This paper compares different optimization strategies for the minimization of flight and passenger delays at two levels: pre-tactical, with on-ground delay at origin, and tactical, with airborne delay close to the destination airport. The optimization model is based on the ground holding problem and uses various cost functions. The scenario considered takes place in a busy European airport and includes realistic values of traffic. A passenger assignment with connections at the hub is modeled. Statistical models are used for passenger and connecting passenger allocation, minimum time required for turnaround and tactical noise; whereas uncertainty is also introduced in the model for tactical noise. Performance of the various optimization processes is presented and compared to ration by schedule results.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

An interior penalty method and a compact discontinuous Galerkin method are proposed and compared for the solution of the steady incompressible Navier–Stokes equations. Both compact formulations can be easily applied using high‐order piecewise divergence‐free approximations, leading to two uncoupled problems: one associated with velocity and hybrid pressure, and the other one only concerned with the computation of pressures in the elements interior. Numerical examples compare the efficiency and the accuracy of both proposed methods. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Recently, there has been much interest in measuring the environmental impact of short-to-medium-haul flights. Emissions of CO₂ are usually measured to consider the environmental footprint, and CO₂ calculators are available using different types of approximations. We propose analytical models calculating gate-to-gate CO₂ emissions and travel time based on the flight distance and on the number of available seats. The accuracy of the numerical results were in line with other CO₂ calculators, and when applying an analytical fitting, the error of interpolation was low. The models presented the advantage with respect to other calculators of being sensitive to the number of available seats, a parameter generally not explicitly considered. Its applicability was shown in two practical examples where emissions and travel time per kilometre were calculated for several European routes in a simple and efficient manner. The model enabled the identification of routes where rail would be a viable alternative both from the emissions and total travel time perspectives.