M.Á. Fernández-Izquierdo, M.J. Muñoz-Torres, R. León (Eds.): MS 2013, LNBIP 145, pp. 145–152, 2013. © Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013 A Simulation Study Regarding Different Aircraft Boarding Strategies Silvia Mas 1 , Angel A. Juan 2 , Pol Arias 1,* , and Pau Fonseca 3 1 Dept. Telecom. and Systems Eng., Autonomous University of Barcelona, Sabadell, Spain 2 Computer Science Dept., IN3-Open University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain 3 Operations Research Dept., Technical University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain silvia.masm@campus.uab.cat, {ajuanp,pol.arias5}@gmail.com, pau@fib.upc.edu Abstract. The airline industry is constantly subject to the search of new methods in order to increase efficiency, profitability, and customer satisfaction. Since airlines only generate revenue when their airplanes are on the air, the time they spend at the airports should be the shortest possible. Hence, the airplane turnaround time becomes a process which airlines pay special attention on. The boarding process has a very important role, since it is one of the significant elements of the turnaround time, and a slow boarding process might lead to many kinds of problems to the airline, from financial issues to customer complaints. This paper analyzes the major interferences among the passengers that cause delays in boarding times, and after comparing the different aircraft boarding strategies, it proposes the most efficient strategy. Keywords: Aircraft Boarding, Simulation, Delay Times. 1 Introduction Ground handling operations include all services that are carried out during the aircraft turnaround. The aircraft turnaround comprises the time from which the captain sets the airplane parking breaks, until he releases its breaks again. In other words, the turnaround begins when the ramp staff blocks the airplane (chocks on), and finishes when the chocks are off and the airplane starts the pushback. Most of the activities are independent and can take place simultaneously, such as catering, cleaning, and fueling; however, other activities such as the passenger boarding, cannot start until other processes have been finished. It has been found that many previous works refer to the boarding process as a problem, since it is an activity that cannot start until processes such as fueling, cleaning or catering are ready. Likewise, Figure 1 shows that the passenger boarding process constitutes a critical path. Of course, the main priority during a boarding process is always safety, rather than carrying out a fast boarding. This explains why sometimes the boarding process does not start until fueling is finished, even when it could be done. * Corresponding author.