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Tail Assignment made easy with NetLine/Ops Tail xOPT
New-generation aircraft allocation by Lufthansa Systems
An important part of an airline’s operational planning is tail assignment. The term is derived from the word "tail sign" which is an aircraft’s individual registration number painted on the back end (or "tail") of each plane. It describes the assignment of individual aircraft to particular flights. Through careful planning, an airline can turn this complex task into a further optimization of its flight operations. The new module NetLine/Ops Tail xOPT does exactly that - it provides an efficient tool for the planning of aircraft rotations.
In tail assignment, one particular aircraft of the fleet is selected for each scheduled flight. The overall goal is to ensure a stable, efficient and economical flight operation. To this end, the careful integration of scheduled maintenance for individual planes is of special importance. Aircraft should be scheduled for overhaul events early enough to keep legal deadlines, but not too early to avoid wasting resources.
Tail assignment is usually performed much later than fleet assignment. In other words, the process starts with the allocation of an aircraft type to a route based on flight distance, seating capacity and a number of other factors. Only seven to one days before departure, a particular available aircraft is chosen to operate the flight. An earlier allocation would be subject to too many changes in schedules and aircraft rotations and would therefore be inefficient.
Operations controllers are aiming to achieve a "robust" aircraft rotation. A plan is robust if operational incidents like delays or cancellations on the day of departure do not impact the other flights. The optimizer thus plans buffers into the schedule to ensure stability. One of them is a close connection of crew and aircraft rotations: As every crew change increases the risk of instability, it is better to keep crew and plane together throughout the day. Also, Tail xOPT makes the best possible use of the ground time before every new departure so that a slight incoming delay does not impact the following flight. The solution even plans ahead for maintenance events. It observes local technical capabilities and facilities, informing the controller which checks or repairs can be done at which airport given the current capacity situation.
NetLine/Ops Tail xOPT replaces the NetLine/Ops Tail Optimizer. Delivering a new level of efficiency, Tail xOPT handles even larger fleets with complex operational restrictions. Its new functionalities provide for a more flexible integration of maintenance events and rotation planning. The solution uses the same technology as the new-generation crew optimizers of NetLine/Crew. It usually calculates a basic set of several ten thousand rotations before automatically selecting the ideal combination for all aircraft.
Launched earlier this year, the first customer for NetLine/Ops Tail xOPT is Alitalia. Other customers are currently in negotiations. The development team of Lufthansa Systems is already working on an extension to the module that can calculate new rotations in case of major disruptions on the day of departure. This functionality will be available soon.
All charts in the right order -
Lufthansa Systems offers extensive services for Lido RouteManual
Today, airlines invest great efforts to ensure that their pilots always have complete and up to date navigation charts available for every flight. Traditionally, pilots carry their own route manuals. The update process is time-consuming and costly, taking into consideration the large number of route manuals to be updated and the amount of time pilots need to invest. For the Lido RouteManual, however, Lufthansa Systems offers a complete service package for revising the manuals which can significantly lower the cost for airlines and help guarantee that their route manuals are always complete and up to date. Through the migration to so-called "ship manuals" the entire updating process becomes much simpler. Navigation documents are no longer assigned to pilots but rather to individual aircrafts. Evergreen International Airlines is the first customer to opt for this comprehensive service, and it is now benefiting from Lufthansa Systems’ established processes which guarantee that complete and up to date manuals are delivered to the aircraft when needed.
The Lido RouteManual contains complete chart sets for each airport served by an airline and all designated alternate airports. Each destination may have from 10 to 60 charts depending on the size of the airport; there are currently 40 different charts for Frankfurt alone.
Lufthansa Systems offers a service to ensure the highest standard of quality through customized revision procedures based on the airline’s individual operational requirements. The service package covers both the provision of updated charts and the automated check of each Lido RouteManual in accordance with the list of effective pages (LEP). Every page in the manual has a bar code with information on the chart’s status and placement in the route manual. During the revision process scanners read every individual chart’s bar codes and compare the chart’s effective date and sequence in the route manual with the data in the LEP master file. This immediately shows if any charts are missing, have been misplaced and need to be exchanged or resorted - a quality assurance procedure which would be nearly impossible to carry out manually. If a chart has been damaged or lost, the pilot may print out a new one at any airport using the Lido Flight Information Viewer, which provides web-based access to all navigation charts.
Lufthansa Systems’ navigation charts are generated directly from the Lido navigation database, which contains amongst others worldwide aeronautical information and topographical data. The charts include graphical representations of take-off and landing procedures as well as true-to-scale geographic information such as terrain features and rivers. This enables pilots to precisely evaluate the length and required time for each take-off and landing route. All relevant information is color-coded, enabling pilots to see them at a glance.
Airlines already using Lufthansa System’s Lido eRouteManual don’t need to worry about manual updates anymore. These electronic navigation charts feature the same design, color-coding and symbols as their paper counterparts. Cockpit crews can flexibly determine the level of detail presented by the charts based on the flight situation. Depending on the zoom step chosen, information can be presented either in detail or reduced to key aspects as needed. As a result, pilots always have all the necessary route information at their fingertips. The flight route as entered into the FMS is also automatically highlighted on the displayed charts.
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