Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), has encountered severe crew planning challenges due to the impacts of COVID-19, just as many other airlines have. We asked Martin Hoffman, head of Operational Planning Optimization at SAS, to describe the challenges faced and the adjustments made to the airline’s planning processes.
What was the situation like for you, going into the early phase of the pandemic?
- In early March, we realized that the changes in the traffic program were going to be both severe and frequent for a long period ahead. We identified a need of quickly updating our crew process to plan and release rosters weekly, instead of monthly. It was also crucial to have the traffic program updated two weeks prior to the actual production, to be able to reflect the changes in various Covid-19-related restrictions given by each country, and also a very variable demand.
You managed to change your planning process in just two weeks, how was that possible?
- The effort of changing the process was made easier for us by the production being only some 5% compared to normal - freeing up resources in the crew planning department. We also received support from Jeppesen in assisting us to convert some monthly rule limits into weekly etc. But even more importantly, I would say, it was that all the system changes could be done in the configuration layer of our solutions, rather than as updates to the core software. That was crucial and certainly cut our lead time a lot. The changes included updates to rescheduling rules, new process scripts and additional support for the training planning. We also implemented a number of updates to our crew agreements and process after negotiations with the unions.
And what does the process look like now?
- The traffic program is released every Monday for the period beginning on the Monday two weeks ahead. Crew pairing and rostering planning, using our optimizers, is done weekly and the crew receives their rosters one week prior to the first day of operation. All pre-assigned activities (locked days) are still released in the monthly roster release.
The outcome has been a process that provides us an ability to act at short notice as the Covid-19 situation develops, with borders either closing or opening and with passenger demand fluctuating. It also provided us an opportunity to reduce some administrative staff, using government-supported furlough options. We also continue to adjust, almost on a daily basis, as this situation is far from over. In fact, by the time you read this piece, our process may even have evolved beyond what I just described ;-)
Thank you Martin for generously sharing these details. Many operators are in the same situation now, so we will see if we can get others to also share how they deal with their crewing process challenges.
Martin Hoffman is Head of Operational Planning Optimization at the Scandinavian airline SAS. SAS is the flag carrier of Denmark, Norway and Sweden. It is the eighth-largest airline in Europe, the largest in Denmark and Sweden, and has a fleet of 157 aircrafts Martin has been the COO for Long Haul Operations, Value Stream Owner for the Plan to Execution process, Head of Crew Planning and currently responsible for Operational Planning Optimization within SAS Group Operations.
Comentarios