Hotel
The official conference hotel is the W Doha Hotel & Residences located in the West Bay. 
W Doha is a five-star hotel offering business accommodation and lifestyle in West Bay Doha, Qatar.
Reveal the unexpected. Sparkling by Crystal blue water of the Arabian Gulf and Set against a breathtaking exotic desert landscape W Doha Hotel & Residences is located in the heart of Doha. Casual glamour meets urban energy where you will find insider access to the hottest shopping, buzzing nightlife and the ultimate culinary destination in the city.
The rate of the rooms will be QAR 700 for single person occupancy and QAR 800 for two persons, and includes breakfast. This rate is available from May 19th until May 29th. So, grab this chance to book a few days extra allowing you to explore the things Doha and the state of Qatar has on offer. If you do please realize that in Qatar the weekends are Friday and Saturday.
Book the hotel
Hotel Phone:+974 4453 5000
Agenda
|
Sunday, 22 May |
| 18:00 |
20:00 |
Welcome Reception |
| | | Monday, 23-May |
| 08:30 |
09:00 |
Morning Coffee/Registration |
| 09:00 |
09:15 |
Conference opening |
| 09:15 |
10:00 |
Welcome address and Keynote speak |
| |
|
Dr. Hugh Dunleavy - Chief Commercial Officer Qatar Airways |
| 10:00 |
10:30 |
Coffee break |
| 10:30 |
11:40 |
Arline Updates |
| 10:30 |
10:40 |
Air Baltic |
| 10:40 |
10:50 |
Air France |
| 10:50 |
11:00 |
American Airlines |
| 11:00 |
11:10 |
Qatar Airways |
| 11:10 |
11:20 |
Saudi Airlines |
| 11:20 |
11:30 |
South African Airways |
| 11:30 |
11:40 |
United Airlines |
| 11:40 |
12:10 |
Escape from Alcatraz |
| |
|
Lana Kleimann - M2P Consulting |
| |
|
IT has been and remains the
critical enabler for airlines to achieve the
most effective and efficient
management of their pilots and flight
attendants. For some, however, it is
the IT of the past that is standing in
the way of progress; airlines have become
prisoners of their IT! With the
business limits reached and operating costs
spiraling more and more out
of control with legacy mainframes, airlines have
begun (or are already
deep into) the critical, yet highly risky journey of
replacement. The
speech will look into the development of crew management IT,
reasons to
change, replacement trends, unexpected obstacles and opportunities
to
make these projects more successful. |
| 12:10 |
13:30 |
Business Luncheon |
| 13:30 |
15:00 |
Sponsor Presentations - Part 1 |
| 13:30 |
13:45 |
AD OPT, a Division of Kronos - Gold |
| 13:45 |
14:00 |
InterDynamics Pty Ltd -Silver |
| 14:00 |
14:15 |
Xenia - Silver |
| 14:15 |
14:30 |
Jeppesen - Gold |
| 14:30 |
14:45 |
2e Systems - Silver |
| 14:45 |
15:00 |
Sabre - Gold |
| 15:00 |
15:30 |
Tea break |
| 15:30 |
16:15 |
Sponsor Presentations - Part 2 |
| 15:30 |
15:45 |
GE - Bronze |
| 15:45 |
16:00 |
Constraint Technologies - Silver |
| 16:00 |
16:15 |
Lufthansa Systems - Bronze |
| 16:15 |
17:00 |
“Minimum Cost of Delivery” Manpower Planning |
| |
|
Matthias Feix - M2P Consulting |
| |
|
Crew related costs rank in the
Top 3 of airline’s operational spending.
Today’s management goals usually
focus on maximizing the productivity
of resources. In our view this approach
is too short sighted – driving
productivity to the limits comes at the price
of operational instability and
thus higher operational costs. We believe that
there are good reasons to
question the concept of maximizing crew
productivity and consider the
concept of minimizing total cost of delivery.
The implementation of this
concept will increase the contribution of manpower
planning on the
airline’s business decisions and allow better steering of
crew and ops
related costs. The presentation will elaborate the manpower
planning
concept of “Minimum Cost of Delivery”, requirements, success factors
and limits of the concept. It is followed by an open discussion of the
chances based on specific use cases. |
| 18:30 |
22:30 |
Conference Dinner |
| | | Tuesday, 24-May |
| 08:30 |
09:00 |
Morning Coffee |
| 09:00 |
09:30 |
Crew management process
robustness and its
impact on manpower planning and cost management |
| |
|
Woong Oh and Leo Trap - Seabury |
| |
|
Seabury will explore the
importance of process robustness and its impact
on downstream dependencies
such as manpower planning and cost
structure.
Seabury noticed that without proper review and continued improvement
of
processes and communication loops, the importance of updated data
and
information to make informed decisions is sometimes lost in a
“business as
usual” environment or lost in the chaos of a difficult situation.
We will review a process / communication
loop that relies on static
assumptions in a dynamic environment and its
impact on forecasting crew
requirement.
