Miami-based freighter aircraft operator Amerijet International has completed a joint proof of concept project with logistics technology firm Quantum-South on technology to optimise aircraft loading and increase revenue per flight.
Amerijet operates a fleet of Boeing 757 and 767 freighter aircraft from Miami to 48 destinations across the Caribbean, Mexico, Central and South America and Europe.
Quantum-South’s solution features an Aircraft Load Optimization module, designed to optimize container placement to maximize transported weight, volume, priority mix, or revenue mix, with a focus on center of gravity optimization. An Air Cargo Bin Packing modulealso selects shipments for each flight to optimize the booked priority, with container assignment and precise instructions on how to build the container, such as the location and order of placement for each piece in the shipment.
Quantum-South’s solution has been integrated with Amerijet’s cargo management system, powered by the SmartKargo backend application.
As part of the project, Quantum-South examined data from 451 flights and identified loading alternatives that increased payload by up to 30% and volume by up to 76%, for instance, replacing a previous load plan consisting of containers such as PAGs and PQAs with an optimized plan utilizing a variety of containers like AKEs, TYPE A-1, TYPE A FRONT, and TYPE A AFT units.
Amerijet International chief commercial officer Eric Wilson, stated: “This substantial enhancement in cargo load factor can greatly enhance revenue per flight and increase opportunities for customers through more efficient use of capacity.”
Quantum-South co-founder and president, Dr Rafael Sotelo, added: “The project’s success at Miami International Airport demonstrates the significant potential of our cutting-edge solution in optimizing cargo load factors.”
Quantum would continue working with Amerijet to uncover more optimization opportunities and further enhance operations, he said.
Amerijet International said it was committed to tackling challenges related to data structure and data quality while continuing to work on multi-piece shipment ordering and shipment handling code incompatibility restriction compliance. It also plans to explore automated planning of areas such as oversize cargo, consolidated cargo, bulk cargo space, and B757 configurations.
Wilson concluded: “Optimizing flight load plans and augmenting process efficiency helps us provide the best capacity offering to our customers while maximizing the load of every flight. Quantum-South’s solution has the potential to bring significant benefits to our operations, increase revenues and reduce emissions, and we look forward to further collaboration to uncover more optimization opportunities.”