Hub location in air cargo transportation: A case study

The present work describes an aircraft design methodology that uses the wingspan and its mean aerodynamic chord as main design parameters. In the implemented tool, low fidelity models have been developed for the aerodynamics, stability, propulsion, weight, balance and flight performance. A Fortran® routine that calculates the aircraft performance for the user defined mission and vehicle’s performance requirements has been developed. In order to demonstrate this methodology, the results for a case study using the design specifications of the Air Cargo Challenge 2013 are shown.

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Multimodal Capacitated Hub Location Problems with Multi-Commodities: An Application in Freight Transport

Journal of Advanced Transportation ◽

10.1155/2020/2431763 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 2020 ◽

pp. 1-9 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Alan Osorio-Mora ◽

Francisco Núñez-Cerda ◽

Gustavo Gatica ◽

Rodrigo Linfati

Keyword(s):

Latin American ◽

Location Problems ◽

Transport Cost ◽

Mixed Integer ◽

Hub Location ◽

Proposed Model ◽

Multimodal Transport ◽

Two Factors ◽

Commercial Solver

Hub location problems (HLPs) support decision making on multimodal transport strategic planning. It is related to the location of hubs and the allocation of origin/destination (O/D) flow in a system. Classical formulations assume that these flows are predefined paths and direct delivery is not available. This applied research presents a mixed integer linear programming (MILP) model for a capacitated multimodal, multi-commodity HLP. Furthermore, an application on the export process in a Latin American country is detailed. The new proposed model, unlike the traditional HLP, allows direct shipment, and its O/D flows are part of the decision model. Situations with up to 100 nodes, six products, and two transport modes are used, working with initial and projected flows. All instances can be solved optimally using the commercial solver, Gurobi 7.5.0, in computational times less than a minute. Results indicate that only one hub is profitable for the case study, both for the initial and projected scenarios. The installation of a hub generates transport savings over 1% per year. Two factors affect the location decision: low concentration and distance between the hubs and destinations. Long distances involve an exhaustive use of trains instead of trucks, which leads to lower transport cost per unit.

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Network Planning Location Model for China Railway Express

Transportation Research Record Journal of the Transportation Research Board ◽

10.1177/0361198119828289 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 2673 (2) ◽

pp. 263-274 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Yuehui Wu ◽

Chang Lin ◽

Jingyu Huang

Keyword(s):

Network Planning ◽

Location Model ◽

Hub Location ◽

Transportation Mode ◽

Hub And Spoke ◽

Organization Mode ◽

China Railway ◽

Transportation Organization ◽

Further Development

With the gradual implementation of the Belt & Road Initiative, China Railway Express (CRExpress) has gradually gained support as an important transportation mode between China and Europe. However, the high cost of operation, caused by the unscientific organization mode and the small quantity of returning cargo, hinders the further development of CRExpress. Prior studies have shown that applying the hub-and-spoke transportation organization mode to the CRExpress system could decrease operational cost effectively. To carry out network planning for CRExpress, based on its present situation and properties, a conventional hub location model is adjusted. The network planning location model for CRExpress which minimizes total operation cost and allows direct transportation mode is proposed as well as an algorithm based on the genetic algorithm (GA) approach. The reasonableness and feasibility of the model and algorithm are investigated and verified through a case study based on the CRExpress system. The result indicates that Chengdu, Yingkow, and Zhengzhou are selected as consolidation centers whereas Urumqi and Xining adopt direct transportation mode.

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The Role of Freighter Aircraft in a Full-Service Network Airline Air Freight Services: The Case of Qantas Freight

MAD - Magazine of Aviation Development ◽

10.14311/mad.2018.04.05 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 6 (4) ◽

pp. 28-51 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Glenn Baxter ◽

Panarat Srisaeng ◽

Graham Wild

Keyword(s):

Global Economy ◽

Case Study Research ◽

The United States ◽

Air Cargo ◽

Service Network ◽

Route Network ◽

Schedule Period ◽

Northern Winter

<p>The dedicated all-cargo aircraft market is vital to the global economy. Freighter aircraft now carry around 56 per cent of world air cargo traffic. Using an in-depth case study research design, this study examined the Qantas Freight Boeing B747-400 and B767-300 freighter aircraft route network design during the 2017/2018 Northern Winter Flight schedule period, which was in effect from the 29th October 2017 to March 24th, 2018. The qualitative data were examined by document analysis. The study found that Qantas Freight deploy their leased B747-400 freighter aircraft on a route network that originates in Sydney and incorporates key markets in Thailand and China with major markets in the United States. The Boeing B767-300 freighter aircraft operated 5 services per week on a Sydney/Auckland/Christchurch/Sydney routing as a well as a weekly Sydney/Hong Kong/Sydney service. The Boeing B747-400 freighter services could generate 114,755,020 available freight tonne kilometres (AFTKs) over the schedule period. The Boeing B767-300 freighter aircraft could generate 46,974,1440 AFTKs. The Qantas Freight route network and freighter fleet is underpinned by Australia’s liberalized freighter aircraft policy, the “Open Skies” agreement between Australia and China – which permits the onward carriage of cargo traffic across the trans-Pacific – and the liberalized “open skies” agreement with New Zealand.</p>

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