Airline on-time performance management

Abstract This paper deals with the problematic of airline on-time performance, more specifically with the airline schedule buffer that airlines incorporate into their schedules. Various studies examine the impact of the schedule buffer on various operational factors - costs, daily aircraft utilization, etc. This paper offers insights into the reasons why airlines use the schedule buffer. On top of that it explains factors influencing the schedule buffer and it proposes methodology for calculation of the appropriate airline schedule buffer and subsequent analysis. The analysis uses artificial data so that the purpose of the calculation can be demonstrated. The benefits of reducing (or controlling) the airline schedule buffer are also explained. In the end, the paper proposes additional possibilities of how to use the calculation.