Gate utilisation at airports - possible scheduling feature

[Nigel1500]

Hello,

I've realised that although I have 5 gates at HNL, many of them are free for much of the day. It is very difficult to manage without additional features. I have two propositions:

1. Click on an airport and see a Gate Schedule, with times blocked out in 15 minute intervals showing the aircraft that is occupying the gate and its route;
2. When scheduling a route to an aircraft allow me to select the departure and arrival gates.

[pjank42]

For the first feature I think I will implement a new tab, and for the second I think it should be implemented first as auto and then it should be possible for the user to change it themself

[Nigel1500]

1. Agree with the new tab.
2. Agree with the auto idea, but suggest calling it "First Available" and "Manual".
3. Also, if you are working on gates I'd like to make another suggestion. International gates are more expensive than domestic gates. Also, gates can be either "Air Bridge" or "Hardstand", where pax disembark on the tarmac. "Hardstand" gates can be either pedestrian access or shuttle bus. It would be good to distinguish all of these. For example, if I'm flying an international flight but I don't have any international gates available, the flight cannot dock at a domestic gate because the customs and immigration facilities are not available.

[raziel420]

I also know for at least one airport (CVG, used to work there) they have no specific international gates (although they do have one international flight a day to CDG). I think international/domestic would not be gate dependent but terminal dependent, (international terminals could accept domestic, but domestic terminals cannot accept international due to lack of customs facilities).

As for hardstands those are pretty uncommon at larger airports (their are a few international level airports that do this but the vast majority used air bridges). Not only that but for a hardstand all they really would need is a bid enough piece of tarmac for the plane to sit on, which even smaller airports can have hundreds of spots that planes can sit, even just along the runway.

As for gate schedules those are typically organized by the airport from the ground control tower, airlines are typically limited only by the amount they can occupy simultaneously. As for a 15 minute window on either side of the schedule, that's very unlikely most gates have a plane landing as the one at it is pushing back for takeoff (which can cause quite a mess for ground support in the event of a delay).

[Nigel1500]

Irrespective of the independent airport configuration, the choice between international or domestice gate is a good option for the game. It might be terminal dependent. It might also be that at some airports there are no domestic gates available at all, or no international, because they've all been snapped up by other airlines.

Many international airports have all gates in one terminal. They have separate zones for domestic and international.

You would be surprised just how few airports in Asia, S E Asia and Australia offer air bridges at all. In Australia, some of the 10 largest airports don't have air bridges. In fact, less than 10 airports in the country have air bridges. Thailand only has 2. Indonesia only has 1.

Hardstand gates are available at every airport I've ever been to, and I travel quite a bit. LHR, JFK, and CDG even have several each. SYD has 20, BKK has about 60. They need the same amount of space as an air bridge gate.

I don't know much about gate scheduling, but at some airports airlines seem to own gates and not share them with competitors. I've sat on the tarmac an NRT on a TG flight waiting for a United plane to depart while there were 6 or 7 gates available in the JAL terminal. I've had a similar experience arriving at SYD on a Garuda flight.

The Airline Project is a game. Not everyone plays the same way as you. It can be fun running a little airline based out of the Cocos Islands, for example, or in regional North Dakota .... but the airport options would need to be right .....

[rhgtvcx]

@Nigel1500 First here in Indonesia there are at least three or Four airports offer air bridges (though hardstand also used) like in Hang Nadim, Kuala Namu and Soekarno Hatta Second i agree with you that airport options need to revamped with choices of terminals, gates and the service.