This tool is available for
A through flight, also known as a direct flight with one or more stops, offers a superior service compared to an online connection due to reduced chances of missed connections and baggage mishandling. In some instances, passengers on a through flight may not even need to disembark the aircraft. Consequently, through flights often prove more appealing to travelers than online connections for the same journey, potentially resulting in higher passenger traffic.
Fligence Planning offers a tool for evaluating the potential increase in traffic and revenue when converting an online connection to a through flight. To utilize this capability, simply activate the Online to Through Flight option before running a scenario, as shown in Figure 1. There is no need to rebuild connections if your goal is solely to conduct an analysis of converting online connections into through flights. Once the model completes its execution, you can access the results by navigating to Planning > Analytical Report > Online to Through, as shown in Figure 2 and Figure 3.
The output provides a clear presentation of the potential enhancements in passenger traffic and revenue achievable by transforming selected single online connections into through flights. Each row in the output furnishes comprehensive data, encompassing flight details such as flight number, departure and arrival times for both the initial and subsequent flight segments. It’s important to note that the results encompass both organic connections and codesharing connections. Codesharing connections are converted into one-stop codeshare services.
This analysis focuses solely on single connections since they constitute the primary source of both traffic volume and revenue generation within the realm of connections. For optimal operational efficiency, it is essential that the aircraft deployed for the first flight leg belongs to the same aircraft family as the one used for the second flight. This alignment ensures continuity in staffing, allowing the same pilots and crew members to handle both flights seamlessly. Table 1 below outlines the data structure, with the data metrics aggregated by the combination of fields with a key icon (
).
| Field | Description |
| AL | IATA code of the operating airline of both flight legs |
| Org | IATA code of the trip origin airport |
| Cnx | IATA code of the connecting airport |
| Dst | IATA code of the trip destination airport |
| Flight_1 | Operating flight number of the first flight |
| Equip_1 | Aircraft code on the first flight |
| Dep_Time_1 | Local departure time of the first flight in the HHMM format |
| Arr_Time_1 | Local arrival time of the first flight |
| Cnx_Minutes | Number of minutes of the connection time between the two flights |
| Flight_2 | Operating flight number of the second flight |
| Equip_2 | Aircraft code on the second flight |
| Dep_Time_2 | Local departure time of the second flight |
| Arr_Time_2 | Local arrival time of the second flight |
| Op_Days | Operating day of week based on the departure time of the first flight (1: Monday, 2: Tuesday, …, 7: Sunday) |
| Org_Country | Trip origin country code |
| Cnx_Country | Country code of the connecting airport |
| Dst_Country | Trip destination country code |
| Route_Type | Route type based on the domains of the first and second flights. A domestic flight has origin and destination airports in the same country while an international flight has origin and destination in different countries. DD: domestic to domestic DI: domestic to international ID: international to domestic II: international to international |
| Pax_Mkt | Total number of passengers in the Origin-Destination (O&D) market during the target period. The same number will be repeated across different lines if there are multiple online connection records in the same market. |
| QSI_Mkt | QSI score for the O&D market |
| QSI_Online | QSI score of the original online connection record |
| QSI_OS | QSI score of the converted one-stop through flight |
| Weekly_Seats | Number of seats in a week of the aircraft used in the two flights. If the aircraft are different, the smaller seat capacity will be used. Please note that the target period is usually a month or a season while this seat number is in a week. |
| Weekly_Frequency | Number of operations in a week. |
| Pax_Add | Number of incremental passengers after converting the online connection into a through flight |
| Rev_Add | Incremental revenue after converting the online connection into a through flight |