Fleet planning, selecting the right aircraft at the right time, is one of the essential steps in the airline planning process. Fleet planning, in simple terms, needs to answer two questions:
1 - Which aircraft are needed?
2 - When to acquire them?
When answering the first question, an airline needs to consider several – partly conflicting – selection criteria, including aircraft economics, technical, operational, and environmental performance, and cabin comfort. Another important influencing factor is fleet commonality. It describes the number of aircraft of the same type, the same aircraft family, or the same manufacturer in a fleet. When answering the second question, the airline will consider the development of demand for transport capacity, the age and cost of its current fleet, and the availability of new, more efficient aircraft. Airline fleet planning varies from airline to airline, depending, e.g., on the airline’s business model and operating characteristics.
Dmanera consulting services detail the aircraft types and configurations best suited for the future network plan.
