ABSTRACT
Seats are traditionally reserved in advance for a specific flight. The seat reservation system has an essential effect on the air carrier's economic results and also has a direct influence on the quality of the transportation service and on the air carrier's reputation. Reservations are accepted for a certain flight up to a preordained reservation level. The total number of reservations usually rises as departure time approaches. Shlifer and Vardi developed a model that determines the optimal reservation level as a function of time before takeoff. The chapter considers the problem of establishing the reservation level in a nonstop flight with only one type of air fare. It presents the typical dependence between the total number of reservations and time before takeoff. The problem of seat allocation on an aircraft, that is the problem of allocating a certain number of seats to passengers with a specific fare, becomes more complex when the flight has several legs.
