A fuel tankering model applied to a domestic airline network

In this article, the authors propose a linear programming model that can be used to determine the optimum fuel loading quantities along a route network for a domestic airline in Brazil. The model analyzes the needs for one aircraft on one day of its schedule, with the assumption that there are no volume purchase or storage capacity restrictions on each station. The authors then extrapolate to provide data on a monthly and yearly basis. They consider the practice of fuel tankering, which entails stocking up on fuel for price savings, but may also cost the airline loss efficiency because of carrying more weight (in the fuel) than is necessary. The authors’ model shows that the fuel tankering technique leads to a 5% economical saving, but produces a 1% additional fuel burn. The proposed model is very sensitive to fuel prices. The authors conclude with a brief discussion on the environmental impact and sustainability of fuel tankering.