Air Cargo Operations Research Articles

Offshore consolidation centre for air cargo operations: model and solution methods

Offshore consolidation centre for air cargo operations: model and solution methods

Green investing in China's air cargo industry: Opportunities and challenges for sustainable transportation

Aviation cargo remains vital in the economic activities to transported goods from one place to another. The developed and developing countries mainly consider the transaction routes for air transportation for safe and quickest mode. Chinese economy is attracting the global World through its exports. The country's air cargo system is mainly reliant on gasoline and petroleum-based fuels, which harms the country's green transportation agenda. The high use of fuel combustions in the aviation sector needed greenfield investment that helps to use green energy as an alternative sustainable fuel. Further, sustainable aviation insurance and financial coverage are needed to mitigate the adverse negative externalities from air cargo operations. Based on the crucial facts, the study used air cargo operations, transportation fuel combustions, private investment in the transportation and insurance coverage in the pollution damage function for the China economy using data from 1975 to 2020. The research employed a non-linear ARDL Bounds testing strategy to break down the sequence of variables into dynamic positive and negative multipliers. Positive shocks in air freight, insurance services, and greenfield investment have been shown to reduce carbon emissions immediately and over the long term. In the short term, carbon damages are exacerbated by the negative shocks resulting from the use of transportation fuel and the availability of insurance. Moreover, both the positive and negative shocks associated with transportation fuel combustions and air transportation freights contribute to a rise in carbon damage. The variance decomposition analysis validated the asymmetric correlations between the aforementioned variables in the intertemporal environment. Based on the findings, negative shocks from total fuel combustions are expected to impose the greatest carbon damages over the next decade, followed by insurance services and air freight operations. The study concludes that air cargo operations need to be sustainable transacting routes fueled by biofuel energy sources, greenfield investment, and sustainable aviation insurance coverage to achieve the ‘green is clean’ transportation agenda.

Transshipment network design for express air cargo operations in China

We introduce a novel multimodal (ground and air transportation) network design model with transshipments for the transport of express cargo with heterogeneous service classes (i.e., next morning delivery, and next day delivery). We formulate this problem using a novel path-based mixed-integer program which seeks to maximize the demand (weight) served. We investigate the value of the proposed transshipment network under various operational conditions and by benchmarking against a direct shipment network and a network with a single transshipment point which mimics a classical star-shaped hub-and-spoke network. Our extensive computational study with real-world data from ShunFeng (SF) Express reveals that the integration of ground and air transportation improves the coverage and that transshipment enables serving a large number of origin–destination pairs with a small number of cargo planes. Importantly, we show that by simplifying handling, i.e., employing cross-docking rather than time-consuming sortation, a transshipment network can transport express cargo fast enough to meet demanding delivery deadlines. Finally, we find that increasing the efficiency of intra-city operations and extending the nightly operating time window are the most effective operational adjustments for further improving the performance of the proposed transshipment network.

Who benefits from air service agreements? The case of international air cargo operations

Air service agreements between countries spell out diverse provisions, such as reciprocal capacity allocations. We analyze how such agreements, which regulate total capacity in markets, affect total welfare and its distribution. We consider the interactions between two competing cargo airlines, their end customers, logistics service providers—who serve as intermediaries between the former two agent types—as well as the policy makers. Accounting for demand uncertainty, we model this interaction as a two-stage game. In the first stage, the policy makers coordinate equal capacity allocations to the two asset providers, whereas in the second stage, the asset providers compete over prices in the spot market. Solving the model, we characterize the pricing strategies employed by the two competing capacity-constrained asset providers in the spot market when facing price sensitive demand from end customers. We further analyze the corresponding capacity decisions.We then compare this coordinated competitive setting with a collaborative setting where the two asset providers can (virtually) merge and act as a monopoly. We find that, compared with the monopoly setting, the coordinated duopoly results in lower capacity, lower profits to the asset providers, larger benefits to both end customers and logistics service providers, and overall lower total welfare. These results suggest that policy makers shall hold an open attitude towards a higher level of cooperation among the asset providers. We carry out robustness checks to verify our insights hold with three, rather than two, asset providers, with different demand distributions, when capacity is costly and when asymmetric capacities are allowed in the spot market.

