In the crew-scheduling model in Example 5.7, there are only two cities. Suppose there ar...

In the crew-scheduling model in Example 5.7, there are only two cities. Suppose there are more than two cities. Is it possible to modify the network approach appropriately? Discuss how you would do it.

(Reference Example 5.7)

Braneast Airlines must staff the daily flights between New York and Chicago shown in Table 5.11.⁸ Braneast’s crews live in either New York or Chicago. Each day, a crew must fly one New York–Chicago flight and one Chicago–New York flight with at least one hour of downtime between flights. For example, a Chicago-based crew can fly the 9–11 Chicago–New York flight and return on the 12–14 New York–Chicago flight. This incurs a downtime of one hour. Braneast wants to schedule crews to cover all flights and minimize the total downtime.

Objective To schedule crews without violating the one-hour downtime restriction so that total downtime is minimized.

WHERE DO THE NUMBERS COME FROM?

The flight data are part of the airline’s overall flight schedule. The one-hour downtime restriction is for safety reasons and is probably built into a union contract.