Navigating airline disruptions with strategic pilot planning: an optimization approach for long-term workforce efficiency and service quality

Abstract

The financial hardships caused by global disruptions, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, have historically led airlines to adopt various cost-cutting measures such as layoffs, furloughs, and salary reductions. While these actions yielded short-term financial benefits, they resulted in long-term operational challenges such as pilot shortages. These shortages increased flight cancellations, delays, and missed connections, ultimately harming customer satisfaction and damaging the brand’s reputation. This study introduces a strategic optimization model for long-term pilot planning that integrates real-world industry practices to ensure adequate pilot availability and adherence to aviation regulations and standards during and post-crisis. By integrating critical parameters such as pilot-aircraft ratio, minimum flight hours, and captain-to-first officer ratios, the model aims to optimize workforce efficiency by determining the number of pilots hired, laid off, and promoted without compromising service quality. The findings highlight the importance of strategic workforce adjustments such as tiered salary reductions over more drastic measures like mass layoffs. This suggests careful management can minimize financial losses and maintain airline operational integrity and service quality during and after the crisis. Moreover, the model’s long-term focus assists airlines in preparing for future growth plans and disruptions effectively, sustaining an adequate and experienced pilot workforce for safe and reliable operations, and safeguarding brand image and customer loyalty. This research provides airline executives with actionable insights and a robust framework for sustainable workforce management, significantly improving the resilience of airlines in facing unforeseen industry disruptions.