the expected value of monthly demand in comparison with high and low demand and seasonal changes in the network is optimized. The results of study also show that in times of high demand, the airline tends to aggregate passengers and increase density in hub paths.