A Novel Intelligent IoT System for Improving the Safety and Planning of Air Cargo Operations

Being the main pillar in the context of Industry 4.0, the Internet of Things (IoT) leads evolution towards a smarter and safer planet. Being human-centered, rather than machine-centered, as was the case of wireless sensor networks used in the industry for decades, the IoT may enhance human intelligence with situational awareness, early warning, and decision support tools. Focusing on air cargo transportation, the “INTELLICONT” project presented a novel solution capable of improving critical air cargo challenges such as the reduction of total aircraft weight, detection and suppression of smoke and/or fire in a container, elimination of permanent moving and locking hardware, loading and unloading logistics enhancement and maintenance. In the present work, the IoT-based monitoring and control system for intelligent aircraft cargo containers is presented from a hardware perspective. The system is based on low-cost, low-energy sensors that are integrated into the container, can track its status, and detect critical events, such as fire/smoke, impact, and accidental misuse. The focus has been given to the design and development of a system capable of providing better and safer control of the aircraft cargo during the loading/unloading operations and the flight. It is shown that the system could provide a breakthrough in the state of the art of current cargo container technology and aircraft cargo operations.

The ground handler dock capacitated pickup and delivery problem with time windows: A collaborative framework for air cargo operations

We study a typical problem within the air cargo supply chain, concerning the transportation of standard Unit Load Devices (ULDs) from freight forwarders’ to ground handlers’ warehouses. First, ULDs are picked up by a set of available trucks at the freight forwarders’ premises within a time window. Next, they are delivered to the ground handlers, also within a time window, and discharged according to a Last In First Out (LIFO) policy. Due to space constraints, ground handlers have limited capacity to serve the trucks and waiting times may arise, especially in case freight forwarders do not coordinate their operations. Therefore, in this paper we consider a cooperative framework where this transportation is coordinated by a central planner. The goal of the planner is to find a proper routing and scheduling that minimizes the sum of the transportation and waiting times at the ground handlers’ warehouses, while satisfying the capacity of the trucks. We propose two mathematical formulations, one based on the routing and the other based on the packing aspect of the problem. To solve large instances of the problem, an Adaptive Large Neighborhood Search algorithm is also developed. With numerical experiments, we compare the performances of the two models and the metaheuristic, and we quantify the benefits of the proposed framework to reduce waiting times.

Transshipment Network Design for Express Air Cargo Operations in China

Transshipment Network Design for Express Air Cargo Operations in China

EXPERIENCES OF ROTOR SAIL INSTALLATIONS ON VARIOUS SHIP TYPES AND THE EMISSION REDUCTION POTENTIAL OF ROTOR SAILS

Norsepower’s Rotor Sails have been installed on a variety of ship types since 2014. This paper describes the technical and operational requirements for Rotor Sail installations on tankers, ro-ro-vessels, ferries and bulkers. Third-party verified performance results are presented as well as customer feedback on how the Rotor Sails are viewed by the ship’s crew. Operational requirements such as air draft restrictions and cargo operations can be complied with by applying a tilting Rotor Sail. Aspects related to tilting Rotor Sails and the first experiences from installations are described. The global shipping community faces enormous challenges in finding feasible and proven solutions to reduce their environmental impact and specifically fossil fuel related emissions. This paper discusses wind propulsion technology’s potential to be a significant part of the emission reduction solution in today’s ship designs.

A Data-Driven Situational Awareness System for Enhanced Air Cargo Operations Emergency Control

Based on the constant need for safety and operational cost optimization, the air-cargo industry is continually evolving in the context of Industry 4.0. Used wisely, data can help the industry to provide critical resilience that will allow authorities to take proper measures/actions in response to unexpected disasters and secure societal protection. The “INTELLICONT” project combines state-of-the-art technologies blended with novel solutions to improve the loading/unloading time, the structural status awareness, and the safety and security of the air-cargo related operations (prior to, during, and after the flight), as well as to enhance their capabilities related to the execution of their duties. The suggested system is contextually aligned and harmonized with the existing international and EU regulations. In the present work, the remote monitoring and control system for intelligent aircraft cargo containers have been presented from the software perspective. The intelligent containers integrate three types of sensors, Structural Health Monitoring, fire suppression, and locking status indication. The focus has been given to the design and development of a Human Machine Interface (HMI) capable to visualize all related data for better and safer control of the aircraft cargo. It is shown that the system can contribute to making the air transportations safer, environmentally friendlier, faster and with the lowest possible cost.

