Optimize the flight path for airlines using real-time information

As the reserve of crude oil is becoming fewer, we can expect higher oil prices in the long run Among the various operating costs in the Airlines, the fuel cost takes the biggest portion. Additionally the en-route fuel consumption is influenced by the weather such as wind speed and direction. This study is aimed at saving an airline´s fuel costs by using real-time weather information en-route. It employs an integer programming model to search for an optimum flight path that minimizes the flight operating costs of an aircraft (including fuel costs, airway expenses, crew salaries, as well as maintenance and depreciation costs) for a specific flight. In the model, both airway choice and flight level selection are taken into account to search for the optimum path. For the first stage, the airline of interest chooses a suitable airway before departure according to her calculation based on some pre-set conditions in order to save fuel consumption. Since different airways depart a lot in oceanic flights, it is assumed that the airway decision is not changeable after the aircraft entering a specific gate fix. On the other hand, flight levels can be changed during the cruise phase. Pilots are able to change their flight level to optimize their fuel efficiency, on the basis of weather information provided by their airline or other third parties. Mathematically, there is an objective function that minimizes fuel consumption. Additionally, there are several constraints that take care o some techniques such as the maximum levels of each descend operation. Two set of empirical data (Transpacific and Asia-Pacific to Europe) from a Taiwanese airline are used to validate the mathematical formulation that has the potential to efficiently solve the defined problem with an exact solution. The research indicates that it is possible for airlines to use real-time weather information to save their fuel costs.