Airlines

Pegasys

South African Airways extends Pegasys Services

South African Airways Case Study

Making the best use of costly resources, and ensuring that the airline runs with minimum disruption to its customers are two issues that can make the difference between winning and losing in today’s competitive airline environment. PegaSys is a suite of integrated modules that have been designed with these business objectives in mind. In a single system, PegaSys can deal with all airline scheduling activities including Schedule Planning (integrated Slot Management), Code Share Management, Crew Planning, Maintenance Check Scheduling, Schedule Publication, Crew Pairing, Crew Rostering (including all associated crew activities), Crew Tracking, Operations Control and Crew Training.

PDF PegaSys Brochure [PDF, 1674KB]

The core of PegaSys is a schedule database that represents the airline’s master source of schedule information. It contains both dynamic data, such as schedules, actual times, and crew names; as well as (reasonably) static data such as airport and aircraft details. This immediately offers the business benefit that this data is centrally held with no duplication, thereby enhancing security and accuracy. Furthermore, it is this central database that provides the basis for the PegaSys system’s strong what-if/scenario capabilities. The database also contains the constraint and rule bases, (usually parameterised), which are continuously checking the schedule for infeasibilities.

Airline markets are changing rapidly. The airline that can stay ahead of these changes can gain a significant competitive edge. More importantly, the ability to do this without carrying excess resource is paramount. The cost of carrying excessive resources can be staggering, and often not easily visible to airline management. PegaSys can provide both flexibility and resource economy by managing all of the airline's moving resources within one system. PegaSys is an end-to-end business system dealing with most of the aspects of aircraft and crew scheduling that an airline has to contend with.

Benefits

Best use of aircraft:

Through analysis of demand and costs, PegaSys helps to produce a schedule that meets market needs most effectively, and that merges successfully with those of partner schedules, whilst attempting to maximise aircraft utilisation and make best use of time between maintenance tasks. Profitability analysis within the system ensures that business objectives are always a priority.

Best use of crew:

By using state-of-the-art techniques, PegaSys generates crew schedules that cover the requirements of the network in an efficient and robust manner. PegaSys handles most of the popular forms of crew pairing, bidding, and assignment. PegaSys also helps the negotiation of work rules that best suit the nature of the operation.

Rapid response:

The integrated nature of PegaSys provides the capability to react quickly to both market changes and operational disruptions. The data necessary to make quick decisions is easily available, and propagation throughout the company is fast. Rapid processing of rules and constraints allows almost instantaneous generation of alternative solutions.

Single source of data and information:

The PegaSys modules all operate from a common database, providing security and consolidation, all users are thus working off the same set of assumptions.

Automation:

PegaSys performs a number of tasks automatically and transparently, such as sending and reading telexes, and publishing changes to the schedule. This relieves staff from these menial tasks and allows them to spend more time in analysis.

PegaSys – An Introduction

PegaSys is a comprehensive IT service offering consisting of:

• Requirements and business process analysis
• Software running at the customer site or remotely
• Implementation support
• System maintenance and enhancements

The solution is provided by an experienced team of professionals with many years of solid airline and systems experience. The team has performed work at a number of major airline sites worldwide.

The PegaSys solution includes a fully integrated suite of airline specific applications designed airline in the:

• Creation and maintenance of an airline flight schedule.
• Resourcing of the schedule with aircraft and crew.
• Real-time tracking of flight, aircraft and crew events.
• Intelligent solution of operational problems.

The development effort exceeds 300 man-years and harnesses some of the most advanced airline operational knowledge available today. PegaSys is one of the world’s most highly evolved integrated operational systems that covers the key business areas of an airline.

The PegaSys family contains 16 integrated application modules:

• Access Control
• Data Management
• System Configuration
• Schedule Planning (Including integrated Slot Manager)
• Schedule Management
• Aircraft Maintenance & Routing
• Movement Control
• Strategic Crew Planning
• Crew Pairing
• Crew Rostering
• Crew Tracking
• Crew Leave
• Crew Training
• Renewal Scheduling
• Rules Workbench
• Crew Remote Access

Software Module Summaries

Access Control:

The PegaSys Access Control module provides a uniform method of access into the system. Each user login is validated against a pre-determined access table to ensure users have access rights to requested applications. Once access is granted, a second level of validation determines the user’s permission within the application itself. A ‘super-user’ facility provides additional features that facilitate control over users’ access to, and within applications.

