US Airways optimizes the scheduling of reserve flight crews

Reserve pilots and flight attendants work on call to operate flights that the assigned crews cannot fly or flights that have not been assigned at all. The monthly schedule for a reserve crew member consists of a set of days for which the person is on call. We built an automated system to construct optimal schedules for reserves. Crew planners at US Airways use the system to build schedules that put enough reserves on call without sacrificing the reserves' quality of work life.