A METHOD FOR OPTIMALLY SOLVING THE ROSTERING PROBLEM

This paper presents a prototype method for optimally solving the rostering problem, i.e., constructing work schedules for airline crew members. The main goal is to show the possibilities of solving the rostering problem using optimal methods. The prototype uses a column generation approach embedded in a branch and bound algorithm to solve the rostering problem. To the knowledge of the authors, this prototype is the first optimal method for solving the rostering problem.