In our review of manpower planning, we highlight best
practices to
ensure that processes, data flow from these processes and the
tools they rely
on these data feed are in balance and current. We will also
explore the dangers of static
assumptions, be it a historical productivity or
ratios, such as crew per
aircraft, and its potential impact on operational
robustness and cost
management |
| 09:30 |
10:00 |
On the move towards full Crew and Fleet integration |
| |
|
Tomas Gustafsson - Jeppesen |
| |
|
The traditional planning steps
within different airline resource areas
inherently lead to various levels of
sub optimization. Crew planning is
typically more complex and more
constrained than aircraft allocation, yet
general practice is to let the
aircraft rotations be input to crew planning.
Here we discuss how that
process can be turned around by allowing crew
planning to influence aircraft
rotations already from an early phase. We'll
compare scenarios for a simple
iterative approach, with higher levels of
integration together with the
option of also allowing re-fleeting.
Computational results from multiple airlines will be shared. |
| 10:00 |
10:30 |
Coffee break |
| 10:30 |
11:00 |
Preference-based trip trade system for pilots |
| |
|
June Ma - American Airlines |
| |
|
We developed a preference-based
trip trade system for American Airlines
pilots to enhance their
schedules. The system allows pilots to
drop
sequences (pairings) to, pick up sequences from, and trade sequences
with other pilots and a pool of sequences that are currently not owned
by
anyone. It honors pilot seniority with
fairness, FAA mandates, and
company rules using a comprehensive modeling
framework. We will
briefly describe
the system and share implementation challenges, some
examples, and lessons
learned. |
| 11:00 |
11:30 |
Overview of the 737MAX |
| |
|
Leon Poon - Boeing |
| |
|
What I’d like to present this
year is an overview of the 737MAX. As you
know the 737MAX was rolled out in
December last year and is currently
undergoing flight testing. The overview
will basically touch on Boeing’s
view of the market requirements for this
sized aircraft type, the new
technologies Boeing is introducing into the
737MAX whilst balancing
commonality with the existing 737 Next-Gen aircraft.
Here, I’ll touch on
improved aerodynamics with a new advanced technology
winglet, new
engines and an improved passenger experience. I’ll also talk a
little bit
about the new cockpit and flight deck commonality with the 737NG
and
it’s minimal effect on pilot training and operational benefits to the
airlines. |
| 11:30 |
12:00 |
Empowering Crew with a Socializing Platform |
| |
|
Capt. Mohamed Ahmed - Information Systems Associates |
| |
|
With years of experience and
extensive research one of the key problems
we have identified is the hassle
both Crew members as well as the crew
schedulers have when a crew member wants to know about
their
Remaining Off days, Duty hours done, Who flies with me, Expiries or
Allowances etc... each time crew members have to call the schedulers to
know
about it. We have solved this issue with a smart solution embedded
to
aeroLINE CREW which is a socializing platform.
aeroLINE CREW socializing platform not only eliminate the hassle of the
crew member, but also allows the schedulers to focus on their job while
providing a self serving platform which will provide all the information a
crew member wants to know. In addition the socializing platform has
enabled
crew members to interact with each other (via messaging,
exchanging &
Chatting), swap duties, etc...
Capt. Mohamed will be elaborating about the real challenges and how
the
platform has empowered the airline. |
| 12:00 |
13:30 |
Business Luncheon |
| 13:30 |
14:40 |
Vendor Presentations |
| 13:30 |
13:40 |
Boeing Commercial |
| 13:40 |
13:50 |
Fujitsu SA |
| 13:50 |
14:00 |
ICF International |
| 14:00 |
14:10 |
Information Systems Associates FZE |
| 14:10 |
14:20 |
Ing.büro für CMS Dienstleistungen |
| 14:20 |
14:30 |
M2P Consulting GmbH |
| 14:30 |
14:40 |
Seabury SHC |
| 14:40 |
15:10 |
Using Decision Support to maintain optimality
during tracking
phase |
| |
|
Afeef Rahiman - Qatar Airways |
| |
|
Optimal distribution of work is
key factor influencing employee satisfaction
and should be one of the most
important objective of any organization.
Optimal distribution of work during
planning phase is difficult enough,
however maintaining it during the operational
phase without impacting
efficiencies brings in an array of complexities.
Join us while we take you through our journey to optimality in planning
and
operation phase and how Decision support systems is a game changer. |
| 15:10 |
15:40 |
Tea break |
| 15:40 |
16:10 |
How to get better than optimal Crew Pairing
Solution?" |
| |
|
Yogesh Dashora - Sabre Corporation |
| |
|
The traditional pairing
optimization is a done deal? Commercial optimizers
can solve it to optimality
and the research focus has now moved on to the
""hot""
recovery problems? If you said yes to both, you would be right …
unless you look
at what we have been doing.
We took our early research about handling complex long haul pairing
optimization used for pure long haul networks and made it commercially
viable
option to run on short haul networks. The results? We can now
improve on even
the optimized short haul solutions if we are given a little
flexibility of
using extra crew (of course this is possible - FAR117 part c).