Sustainability and Air Freight Transportation: Lessons from the Global Pandemic

The COVID-19 crisis has transformed the delivery of services and goods by public, private, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), with one of the largest impacts being in air transport systems. This paper focuses on related opportunities and challenges within air freight transport management, exploring sustainability in light of recent, heavy human and economic costs across the world. There is, in the resulting process of recovery, the potential to create changes in the airline industry and across a number of private and public partnerships that will improve long-term environmental, social, and economic sustainability and stability. This paper also describes the impact of the current environment on air cargo operations to include the role of significantly reduced airline schedules on overall air cargo capacity. It considers the potential role of government in providing the infrastructure for collaboration between sectors, addressing the goals of sustainability, efficiency, effectiveness, and citizen responsiveness. NGOs provide a voice for community groups in ways that governments and corporations may not. Efficient markets link producers at various stages to consumers through global and local supply chains. Integrating key concepts from sustainable development and logistics, this paper explores short-run and long-run planning required by each of the three sectors to tackle the immediate shortfalls in global transportation by air. It then investigates urgent but longer-term environmental issues tied to air transport, such as global climate change, air pollution, and the nonrenewable nature of fossil fuels. Many of the infrastructural changes in the airline industry may offer solutions across public administration. With the tremendous impact of air transport on a number of other goods and services, carefully constructed solutions may have sustainability benefits across industries. As the tragedies of COVID-19 inevitably shake the foundations of organizational systems in all three sectors, this paper offers recommendations for advancing opportunities for a more efficient freight supply industry that minimize negative impacts through sustainable development.

Maximizing revenue in airline industry through air cargo operations

This research aims 1) to identify the impact of pricing strategies on airlines’ revenues, 2) to identify the impact of non-pricing strategies on airlines’ revenues, 3) to explore the significance of revenue management to airlines competitive advantage. The behavioural-demand based pricing, psychological pricing, capacity management and over contract booking strategies are determined as independent variables. A dependent variable is the competitive advantage, and a mediator is revenue management. Primary data was collected from an online survey of 500 airline industry and revenue management strategies personnel; there were only 424 completed questionnaires in return. Results show that larger competitive advantage is associated with non- pricing strategy which is the over contract booking and there is a positive relationship between the psychological pricing and competitive advantage, as compared to the behavioural-demand based pricing and capacity management based strategic approaches.

THE EUROPEAN AVIATION POST-COVID-19 SCENARIO: OBSERVATIONS AND PERSPECTIVES

The goal of this article is to present the observations of the main impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on European air transport, as well as to highlight possible scenarios and perspectives for aviation industry restoring. The article focuses on the European Union Reaction on such impacts. Besides, the article highlights outlines measures and packages to mitigate COVID-19’s effects on air services. Research methods: the research was carried out using generally accepted methods of scientific knowledge, such as: analytical, comparative-legal, systemic-structural, statistics and others. Results: as a result of academic research, the main impacts of the COVID-19 on European aviation were revealed, current measures of the European Union and International organizations were outlined and post-Covid-19 scenario and perspectives in the European aviation industry were presented. Discussion: the COVID-19 pandemic impacted on European air transport and caused an unprecedented and unparalleled stall in air traffic, with an overall reduction of international passengers estimated between 50 and 80% in the first months of 2020 as compared to 2019. Besides forecasts do not predict a fast recovery, with figures indicating that only between the end of the year and the beginning of 2021, intra-EU air traffic will partially recover, with expectations of 25-30% less aircraft movement and passengers as compared to the same months of 2019. The European Union’s reaction consists in safety related measures and packages to mitigate COVID-19’s effects on air services, airport slot allocation, air cargo operations, passenger protection, state aid. While some measures are likely to remain temporary in nature, some others, like airlines’s vouchers, will probably need more time to be further and thoroughly addressed by the EU legislator.

Analyze the Challenges and Problems in Air Cargo Operations, Chennai, Tamil Nadu

The paper aims at understanding the problems of air cargo operations. The study is about identifying the problems during the import and export of the cargo through air transport. There are different stages of the process involved in the import and export of cargo. Some of the major processes are Export operations, Import Operations, AWB (Airway Bill) management, Freight Forwarding, Customs clearance, Transportation. This study gives an idea about problems and challenges in air cargo operations. The problems like a procedural bottleneck of customs clearance, Congestion at airport cargo terminal, Reducing dwell time, unskilled manpower, Inefficient use of belly cargoes capacity, Forecasting Airline cargo capacity and space allocation, challenges of handling hazardous cargo and dangerous cargo etc. For various problems, an overview of the relevant literature review is presented. The data are collected from various employees through questionnaire and observation method which is the primary data collection method used in the research. The data is analyzed by applying statistical tool, suggestion and conclusion are given purely based on the values obtained from the analysis and Interpretation.

