Southern Airline has 15 daily flights from Miami to New York. Each flight requires two pilots. Flights that do not have two pilots are canceled (passengers are transferred to other airlines). The average profit per flight is $6000. Because pilots get sick from time to time, the airline is considering a policy of keeping four reserve pilots on standby to replace sick pilots. Such pilots would introduce an additional cost of $1800 per reserve pilot (whether they fly or not). The pilots on each flight are distinct and the likelihood of any pilot getting sick is independent of the likelihood of any other pilot getting sick. Southern believes that the probability of any given pilot getting sick is 0.15. A) Run a simulation of this situation with at least 1000 iterations and report the following for the present policy (no reserve pilots) and the proposed policy (four reserve pilots): The average daily utilization of the aircraft (percentage of total flights that fly) The probability that one or more flights will be cancelled on a given day For the proposed policy, also report the average daily utilization of the reserve pilots (percentage of reserve pilots who fly). Would you recommend that Southern stay with its existing policy or adopt the new policy? Provide your evidence and explain your answer. B) Perhaps some other number of reserve pilots is more desirable. Modify your simulation to find the recommended number of reserve pilots. Provide your evidence and explain your answer. C) If the airline has a policy that the likelihood of one or more flights being cancelled must be no more than 10%, does that change the recommended number of reserve pilots? Provide your evidence and explain your answer. You don't have to worry about reserve pilots getting sick. Once a reserve pilot is assigned to a flight, he/she cannot cover another flight. All of these pilots are unique people.

Operations Research : Applications and Algorithms

4th Edition

ISBN:9780534380588

Author:Wayne L. Winston

Publisher:Wayne L. Winston

Chapter20: Queuing Theory

Section: Chapter Questions

Problem 17RP

See similar textbooks

Related questions

Question

Southern Airline has 15 daily flights from Miami to New York. Each flight requires two pilots. Flights that do not have two pilots are canceled (passengers are transferred to other airlines). The average profit per flight is $6000. Because pilots get sick from time to time, the airline is considering a policy of keeping four *reserve pilots on standby to replace sick pilots. Such pilots would introduce an additional cost of $1800 per reserve pilot (whether they fly or not).

The pilots on each flight are distinct and the likelihood of any pilot getting sick is independent of the likelihood of any other pilot getting sick. Southern believes that the probability of any given pilot getting sick is 0.15.

A) Run a simulation of this situation with at least 1000 iterations and report the following for the present policy (no reserve pilots) and the proposed policy (four reserve pilots):

The average daily utilization of the aircraft (percentage of total flights that fly)
The probability that one or more flights will be cancelled on a given day

For the proposed policy, also report the average daily utilization of the reserve pilots (percentage of reserve pilots who fly).

Would you recommend that Southern stay with its existing policy or adopt the new policy? Provide your evidence and explain your answer.

B) Perhaps some other number of reserve pilots is more desirable. Modify your simulation to find the recommended number of reserve pilots. Provide your evidence and explain your answer.
C) If the airline has a policy that the likelihood of one or more flights being cancelled must be no more than 10%, does that change the recommended number of reserve pilots? Provide your evidence and explain your answer.

*You don't have to worry about reserve pilots getting sick. Once a reserve pilot is assigned to a flight, he/she cannot cover another flight.

All of these pilots are unique people.

Expert Solution