Route Profitability Analysis
Network Planning & Scheduling › Schedule Planning · 18 L4 steps · 5 phases · 6 decision gates · Updated 2026-03-18 20:58
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Process Flow Diagram (BPMN)
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L4 Process Steps
| Step | Step Name | Role / Swim Lane | System | Input | Output | KPI | Dec? | Exc? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Phase 1 1.1 |
Extract Booking & Revenue Data by Route | Network Analyst | Amadeus SkyCAST | PNR booking records, O&D itinerary data, prior 12-month revenue history | Route-level revenue dataset by market, cabin, fare family | Data extraction completeness ≥99% of active routes | N | N |
| 1.2 | Pull Ancillary & Fare-Mix Revenue Data | Revenue Analyst | Amadeus Altéa PSS | Ancillary sales records (bags, seats, upgrades), fare-mix breakdown by RBD | Augmented revenue file including total revenue per available seat (RASK) per route | Ancillary revenue captured per departure ≥$18 industry benchmark | N | Y |
| 1.3 | Validate O&D Data Completeness | Senior Network Planner | AWS Redshift | Extracted revenue file, Altéa ancillary data | Data quality scorecard; approved dataset or rejection notice | Data gap rate <1% across all active routes before proceeding | Y | Y |
Phase 2 2.1 |
Allocate Direct Operating Costs to Route | Finance Analyst | SAP S/4HANA Finance (FI/CO) | Fuel burn records, aircraft block hours, crew pay actuals by tail number | Direct cost per available seat mile (CASM-direct) per route | CASM-direct variance vs budget ≤2% per route | N | N |
| 2.2 | Apportion Fleet Ownership & Lease Costs | Fleet Planning Analyst | Amadeus SkyMAX | Fleet assignment records, aircraft lease rates, depreciation schedules from SAP | Ownership cost per block hour allocated to each route | Fleet cost per block hour within ±3% of fleet plan target | N | N |
| 2.3 | Assign Airport Fees & Ground Handling Costs | Network Analyst | SITA Airport Management System (AMS) | Landing fee invoices, ground handling contracts, station cost actuals | Station cost per departure allocated to each route | Station cost recovery rate ≥95% of contracted amounts | N | Y |
| 2.4 | Reconcile & Freeze Route Cost Baseline | Senior Network Planner | AWS Redshift | Direct costs, ownership costs, station costs | Total CASM baseline locked for analysis; reconciliation sign-off record | Cost baseline reconciled within 48 hours of data extraction | Y | Y |
Phase 3 3.1 |
Calculate Route CASM vs RASM Spread | Senior Network Planner | Amadeus SkySYM | Frozen cost baseline, revenue dataset | Route P&L margin (RASM minus CASM) ranked by profitability decile | Network-average RASM–CASM spread ≥1.2¢ per ASM | N | N |
| 3.2 | Benchmark Route Against Network Average | Network Analyst | OAG Schedule Analyser | Route P&L rankings, competitor schedule and frequency data | Competitive context report: market share, frequency parity, fare premium vs peers | Routes with <80% of network-average margin flagged for review | N | N |
| 3.3 | Segment Profitability by Season & Day-of-Week | Revenue Analyst | Amadeus Revenue Management (NRM) | Route P&L file, booking curve data segmented by departure date | Seasonal P&L heat map per route; peak vs off-peak contribution split | Seasonal margin variance identified to ±0.5¢ RASM resolution | N | N |
| 3.4 | Flag Routes Below Profitability Threshold | Senior Network Planner | Amadeus SkySYM | Seasonal P&L heat map, network benchmark data | Watch list of underperforming routes requiring scenario modelling | Routes with RASM–CASM <0.5¢ or negative margin flagged within 5 business days of data freeze | Y | N |
Phase 4 4.1 |
Model Frequency & Gauge Change Impact | Network Planner | Amadeus SkySYM | Watch-list routes, available aircraft and slot capacity | Sensitivity analysis: RASM/CASM delta under ±1 frequency and gauge up/down scenarios | Scenario delta accuracy vs actuals within ±5% on prior test routes | N | N |
| 4.2 | Test Fare Adjustment Recovery Scenarios | Revenue Analyst | PROS RM | Route price elasticity curves, current fare ladder, competitor fares from OAG | Fare scenario P&L projections; breakeven load factor under revised fare structure | Projected breakeven LF improvement ≥5pp vs base case to qualify as a viable path | Y | Y |
| 4.3 | Evaluate Seasonal Suspension Viability | Senior Network Planner | Amadeus SkyMAX | Routes with no viable fare/frequency recovery, slot constraints, aircraft redeployment options | Suspension impact model: freed capacity redeployment value vs passenger disruption cost | Redeployment must yield ≥2¢ RASM improvement on receiving route to justify suspension | Y | Y |
Phase 5 5.1 |
Prepare Route P&L Recommendation Report | Senior Network Planner | Tableau | Scenario modelling outputs, suspension analysis, competitive benchmarks | Executive route P&L report with ranked recommendations (retain/optimise/suspend) and financial impact summary | Report delivered within 5 business days of scenario completion | N | N |
| 5.2 | Present Recommendations to Network Investment Committee | Director of Network Planning | Amadeus SkySYM | Route P&L report, scenario models, stakeholder pre-read distributed 48 hours prior | Committee decision: approve, revise, or defer each recommendation | ≥80% of recommendations decided in single committee session without remand | Y | N |
| 5.3 | Implement Approved Schedule Changes | Schedule Planning Manager | Amadeus SkyWORKS | Approved committee decisions, SSIM update requirements, slot availability confirmation | Updated schedule in SkyWORKS; SSIM filed to GDS and Altéa PSS | Schedule changes published to GDS within 72 hours of committee approval | N | Y |
| 5.4 | Monitor Post-Action Route Performance | Network Analyst | Amadeus Revenue Management (NRM) | Live booking data on modified routes, updated CASM actuals from SAP | 30/60/90-day performance tracking report vs projected recovery targets | RASM–CASM spread on modified routes trending toward target within 60 days | N | N |
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