SYNOPSE - A MODEL-BASED DECISION-SUPPORT SYSTEM FOR THE EVALUATION OFFLIGHT SCHEDULES FOR CARGO AIRLINES

The ability to evaluate flight schedules, with respect to cost, revenu e and contribution to profit, is essential for cargo airlines to respo nd properly to changing environments in this highly competitive and co nsumer-oriented market. In this paper, we introduce SYNOPSE, our model -based decision support system for the evaluation of flight schedules for cargo airlines, by describing the underlying planning situation, t he data model and the decision models used, and the implementation, i. e., the development process, as well as the architecture. A small exam ple illustrates the high complexity of the analysis process and the su pporting qualities of our decision-support system (DSS). (C) 1998 Else vier Science B.V. All rights reserved.