How far out are flights planned at major airports and who is responsible for planning these flights and the gates at which they arrive? Are certain gates chosen for a reason or is it random?
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I know a tiny bit about this having worked briefly for the SW airlines pilots union.
First, it’s very complicated. A lot of computer power goes into optimizing flight paths and moving people and equipment around to meet what they think will make them the most money with full planes.
I know that the flights are scheduled months in advance (worked on some piloting scheduling stuff). The airline puts together a month’s worth of flight time for a pilot called a Line. The pilots get to bid on lines based on seniority and some other factors. So, weeks before a month begins, the pilots already know what they are flying for the whole month.
Moment to moment, they have a command center that tracks all the planes and crews and what gates they are at and that kind of thing. I never got to go over there, but I have been told it’s similar to the flight control center on an aircraft carrier. If weather or something happens, they have folks there that handle it; move backup planes, activate reserve crews, etc.
The gates in the airport, I’m almost certain, are leased by the airlines for their use.
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