Fuel Usage Optimisation within the Airline Industry
Global warming, individual carbon footprints, government policy, increased world-wide interest in green issues and increased prices are major driving forces behind the need to reduce the fuel consumption by airlines.
This project aims at helping to achieve this through optimising the use of fuel within the airline sector. Unpredictability in fuel price is a major factor when airlines are calculating level of business risk. Increasing crude oil costs do not just affect profitability. Airlines are compelled to charge fuel surcharges; which attract adverse publicity (and public resentment) and highlight the environmental issues that surround this form of transport. Rising fuel prices are a major factor in Ryanair recently declaring that it expects it’s profits to half this year. From an environmental perspective, some airlines are investigating the use of ‘greener’ fuels which have the potential to also help with the business aspects. It is clear that best or ‘optimised’ usage of fuel would be beneficial to the profitability of the airline as well as the environment.
This proposal aims to model a complex, real-world problem which has the potential to have a significant cost and environmental benefit by optimising the use of fuel. The commercial problem is known as tankering. This problem encompasses how airlines seek to minimise their fuel costs by attempting to optimise various essential operational criteria. For example, flights routes, when and where to re-fuel, how much fuel to take on at any given service point, landing charges and potential passenger load. It is considered essential by the industry that the optimisation approach should also provide robust solutions allowing for unforeseen circumstances such as aircraft availability, breakdown etc.. Currently, decisions relating to the amount of fuel carried and where and when to refuel are based on only a percentage of the available information. i.e. the captain can choose to refuel at a number of the scheduled stops which may not lead to the most efficient fuel usage. When considered across the entire industry, this potentially suboptimal approach to fuel usage leads to massive fuel waste through burn off and financial waste though differential fuel pricing. In addition, it points to the need to optimise routes in the future based on minimising fuel costs while considering all other objectives e.g. maximising passenger load.
This proposal presents the opportunity for a win-win situation for airlines, the environment and the general public. The airlines have a financial incentive which, if taken up, will have a direct effect on the environment and could reduce air fares via smaller surcharges.