View Single Post
Old 04-05-2005, 03:25 PM
  #10  
FNG320
Gets Weekends Off
 
Joined APC: Mar 2005
Position: A320 FO
Posts: 157
Default

Originally Posted by Lennon
"Optimizer"

I see this term thrown about quite a bit, but honestly I have only a vague idea of what it means.

Can someone explain?
It is the software that the scheduling committee and crew services uses to construct the pairings and I believe alos some manning issues. It is my understanding that they can make all kinds of inputs to its logic (such as productivity, layover cities, cost, time of layover, manning levels, hour per pilot, reserves, etc, etc, etc.) You name it, and it can be put into the software in constructing pairings. I am pretty sure there is some additional software that covers manning specifically (another type of optimizer program but build the best manning plan such as Captains, FO, reserves #, etc), but the pairing optimizer is what I feel make or breaks our quality of life. (hours per day, commuteablity on pairings, days off, etc). Thus it is abuse of these programs to maximize trips for specific bases, or manning to minimize cost (not enough reserves) that make or break the quality of life for 90% of us.

FNG



FNG
FNG320 is offline