Kim Opim, an enthusiastic student, is on her flight over from Philadelphia (PHL) to Paris. Kim reflects upon how her educational experiences from her operations courses could help explain the long wait time that she experienced before she could enter the departure area of Terminal A at PHL. As an airline representative explained to Kim, there are four types of travelers in Terminal A:
Experienced short-distance (short-distance international travel destinations are Mexico and various islands in the Atlantic) travelers: These passengers check in online and do not speak with any agent nor do they take any time at the kiosks.
Experienced long-distance travelers: These passengers spend 3 minutes with an agent.
Inexperienced short-distance travelers: These passengers spend 2 minutes at a kiosk; however, they do not require the attention of an agent.
Inexperienced long-distance travelers: These passengers need to talk 5 minutes with an agent.
After a passenger checks in online, or talks with an agent, or uses a kiosk, the passenger must pass through security, where they need 0.5 minutes independent of their type. From historical data, the airport is able to estimate the arrival rates of the different customer types at Terminal A of Philadelphia International:
Experienced short-distance travelers: 100 per hour
Experienced long-distance travelers: 80 per hour
Inexperienced short-distance travelers: 80 per hour
Inexperienced long-distance travelers: 40 per hour
At this terminal, there are four security check stations, six agents, and three electronic kiosks. Passengers arrive uniformly from 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., with the entire system empty prior to 4 p.m. (the "midafternoon lull") and no customers arrive after 8 p.m. All workers must stay on duty until the last passenger is entirely through the system (e.g., has passed through security).
1. What are the capacities of each resource? Express the capacities in terms of travelers per hour.
2. What are the levels of implied utilization at each resource?
3. Which resource is the bottleneck? Does the airport have enough capacity to handle all the travelers?