Operational Research at British Airways

Stefan JacksonSusannah Martin

Operational Research Consultants

Introduction

ObjectiveHelp you to understand what it is like to work in OR at BA

AgendaBA & its OR departmentThe perspective of a new joiner

My background

Warwick University– BSc MORSE (1996-

1999)– MSc MSOR (1999-2000)

BA since 2000

British Airways

One of the world’s longest established airlines Industry-leaderLast year, BA had

- > 36 million passengers- Turnover >£7,500m- 47,000 staff employed

British Airways’ worldwide route network covers some 341 destinations in 106 countries

BA’s daily Operation is huge

Our current LHR operation is very constrained. We will move to a new Terminal T5 in 2008.

BA organisation

Willie WalshCEO Commercial

PlanningCommercial

Customer Service and

Ops

Finance

IM

Investments and Alliances

General Counsel

People Department

OR provides consultancy right across BA

Willie WalshCEO Commercial

PlanningCommercial

Customer Service and

Ops

Finance

IM

Investments and Alliances

General Counsel

People DepartmentOR

Working in OR

50 peopleRange of different rolesFlexible resourcing

My background

Nottingham University– BSc Mathematics with

Statistics (2000-2003)

Warwick University– MSc MSOR (2004-2005)

Joined BA 6 months ago

A typical day in OR at BA

Each day is different

Likely to include:Project workClient meetingsOR meetingsPlanning and communication

Network planning & scheduling OR projects

Forecasting Competitor Growth• 3 month MSc summer project• Forecasting where competitors will put

their planes over the next 15 years

Improving punctuality• Calculating the optimum time to give an

aircraft between flights

Estimating numbers of transfer passengers for Terminal 5

• To help with staffing decisions in the new terminal

In our department we use various OR techniques

Forecasting

Simulation

SpreadsheetModelling

Statistical Analysis

Problem Structuring

Optimisation

But some things are different compared with uni

Problem structuring

Who should you talk to ?

Data is not always available

“We need the answer yesterday please …”

Don’t always believe what you see

Politics within the organisation

Working in OR at BA

Friendly and helpful peopleAwaydays and socialsClubs and societies to joinModern offices – lots of facilities

+Flights Line roles

Flights+Flexi-time FlightsFun and Varied

Environment

Flights

Any Questions?Any Questions?