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Airbus Packing at Federal Express

Operations Research, Federal Express, PO Box 727, Memphis, Tennessee 38194
Operations Research, Federal Express, PO Box 727, Memphis, Tennessee 38194
Operations Research, Federal Express, PO Box 727, Memphis, Tennessee 38194
Industrial and Systems Engineering, University of Memphis, Memphis, Tennessee 38152

Success in the express-mail market hinges on paying attention to every parcel in the system. A key component is safe, efficient loading of aircraft. Federal Express, a perennial leader in the express business, has recently added the Airbus A300, a lighter aircraft, to its fleet. Because of the Airbus design, shear limits—shear being a measure of the downward forces exerted on the plane—are extremely sensitive to the loading, a problem not experienced in the heavier craft. We developed a heuristic for loading containers into positions on the aircraft to address loading preferences and maintain feasibility constraints.

Key Words: transportation; freight/materials handling