Grey Clustering of the Variations in Reverse Pyramid Boarding Method Considering Pandemic Restrictions

摘要

The COVID-19pandemic has significantly hit the airline industry mostly due to the reduced number of flights between regions, the implementation of different protocols, restrictions, and the reluctance of the passengers to travel by airplane. In this context, the airlines have tried to offer an appropriate environment for their customers by ensuring a safe boarding process while considering the imposed restrictions related to social distancing. According to the literature, the Reverse Pyramid boarding method offers superior results in terms of boarding time and health risks in times of pandemics when compared to other classical airplane boarding methods. As the variations in Reverse Pyramid implementation are numerous, the present paper aims to determine which of these variations can be used when the airplane boarding process is made through the front door of the airplane. For this purpose, an agent-based model is created and used for simulating the variations in the Reverse Pyramid boarding method, while grey clustering is applied for dividing the variations into categories based on their performance. Three performance indicators, as reported in the scientific literature related to airplane boarding in times of COVID-19, are used, namely the boarding time, aisle seat risk, and window seat risk. Different scenarios are presented and analyzed in depth.