Data Management:

The Data Management module provides a single, controlled means of creating and updating the relatively static data that support the other modules of PegaSys. A simple user interface facilitates data entry and editing, and also shows the hierarchical structures within the data.

System Configuration:

The System Configuration Manager is the security module and controls the levels of access. It is therefore advisable that only supervisory staff should have access to this module. Parametric Application Control allows for site-specific parameters to be managed.

Schedule Planning:

Flights are created to satisfy demand whilst ensuring schedule feasibility. The flights are then manually or automatically assigned to aircraft, taking into account, inter alia, available airport slots, equipment constraints, sector/aircraft constraints, airport/aircraft constraints, minimum ground time rules, maintenance requirements and airline preferred rotations. Flights are assigned to the aircraft using a selection of algorithms each suited to a different requirement or objective. A passenger flow model allows evaluation of the predicted load factors per flight.

Schedule and flight profitability are calculated. All schedules created are subject to an internal approval process by other departments to ensure that the flight schedule can be resourced with aircraft and crew and that all IATA slots have been granted before final publication. The schedule is then made available to the other departments within the airline for further planning.

The PegaSys Slot Manager is integrated into the Schedule Planning System so that there is seamless interaction between the schedule and the management of slots. The system automatically evaluates the variance, and constructs suitable slot request messages. The necessary telexes e.g. request for missing slots are automatically generated and the responses received directly by the application.

Schedule Management:

The module manages the publication of marketing flights on code share partner schedules. The module provides automated support for code share operations, by extracting flight data from partner schedule (SSIM) files and inserting them in the PegaSys database as code share flights marketed by the host airline.

Aircraft Maintenance and Routing:

This module creates the maintenance schedule based on aircraft utilization and merges it with the flight schedule. This module performs two broad functions:

• Firstly, it generates and maintains the airline’s maintenance schedule, taking into account type of maintenance, at which airport it is performed, together with the legal intervals.
• Secondly, the module receives the planned flight schedule for the airline, assigns aircraft to flights, and then assigns the appropriate maintenance checks to maintain legalities. Assignment takes into account factors such as sector/aircraft constraints, and maximum time away from maintenance base.

Movement Control:

This module is responsible for maintaining the operational schedule. The module is utilised 24-hours a day 365 days a year. Operational emergencies, as well as the day-to-day running of the airline, are controlled using Movement Control.

To minimise both airline costs and passenger disruptions in the event of an emergency, the visual display assists operation controllers in rescheduling and or moving flights.

Alternatively, the Intelligent Rescheduling facility may be invoked to suggest solutions to problems caused by schedule disruptions. Alternative solutions are presented to the user for ultimate decision-making.

Various operational telexes are received into the system and processed automatically. On-time departures, delays and/or problems are highlighted on the monitor by colour changes. Examples of such problems include insufficient ground times, curfew violations, flight and resource conflicts and overdue actual departure and arrival times

Strategic Crew Planning:

This module is designed to forecast airline crew manpower requirements. Short-term requirements are based on crew pairings whilst long-term requirements are derived by applying various factors to the anticipated number of aircraft in service. The difference between the forecast figures and current actuals gives rise to vacancies. These vacancies are the subject of category bidding whereby crew are invited to bid for new positions. Crew training requirements identified are automatically forwarded to the Crew.

Crew Pairing:

Pairings represent the shortest sequence of flights to which the same crew can be allocated, starting and ending at the same base. The objective of Crew Pairing is to produce pairings, which minimise total costs subject to legal, industrial and company rules. The module allows the user to edit the rule parameters, employed by the pairing process, as and when required. The pairings may include positioning (pax) flights whereby crew are repositioned by flying as passengers on host and/or foreign carriers’ flights.

To ensure maximum flexibility and complete control of the pairing process, the module provides both manual and automatic modes of operation in any combination. The automatic generation of pairings can make use of the DASH Xpress optimisation software to produce the optimal pairing solution based on a set of parameters and constraints.

Crew Rostering:

The Crew Rostering module is the core of all the crewing modules and is the module that allocates crew to activities. The module is designed to integrate pre-assigned activities of all types and produces a feasible roster for each crewmember.

Crew Rostering generates rosters for a specific period. This period is normally based on calendar months but may be redefined by the user to obtain a more even balance of days in each period. The roster is built from pre-defined crew activities derived from other PegaSys modules such as pairings, flight bids, training courses, leave periods, check renewals and ground duties. This module provides both manual and automatic modes of operation.

