This text is among the first to reveal the intricacies of an airline’s Operations Control Centre; especially the thought processes, information flows, and strategies taken to mitigate disruptions.

Airline Operations Control provides a deep level of description, explanation and detail into the activities of a range of highly professional and expert staff managing the ‘sharp’ end of the airline. It aims to fill a void as little is understood about this area, and very little is written for practitioners in the airline business. The book offers a comprehensive look at the make-up of the Operations Centre, its component sections, and the processes that occur both in preparing for and executing the current day’s schedules. Several chapters provide real-life scenarios and demonstrate how Operations Centres manage evolving situations – what they need to take into account, and how they need to have Plan B and Plan C ready when things don’t go right.

This book is designed to deliver knowledge gains to both new and experienced aviation industry practitioners with regards to vital operational aspects. Additionally, it also offers students of air transport management a readily accessible and real-world-perspective guide to a crucial function present within every airline.

Table of Contents

Part I: Operations Function 1: Operations Control 2: Composition of the IOC 3: Operational Planning and Preparation 4: Operational Processes Part II: Operational Control in Practice 5: Scenario based Information Flows 6: Weather Scenario: Snow at JFK Airport 7: Weather Scenario: Thunderstorms at SYD Airport 8: Multi-Engineering Scenario: Unserviceabilities in the Network 9: Operations Control in the Future

This text is among the first to reveal the intricacies of an airline's Operations Control Centre; especially the thought processes, information flows, and strategies taken to mitigate disruptions. Airline Operations Control provides a deep level of description, explanation and detail into the activities of a range of highly professional and expert staff managing the 'sharp' end of the airline. It aims to fill a void as little is understood about this area, and very little is written for practitioners in the airline business. The book offers a comprehensive look at the make-up of the Operations Centre, its component sections, and the processes that occur both in preparing for and executing the current day's schedules. Several chapters provide real-life scenarios and demonstrate how Operations Centres manage evolving situations - what they need to take into account, and how they need to have Plan B and Plan C ready when things don't go right. This book is designed to deliver knowledge gains to both new and experienced aviation industry practitioners with regards to vital operational aspects. Additionally, it also offers students of air transport management a readily accessible and real-world-perspective guide to a crucial function present within every airline.

Previous studies conducted within the aviation industry have examined a multitude of crucial aspects such as policy, airline service quality, and revenue management. An extensive body of literature has also recognised the importance of decision-making in aviation, with the focus predominantly on pilots and air traffic controllers. Understanding Decision-Making Processes in Airline Operations Control focuses instead on an area largely overlooked: an airline's Operations Control Centre (OCC). This serves as the nerve centre of the airline and is responsible for decision-making with respect to operational control of an airline's daily schedules. The environment within an OCC is extremely intense and a key role of controllers is to make decisions that facilitate the airline's recovery from frequent, highly complex, and often multiple disruptions. As such, decision-making in this domain is critical to minimise the operational, commercial and financial impact resulting from disruptions. The book examines many aspects of individual decision-making in airline operations, and addresses the deficiencies found by presenting to the reader an examination of the relationships among situation awareness, information completeness, experience, expertise, decision considerations and decision alternatives in OCCs. The text utilises a multiple case study approach and proposes a number of relevant and important implications for OCC management. Practical outcomes highlight the need for enhancing training programs enabling existing controllers to readily identify and classify elements of situation awareness and decision considerations as a means of improving the decision-making process. They also draw attention to the need for airline OCCs to understand the extent to which industry experience and expertise of controllers is important in the selection of future staff.

Previous studies conducted within the aviation industry have examined a multitude of crucial aspects such as policy, airline service quality, and revenue management. An extensive body of literature has also recognised the importance of decision-making in aviation, with the focus predominantly on pilots and air traffic controllers. Understanding Decision-Making Processes in Airline Operations Control focuses instead on an area largely overlooked: an airline's Operations Control Centre (OCC). This serves as the nerve centre of the airline and is responsible for decision-making with respect to operational control of an airline's daily schedules. The environment within an OCC is extremely intense and a key role of controllers is to make decisions that facilitate the airline's recovery from frequent, highly complex, and often multiple disruptions. As such, decision-making in this domain is critical to minimise the operational, commercial and financial impact resulting from disruptions. The book examines many aspects of individual decision-making in airline operations, and addresses the deficiencies found by presenting to the reader an examination of the relationships among situation awareness, information completeness, experience, expertise, decision considerations and decision alternatives in OCCs. The text utilises a multiple case study approach and proposes a number of relevant and important implications for OCC management. Practical outcomes highlight the need for enhancing training programs enabling existing controllers to readily identify and classify elements of situation awareness and decision considerations as a means of improving the decision-making process. They also draw attention to the need for airline OCCs to understand the extent to which industry experience and expertise of controllers is important in the selection of future staff.

Written by a range of international industry practitioners, this book offers a comprehensive overview of the essence and nature of airline operations in terms of an operational and regulatory framework, the myriad of planning activities leading up to the current day, and the nature of intense activity that typifies both normal and disrupted airline operations. The first part outlines the importance of the regulatory framework underpinning airline operations, exploring how airlines structure themselves in terms of network and business model. The second part draws attention to the operational environment, explaining the framework of the air traffic system and processes instigated by operational departments within airlines. The third part presents a comprehensive breakdown of the activities that occur on the actual operating day. The fourth part provides an eye-opener into events that typically go wrong on the operating day and then the means by which airlines try to mitigate these problems. Finally, a glimpse is provided of future systems, processes, and technologies likely to be significant in airline operations. Airline Operations: A Practical Guide offers valuable knowledge to industry and academia alike by providing readers with a well-informed and interesting dialogue on critical functions that occur every day within airlines.

Written by a range of international industry practitioners, this book offers a comprehensive overview of the essence and nature of airline operations in terms of an operational and regulatory framework, the myriad of planning activities leading up to the current day, and the nature of intense activity that typifies both normal and disrupted airline operations. The first part outlines the importance of the regulatory framework underpinning airline operations, exploring how airlines structure themselves in terms of network and business model. The second part draws attention to the operational environment, explaining the framework of the air traffic system and processes instigated by operational departments within airlines. The third part presents a comprehensive breakdown of the activities that occur on the actual operating day. The fourth part provides an eye-opener into events that typically go wrong on the operating day and then the means by which airlines try to mitigate these problems. Finally, a glimpse is provided of future systems, processes, and technologies likely to be significant in airline operations. Airline Operations: A Practical Guide offers valuable knowledge to industry and academia alike by providing readers with a well-informed and interesting dialogue on critical functions that occur every day within airlines.