| List of Figures | xiii |
| List of Tables | xvii |
| Preface | xix |
| Acknowledgements | xx |
1 | Today's Perspectives | 1 |
| What, Exactly, is Fleet Planning? | 1 |
| Who Controls Fleet Planning? | 3 |
| Where Should the Fleet Planner Fit in the Organisation? | 4 |
| Reporting Lines | 5 |
| Alliance Issues | 7 |
| Why Manufacturers and Airlines have Different Timing Perspectives | 7 |
| The Life of an Aircraft | 7 |
| Why the Fleet is a Long-Term Issue | 9 |
| Resolving Conflicts of Time Perspectives in Fleet Planning | 11 |
| Adapting to Timing Differences | 12 |
| Coping with the Cycle | 14 |
| Gigantism - the Challenge of Size | 16 |
| Strategic Alliances and Fleet Planning | 17 |
| Hub-and-Spoke Networks | 19 |
| In Summary | 22 |
2 | Attributes of a Fleet Plan | 23 |
| Valuing the Assets | 23 |
| Defining Overall Objectives and Goals | 24 |
| A Marketing Objective | 24 |
| A Development Objective | 26 |
| An Alliance Objective | 26 |
| An Economic or Financial Objective | 27 |
| So, What Does Make a Good Fleet Plan? | 28 |
Attribute 1 | Adaptability | 28 |
Attribute 2 | Flexibility | 35 |
Attribute 3 | Continuity | 36 |
| Key Decision Criteria | 37 |
| Timing is Everything | 38 |
| The Diminishing Effect of Technology | 38 |
| The Impact of External Forces on Decision Criteria | 39 |
| Fixing the Key Decision Criteria | 39 |
| Trends in Tools and Data | 42 |
| In Summary | 44 |
3 | The Market Evaluation | 45 |
| Setting the Scene | 45 |
| Measuring Production | 48 |
| A Macro Approach to Fleet Planning | 51 |
| Macro Study - the Demand | 53 |
| Macro Study - the Supply | 55 |
| A Micro Approach to Fleet Planning | 56 |
| Market Segmentation and Spill | 58 |
| Motivations of Travel Demand | 58 |
| Variations in Travel Demand Over Time | 63 |
| Modelling Spill for Fleet Plans | 65 |
| The Normal Distribution | 66 |
| Modelling on a Single Sector | 73 |
| Calibrating the Model | 75 |
| Modelling on a Network | 83 |
| Preference Factors | 85 |
| Interaction Between Schedule and Fleet | 88 |
| The Micro-Network Model | 92 |
| The Network Matrix | 94 |
| Market Share Modelling | 100 |
| The S-Curve | 100 |
| Quality of Service Index | 103 |
| In Summary | 104 |
4 | The Airline and Aircraft Product | 105 |
| How Should we Conduct the Evaluation? | 105 |
| The Airline Product | 105 |
| How the Cabin Product has Evolved | 106 |
| The Aircraft Product | 110 |
| Evolution of Aircraft Demand | 111 |
| Product Line Development | 112 |
| Fragmentation and Consolidation | 114 |
| The Family Concept | 116 |
| Cost Savings Through Commonality | 116 |
| Defining the Data | 121 |
| Aircraft Manufacturer Documentation | 123 |
| Airline Documentation | 125 |
| Interior Configuration | 128 |
| In Summary | 132 |
5 | Aircraft Performance | 135 |
| Why is Aircraft Performance so Important? | 135 |
| Some Background on Aircraft Certification Practice | 136 |
| Aircraft Weight Build-Up | 137 |
| Defining the Initial Weight | 137 |
| Building the Payload | 140 |
| Building the Payload-Range | 143 |
| How Design Changes Affect the Payload-Range Envelope | 146 |
| Interpreting the Payload-Range Envelope | 150 |
| The Airfield Performance Analysis | 152 |
| Speed Definitions | 152 |
| Climb Performance | 157 |
| Obstacles | 158 |
| Ambient Conditions | 161 |
| Runway Loading | 166 |
| The En-Route Performance Analysis | 168 |
| Setting the Performance Analysis Parameters | 169 |
| The Flight Profile | 176 |
| Reserve Policies | 177 |
| Summary of Definitions | 181 |
| Special Practices | 181 |
| Extended Twin Operations | 184 |
| Combining Probabilities | 192 |
| Does the Aircraft Really Fit? | 193 |
| In Summary | 193 |
6 | Aircraft Economics | 195 |
| Why is Aircraft Economics so Important? | 195 |
| Classification of Costs | 196 |
| Cost Components | 197 |
| Fuel Costs (DOC) | 198 |
| Maintenance Costs (DOC) | 200 |
| Factors Influencing Maintenance Costs | 203 |
| Maintenance Cost Modelling Parameters | 206 |
| Maintenance Reserves | 208 |
| Maintenance Cost Per Hour Agreements | 208 |
| Crew Costs (DOC, and sometimes IOC) | 209 |
| Landing Fees (DOC) | 211 |
| Navigation Fees (DOC) | 212 |
| Insurance Costs (DOC) | 212 |
| Ownership Costs (DOC) | 213 |
| Handling Costs (DOC and IOC) | 215 |
| Passenger Service Costs (sometimes DOC, and IOC) | 216 |
| Ticketing, Sales and Promotion Costs (IOC) | 217 |
| General and Administration Costs (IOC) | 217 |
| Grouping the Cost Items | 217 |
| Evolution of Operating Costs | 219 |
| Methods of Cost and Revenue Measurement | 220 |
| Break-Even Load Factor | 220 |
| Operating Leverage | 221 |
| Cost Escapability | 222 |
| Fan Diagrams | 223 |
| Equivalent-Cost Modelling | 226 |
| Profit Profile Modelling | 230 |
| Sizing Models | 232 |
| Dynamic Fleet Management | 233 |
| Some More Drivers of Aircraft Operating Economics | 239 |
| Scheduled vs Charter vs Low-Cost Operation | 239 |
| The Effect of Fleet Size on Economics | 240 |
| The Economic Impact of Alliances | 241 |
| The Problem of External Factors | 241 |
| Some Solutions to Improve Operating Economics | 242 |
| Spares Provisioning | 243 |
| In Summary | 244 |
7 | The Investment Appraisal | 245 |
| Drawing the Threads Together | 245 |
| The Impact of Aircraft Price in Aircraft Selection | 245 |
| Scope of an Investment Appraisal | 246 |
| Non-Operating Activities | 247 |
| Segregating Profit and Cash | 247 |
| Elements to be Included in the Investment Appraisal | 249 |
| Residual Values | 250 |
| Some Definitions | 250 |
| Factors Influencing Residual Value | 250 |
| Depreciation, Loan Payments and the Base Value | 254 |
| Why Residual value is Important in Fleet Planning | 255 |
| The Life of a Project | 256 |
| Choosing the Right Decision Tool | 256 |
| Payback | 257 |
| Return on Investment | 257 |
| The Time Value of Money | 257 |
| Net Present Value | 258 |
| The Internal Rate of Return | 263 |
| Choosing Between Competing Projects | 264 |
| Selecting the Right Time Period for a Cash-Flow Study | 264 |
| Making the Choice | 265 |
| In Summary | 266 |
8 | Conclusion | 267 |
| Is Fleet Planning an Art or a Science? | 267 |
| In Summary | 269 |
| Abbreviations | 271 |
| Index | 275 |