The Development of Manpower and Facilities Planning Methods for Airline Telephone Reservations Offices

Abstract

The paper describes a 5-year sequence of research activities and the associated stages of implementation of resulting “practical” methods for relating standards of service and manpower requirements in an airline's telephone reservations offices. It goes on to review some important reappraisals of the standards of service in terms of their effects on the customer and on the direct cost of operation of such facilities. It also describes work which is in progress to improve the method of forecasting telephone workload, and to produce a fully automated system for budgeting and planning. The paper concludes by drawing some lessons from the experiences gained over the 5-year period which may help others engaged in similar studies.