Does cargo matter? The impact of air cargo operations on departure on-time performance for combination carriers

Airline business models are under constant development. Combination carriers generate revenues from passenger and cargo operations jointly. This study makes use of an econometric model to investigate how air cargo operations impact on the quality of service perceived by passengers. Building on empirical data from the U.S., it indicates that air cargo operations increase departure delays. Hence, passenger and cargo business are tied together in terms of revenue as well as operational complexity. To address this trade-off, airline business models must be considered within the entire continuum of passenger and cargo operations.

Evaluation of air cargo connectivity and policy in Thailand

This study evaluates the air cargo connectivity of Suvarnabhumi airport in Thailand by developing an air cargo connectivity model that includes new air cargo operation deficiency factors. Our model is developed and extended from the NetCargo model and assesses the impact of air cargo operation deficiency of airports/airlines on their air cargo performance. The analysis shows that short-shipped cargo is the result of air cargo operation deficiency and has a big impact on overall air cargo connectivity. The finding presents a big difference between the results from both models. This result shows significant differences in airport strategy and planning policy. The finding suggests that our proposed model is practically suitable for the Asian region. We also discuss policy recommendations, such as the improvement of e-AWB, to improve the ability of air cargo transport in Thailand to prepare and cope with future demand.

Revenue management of air cargo service in theory and practice

This study examines the air cargo service by comparing existing theories from previous research with the conditions on the ground. The object of the study is focused on the freight forwarder and the airport management. This study reviews the models and results of previous research that will be summarized and used to identify any issues related to the characteristics of air cargo operational services, as well as observing and monitoring literature with airlines, shipping companies, and airport management to explore and see the gap between prior research and implementation of its process in the air cargo service. The first phase in this study is to provide an overview of the air cargo industry. The second phase analyzes the characteristic differences between air cargo services and air passenger operating services. And the third phase is a literary bibliography study of air cargo operations, where the focus is on the studies using quantitative models from the perspective of the object of the study, which is the optimization of revenue management on air cargo services. From the results of the study, which is based on the gap between theory and practice, new research opportunities which are related to management of air cargo service revenue in the form of model development are found by adding booking timelines aspects of cargo that can affect the revenue of cargo airline companies and airports.

A methodological approach to assess the content of work in air cargo operations

Notwithstanding, the extensive studies involving the cargo terminal operations issues, a knowledge gap emerges. Literature has focused its research on the manpower assignment and the crew scheduling problems, whereas the determination of the content of work of the activities to be performed and, as a consequence, of the manpower requirements has been often neglected. Thus, filling such a gap is the goal of the present paper, which is aimed at developing a methodological approach for defining the content of work involved in air cargo terminal activities and the corresponding manpower requirements. The proposed approach requires the participation of both cargo terminal processes supervisors and operators, and deals with both data gathering and statistical analyses, and with the definition of the variables that influence the process as well. Therefore, the developed approach has been applied to a real process, and the present paper describes the performed case study and its findings.

A methodological approach to assess the content of work in air cargo operations

A methodological approach to assess the content of work in air cargo operations

A linear programming-based method for the network revenue management problem of air cargo

One critical operational issue of air cargo operation faced by airlines is the control over the sales of their limited cargo space. Since American Airlines’ successful implementation in the post-deregulation era, revenue management (RM) has become a common practice for the airline industry. However, unlike the air passenger operation supported by well-developed RM systems with advanced decision models, the decision process in selling air cargo space to freight forwarders is usually based on experience, without much support from optimization techniques. This study first formulates a multi-dimensional dynamic programming (DP) model to present a network RM problem for air cargo. In order to overcome the computational challenge, this study develops two linear programming (LP) based models to provide the decision support operationally suitable for airlines. In addition, this study further introduces a dynamic adjustment factor to alleviate the inaccuracy problem of the static LP models in estimating resource opportunity cost. Finally, a numerical experiment is performed to validate the applicability of the developed model and solution algorithm to the real-world problems.

Air cargo operations: Literature review and comparison with practices

This study reviews the literature on air cargo operations and compares theoretical studies with the practical problems of airlines, freight forwarders, and terminal service providers. In particular, we review studies in which mathematical models were used to identify the essential characteristics of air cargo operations, such as the intrinsic differences from passenger operations, and to explore the service processes in air cargo operations. The typical models used in previous studies are summarized. We then highlight the insightful findings from an industrial interview and present the gaps between previous research and practical realities. We finally discuss the new research opportunities of air cargo operations according to the gaps.