Assess the Impacts of Discount Policies on the Reliability of a Stochastic Air Transport Network

In this study, an algorithm for reliability evaluation is proposed in order to assess the discount policy based on its effect on an air transport network. An air transport network is a typical stochastic air transport network (SATN) because its capacity (available seats) is regarded as stochastic. Under different discount policies, the term “reliability” refers to the ability to meet a certain travel demand within a limited budget. To better describe the flow of SATN, the methods of the sum of disjoint products and minimal paths are combined in the proposed algorithm. A reliability analysis is conducted at ranges of budgets and travel demands for a more accurate assessment. The outcomes of this study help the travel agents assess and select an appropriate discount policy, which is one of the important contributions. This study also contributes to enhancing the reliability fluctuation under the impact of multiple discount policies.