Track: Undergraduate Research Presentation Competition

Abstract

Most airlines companies’ core objective is to provide a smooth air traveling experience to their passengers. To increase passenger satisfaction, airlines should be aware of passenger seating preferences, including solo women passengers. In the MENA countries, particularly in Saudi Arabia, women are considered to be more conservative than in other countries. Due to cultural matters, women do not feel comfortable sitting next to a man passenger. At the time of boarding, when women find that their seat is assigned next to a man seat, they usually request for reseating. Most airline seat reservation systems do not meet solo women’s concerns of sitting next to men. The aim of this project is to develop an effective seat reservation system that accommodates solo women passengers’ preferences. It will help the airlines to eliminate seat rearrangement when board on the aircraft. In order to reach an optimal solution, three alternatives were generated and compared using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP). The optimal solution that will be applied in this project is a computerized seat reservation system with an optional choice for sitting in a flexible female zone, with different options for seat types and locations. A check-in procedure will be established and followed by the check-in counter agents, and a boarding strategy will be provided to solve the swapping issues. The expected outcome from this project is to have a satisfactory seating arrangement for solo women passengers.