In this talk,
we will present our approach and some interesting results on
one of the
largest short haul problems that can be found. |
| 16:10 |
17:00 |
Vendor exhibitions |
| 18:30 |
22:30 |
Networking/Evening Open |
| | | Wednesday, 25-May |
| 08:30 |
09:00 |
Morning Coffee |
| 09:00 |
09:30 |
Avoiding the pitfalls of rules and regulations |
| |
|
Andreas Söhlke - Lufthansa Systems |
| |
|
Rules and regulations are one of
the major drivers of complexity in crew
planning. This is especially true for airlines where crews are organized in
several
unions or even for multinational airline groups with crews having
completely
different working conditions.
But also national and international regulations tend to grow and become
more difficult to handle.
This talk gives some examples for how well-meant rules can lead to an
amazing complexity and how some of the pitfalls can be avoided. |
| 09:30 |
10:00 |
SB / RES Lines request by CONDOR Crews |
| |
|
Helmuth Eggeling - Ing.büro für CMS Dienstleistungen
|
| |
|
The presentation will show how the requirements were defined and how these was integrated in the CONDOR environment |
| 10:00 |
10:30 |
Coffee break |
| 10:30 |
11:00 |
Optimizing the Pairing of Reserve Pilots to Open
Sequences via
Ballots |
| |
|
Isaac Tetzloff - American Airlines |
| |
|
Due to disruptions, previously
assigned sequences become unassigned or
open. As a part of Daily Open Time
Coverage (DOTC) process, crew
schedulers at American Airlines cover open
flight sequences for tomorrow’s
operation by using reserve pilots. A crew scheduler’s
objective is to
maximize coverage of open trips while utilizing the reserves
efficiently and
also respecting seniority based pilot preferences.
Inefficient utilization of
reserves may lead to unavailability of reserve
pilots at a later date resulting
in either cancelled flights or flights
covered at a premium rate by off-duty
pilots. We have formulated the DOTC
process as a multi-objective
assignment problem. Our model will also aid and
guide the schedulers to
fine tune their solutions using various options at
the company’s disposal.
This optimization model will replace the current
system where schedulers
must manually make assignments and proffer routes to
volunteer pilots. |
| 11:00 |
11:30 |
Technical presentation |
| |
|
Unknown speaker |
| 11:30 |
12:00 |
Technical presentation |
| |
|
Unknown speaker |
| 12:00 |
13:00 |
Business Luncheon |
| 13:00 |
14:00 |
Conference Close and Awards |
| |
Presentations
The presentations can be downloaded here:
Presentations.zip
Once I have received the official pictures that were made by the QR photographer, I will make those available on the website too.
Survey
Those of you that attended this conference, please take the time to fill out the Conference Survey
Call For Presentations
You are invited to submit a proposal to present at the meeting. Come and share with us your ideas, thoughts, practical innovations, current trends, case studies, philosophies, and latest advances on the topics which are relevant to you.
Abstract Submission Deadline: SOON! Submit your paper today!
Draft Presentation Due: May 5th
Final Presentation Due: May 10th
Presentation Registration
Requirements of Presenting
- A 30-45 minute presentation
- Willingness to comply with requests for additional information and clarification on abstract and/or presentation material
- Willingness to tailor a presentation for the AGIFORS Crew Management audience and to accept direction from the selection committee in doing this
- Must register and attend the meeting
General Information
Attire
Business Events - Business Casual
Welcome Reception - Business Casual
Social Events - Evening Casual
Weather
The month of May is characterized by rapidly rising daily high temperatures, with daily highs increasing from 95°F to 105°F (35° to 40° C) over the course of the month. Daily low temperatures range from 77°F to 84°F (25° to 29° C.) However, relative humidity should be below 21%. Moreover, you will have 13 and a half hours of daylight and only a 2% chance of clouds or rain.
More Information
For questions or more information, please contact:
Marcel Sol
Chair, AGIFORS Crew Management Study Group
Tel: +974 40 102929
Mob: +974 66091969
Email: msol@qatarairways.com.qa
Social Activities
Welcome ReceptionTBD
Network DinnerTBD
Visa Information
Nationals of the following countries can buy a visa upon arrival: The United States, Britain, France, Italy, Germany, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, Switzerland, Austria, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Portugal, Ireland, Greece, Finland, Spain, Monaco, the Vatican, Iceland, Andorra, San Marino, Lichtenstein, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, HongKong, South Korea.
For other nationals, there are two options to request a visa: - Apply via Qatar Airways when you book your flight. Unfortunately this is only possible through Qatar Airways, no other airlines. For more info on this see: http://www.qatarairways.com/global/en/visa-and-passport-requirements.page
- Apply via a hotel.
For this contact the reservation department of your hotel for further information.
Please note that processing of a visa application take up to 10 working days, excluding Friday and Saturday.
Host City
Doha, capital of the peninsular Persian (Arabian) Gulf country Qatar, is a modern city on Doha Bay. Ringing its downtown waterfront are numerous parks and the Corniche Promenade. On a man-made island, the I.M. Pei–designed Museum of Islamic Art houses an extensive collection from across the Muslim world. At Souq Waqif, a traditional market, vendors offer goods like clothing, crafts and spices.  By amjra - Own work, derived from several sources (see description), CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=7067187
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