US Patent 11551166 Risk variables associated with reserve airline staffing levels

A crew planning system includes a demand forecasting module and an optimization module. The system forecasts anticipated reserve demand levels, and determines suitable reserve staffing approaches to meet anticipated reserve demand. The forecasting is based upon probabilistic distribution models which take into account variability associated with reserve demand for a particular day. Via use of the crew planning system, reserve staffing expenses may be reduced and/or reserve demand may be met with a higher degree of probability.