Simulation reduces airline misconnections: a case study

With most major airlines operating a hub-and-spoke system and partnering with other airlines to offer code share flights, more and more passengers are required to make at least one connection before reaching their final destination. These trends in the airline industry have increased the percentage of transfer passengers. In order to minimize the number of missed connections and offer customers a seamless journey, airlines must maintain time limits in which domestic and international transfer passengers can reach their connecting gates at the airports. We focus on how simulation is used to evaluate an airline´s minimum connect time criteria with respect to the design and operational policies at its hub airports. We consider a case study of Delta Air Lines´ new planned state-of-the-art facility at John F. Kennedy International Airport to illustrate the significant role simulation played in the planning stages of an airport design.