Location models for airline hubs behaving as M/D/c queues
Computers and Operations Research
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Modeling large systems is often complex, analytically intractable, and is in need of large time-consuming simulations. Often, there is a need to quickly learn the characteristics of large systems. In this paper, we show how, by employing a subsystem model of the system, one can obtain substantial information about a larger system. In particular, we look at the problem of an airline passenger making a choice between a hub-and-spoke route and a point-to-point route. We build a 4-node model with 2 hubs and 2 non-hubs and use analytical methods and simulations to identify conditions under which passengers prefer point-to-point over hub-and-spoke routes. We then use genetic algorithm solutions combined with simulations to determine the same information from a larger model. We show how the conclusions from the subsystem model are equally valid for the larger model. In particular, our conclusion that the point-to-point aircraft capacity and aircraft speed have the most dominating effect on the passenger choice is derived from the subsystem model and found to be valid in the larger model also.