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A multi-start randomized heuristic for real-life crew rostering problems in airlines with work-balancing goals

Author

Listed:
  • Jesica Armas

    (Open University of Catalonia – IN3)

  • Luis Cadarso

    (Rey Juan Carlos University)

  • Angel A. Juan

    (Open University of Catalonia – IN3)

  • Javier Faulin

    (Campus Arrosadia - Public University of Navarre)

Abstract

This paper proposes a multi-start randomized heuristic for solving real-life crew rostering problems in airlines. The paper describes realistic constrains, regulations, and rules that have not been considered in the literature so far. Our algorithm is designed to provide quality solutions satisfying these real-life specifications while, at the same time, it aims at balancing the workload distribution among the different crewmembers. Thus, our approach promotes corporate social responsibility by distributing the workload in a fair way and avoiding that some crewmembers get unnecessarily overstressed. Despite its importance in real-life applications, these aspects have seldom been considered in the crew scheduling literature, where most solving approaches refer to simplified models and are tested on non-realistic benchmarks. The experimental tests show that our algorithm is capable of generating feasible quality solutions to real-life crew rostering problems in just a few seconds. These times are orders of magnitude lower than the times currently employed by some airlines to obtain a single feasible solution, since the ‘optimal’ solutions provided by most commercial software usually require additional adjustments in order to meet all the real-life specifications.

Suggested Citation

  • Jesica Armas & Luis Cadarso & Angel A. Juan & Javier Faulin, 2017. "A multi-start randomized heuristic for real-life crew rostering problems in airlines with work-balancing goals," Annals of Operations Research, Springer, vol. 258(2), pages 825-848, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:annopr:v:258:y:2017:i:2:d:10.1007_s10479-016-2260-y
    DOI: 10.1007/s10479-016-2260-y
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    References listed on IDEAS

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