In manual mode the user is responsible for all assignments whilst the module validates each assignment to ensure that no rules are broken. In automatic mode the module uses the concept of ‘fair share’ as the basis for allocation but also provides various forms of preferential bidding. The method to be used and associated parameters and weightings are set up in parameter tables. Constraints such as flight and duty regulations as well as rules specifying other relevant restrictions are contained in the rule tables.

The module rosters the rank of crew separately. Different rostering policies may be used for each rank. If there are insufficient crewmembers assigned to meet the requirements for a particular position, Crew Rostering optionally selects crew with related flying qualifications to fill the remaining positions.

Crew Tracking:

The objectives of Crew Tracking are to maintain a record of crew movements, detect potential problems, and communicate changes to crew. Tracking is a real time process, which starts from current day of operation and extends to a user-specified number of days into the future.

The module bases its operations on the pairing plan and crew roster. Any flight changes, such as delays, reschedules, cancellations, additions or crew changes, inevitably affect the crew roster and in many cases require pairings to be changed. The module detects such changes, ensures that any problems are removed via re-pairing and re rostering, and informs crew of any changes that affect them.

Facilities are provided in the module to ensure that: all crew sign on for a pairing; documentation is completed; crews’ actual hours are updated; standby is called out if required; crew are notified of all changes; and flights are not delayed due to crew problems. It ensures that crewmembers are organised in real time and that their exact locations are known at any specific date and time.

Crew Leave:

The purpose of this module is to allocate leave to crewmembers on a fair basis. It allows leave bids by crewmembers (cockpit and cabin) and controls the calendar period for which bids are opened. The system allocates leave based on bids received, crew points and schedule requirements. Leave bids are entered remotely through the Crew Remote Access module and are awarded through an auction process according to airline specific rules.

Crew Training:

This module records crew training requirements that have been passed to it from the Strategic Crew Planning module and other sources and creates a training plan to meet those requirements. Crew Training also involves scheduling dates, classrooms, simulators, and equipment. All of the scheduled training requirements are communicated to crewmembers and the results of all training are recorded.

The Crew Rostering module carries out the final assignment of crew and instructors to training duties, although the Crew Training module supplies the necessary course dates and crew details. Changing qualifications may involve conversion courses, which are bid for by pilots and then allocated in the Crew Planning module.

Crew Training is responsible for preparing the conversion course program, communicating details to crew, and organising the base flight training, which takes place at the end of the course. Instructor training is arranged and instructor applications are invited when more are required. All results are gathered, checked and qualifications are updated.

Renewal Scheduling:

The Renewal Scheduling module is concerned with maintaining crewmembers’ qualifications. This involves checking crewmembers’ expiry dates and ensuring that renewal training for, inter alia, licences, emergency procedures and instructor grades is rostered before the expiry dates. In addition, route checks for cockpit crew are recorded and instructor captains are assigned route check duties to perform these examinations. Training requirements for Renewals are automatically accessible in the training module.

Crew Rule Workbench:

This module allows the user the ability to quickly construct, analyse and solve specific scenarios and disruptions whilst considering the legality and the impact of rules. The module also facilitates thorough testing of the crew rules in an environment separate from the real world flight schedule and crew roster data. These functions are vital in evaluating the impact of rule changes during crew negotiations.

Crew Remote Access:

This module is designed to provide crewmembers with a remote interface with the PegaSys database. For login, crewmembers are required to supply a password and personal identification number. The module is used for leave, flight and category bidding, roster queries, information messages to crewmembers, as well as duty sign on and off

General

Implemented at:		Small and medium size carriers (list on request). PegaSys is implemented at both traditional and low cost carrier sites.
Hardware requirements:		UNIX or Linux server, PC (Windows via Sun Secure Desktop) or UNIX and Linux Clients.
Operating systems:		Solaris UNIX and Linux
Software requirements:		ORACLE, dash MP-Xpress (pairing and rostering), Crystal Reports (optional), WebFocus (optional)
Multi-user operation:		Yes
Demo s/w available:		Web Demos
Modules available separately:		Yes
Available documentation:		Product brochure, functional descriptions, product manual, user manuals, data dictionary
Available maintenance:		Yes
Sale/lease conditions:		One-time licence, rental or hosted. Customised on request
Warranty:		6 Months