Supplements in Airline Cabin Service

Airlines and their services are very often part of the supply chain in tourism. Therefore, the quality of on-board service contributes to the passengers’ overall satisfaction with the entire journey. Given that the cost of personnel is the second highest component of direct operational costs next to fuel, airlines are more inclined to reduce the level of their workforces rather than to invest in additional services. Our paper presents how the quality level of services can be raised by ensuring that appropriate steps are taken during the operational planning phase in which crews are assigned to certain flights. A basic crew rostering model is extended by introducing constraints that produce a schedule that raises a flight’s service quality without causing additional costs. The ideas presented in this paper are also applicable to cruise lines, international hotel chains, and railway companies.