Use of SWARA-based EDAS and COPRAS methods in aircraft selection strategy for airlines

Aircraft purchase is of strategic importance for airline companies due to high costs. For this reason, it is very important for businesses to choose the right aircraft by considering certain criteria. Multi-criteria decision-making methods can be used in strategic issues such as aircraft selection. These methods are used for selection, ranking and classification problems in areas such as strategic management, operations research, logistics and economics. In this study, it is aimed to apply an exemplary model by using SWARA-based EDAS and COPRAS methods, which are multi-criteria decision-making methods in aircraft selection for airline companies. In the study, an evaluation was made for both narrow-body and wide-body passenger aircraft, which are preferred by businesses that implement the traditional business model and hub & spoke network structure. 6 criteria have been determined, including cost of purchase, fuel capacity, maximum seat capacity, range, maximum take-off weight and cargo capacity. 7 passenger aircraft alternatives for narrow body and 9 passenger aircraft alternatives for wide body were taken into consideration. In the study, a SWARA survey was applied to 10 experts consisting of academicians with aviation industry experience. Experts were asked to rank the criteria according to their own priorities and then determine the relative importance values of the criteria according to the order they obtained. The criteria weights were determined by applying the SWARA method to the data obtained for each expert. Then, the averages of the criteria weights determined for 10 experts were taken and the final weights were obtained for each criterion. After the criterion weights were determined, rankings were obtained by applying EDAS and COPRAS methods for both narrow body and wide body passenger aircraft. For narrow body aircraft, A321neo aircraft for both EDAS and COPRAS methods, and for wide body passenger aircraft, A350-1000 aircraft have emerged as the best alternative.