Final answer:
To determine the number of each type of aircraft to purchase, the purchasing manager must solve a system of equations that reflects the seating capacity, cost, and policy constraint that requires buying twice as many Boeings as Airbuses.
Step-by-step explanation:
The student is looking to apply mathematical skills to solve a practical problem involving the purchase of commercial aircraft under certain budgetary and policy constraints. Specifically, the task is to determine how many Airbus A330-300s, Boeing 767-300ERs, and Boeing Dreamliners 787-9s to order such that the airline can seat a total of 4,230 passengers, with a spending limit of $3,780 million, and adhering to the policy of purchasing twice as many Boeings as Airbuses.
To find the solution, one must set up a system of equations that takes into account the number of planes, the cost of each plane, the seating capacity, and the policy requirement. The variables can be defined as: x for Airbus A330-300s, y for Boeing 767-300ERs, and z for Boeing Dreamliner 787-9s. The system of equations would look like this:
- Number of seats equation: 330x + 270y + 240z = 4,230
- Cost equation: 260x + 220y + 290z ≤ 3,780 (in millions)
- Policy constraint: y + z = 2x
By solving this system of equations, the airline can figure out exactly how many of each type of aircraft to purchase to meet all criteria.