a lean year, and carried about 1.6 billion passengers, a
number expected to grow at an annual rate of 4%–5%
over the next 20 years according to most forecasts.
According to the industry “air transport provides
28 million direct, indirect, and induced jobs worldwide”
and carries “over 40% of the world trade of
goods, by value” (Collaborative Forum 2003).
After spending roughly its first 40 years trying to
get off the ground, literally at times, the air transport
industry has grown by leaps and bounds during
the last 60, especially since the advent of the “jet
age” in the late 1950s. Throughout that second period,
operations research (OR) has played a critical role in
helping the airline industry and its infrastructure sustain
high growth rates and make the transition from
a novelty that catered to an elite clientele to a service
industry for the masses. More than 100 airlines and