Air cargo load planning system: A rule-based optimization approach

For a multiple-segment flight of passenger aircraft, the primary objective of commodity load planning is to improve the operational efficiency of the whole journey. Unfortunately the objective can not be measured due to the unavailability of down-line stations shipment information. Traditional optimization algorithm can not be directly applied. Rule based optimization approach is proposed in this paper. High-level business logic is captured as a rule flow. Optimization algorithms are embedded as the action of the rule flow to specific decisions such as bin assign. With this approach, a loading plan can be adaptive to business changes without application code changes. Based on such design, a visual rule editor and rule engine are developed. The system has been successfully applied in a North American airline company. The rule based optimization approach and tool can also be applied to other operational planning and scheduling problems with complex business logic.