The maintenance routing challenge
An aircraft that needs maintenance cannot use just any station with spare ground time. The station must be able to do the work, have enough capacity, and fit into a workable aircraft rotation.
This connects maintenance planning with tail assignment. Each flight changes where the aircraft will be and how much time it has, which changes the maintenance options it can reach.
Match requirements with station capability
OptCo records which stations can perform the required maintenance. This prevents the schedule from using ground time at a station that cannot do the work.
Capability is only one part of the decision. Capacity also matters: a station may be able to do the work but not have room at the required time. OptCo considers both.
By including maintenance in the assignment problem, OptCo can plan the full path to the right station, not just the final ground event.
Balance flying and maintenance needs
A maintenance-aware schedule must still meet normal constraints such as turnaround time, station continuity, compatibility, and aircraft availability. OptCo balances these needs instead of building the flying schedule first and fixing maintenance later.
Planning them together also makes tradeoffs clearer. Planners can see how a maintenance requirement changes aircraft utilization or assignment cost.
Use scenarios to explore alternatives
Maintenance constraints reduce the number of possible rotations, but there may still be several workable options. Different schedules may use different stations or spread the work across available capacity.
OptCo helps planners compare these options, see the cost by aircraft and leg, and choose the schedule that best fits current priorities.