Stochastic programming for seat allocation of passengers with body weight uncertainty in aircraft load optimization

Airlines use a fixed average value of passenger's body weight when making seat allocation plans. Due to the neglect of body weight differences among various passengers, there would be a potential deviation in the aircraft's center of gravity (CG) for a loading balance plan, that could impact flight safety and cost. The uncertainty about body weight is addressed to control the aircraft's CG deviation. The objective is to achieve an optimal CG position and avoid deviations. Computational experiments were conducted on the Boeing B737-800 in multiple body weight scenarios. The experimental findings show that the two-stage stochastic model significantly reduces potential CG deviations caused by passenger weight variations, which is a significant difference from the model used by airlines.