Network Enlarging Search Technique (NEST) for the Crew Scheduling Problem

We consider an algorithm for the Crew Scheduling Problem (CSP) based on the Transportation Problem approach. The main flows of the algorithm are arranged in three steps. First we propose a heuristic algorithm of the greedy principle to obtain an initial feasible solution. Secondary we present a method of formulating CSP into a Modified Transportation Problem format. Lastly the procedures of network search to get the optimal solution are presented. This algorithm can be applied to the general GSP and also to most combinatorial problems like the Vehicle Routing Problems. The computational results show that the large size CSP's could be tackled.