Airline fuel problem) Coast-to-Coast Airlines is investigating the possibility of reducing the cost of fuel purchases by taking advantage of lower fuel costs in certain cities. Since fuel purchases represent a substantial portion of operating expenses for an airline, it is important that these costs be carefully monitored. However, fuel adds weight to an airplane, and consequently, excess fuel raises the cost of getting from one city to another. In evaluating one particular flight rotation, a plane begins in Atlanta, flies from Atlanta to Los Angeles, from Los Angeles to Houston, from Houston to New Orleans, and from New Orleans to Atlanta. When the plane arrives in Atlanta, the flight rotation is said to have been completed, and then it starts again. Thus, the fuel on board when the flight arrived in Atlanta must be taken into consideration when the flight begins. Along each leg of this route, there is a minimum and a maximum amount of fuel that may be carried. This and additional information are provided in the table below.

Table 6

Coast-to-Coast airline data

LEG MIN FUEL (1,000 MAX FUEL REGULAR FUEL FUEL PRICE/GAL GAL) (1,000 GAL) CONSUMED (1,000 GAL) Atl-LA 24 36 12 $4.15 LA-Houston 15 23 7 $4.25 Houston-NO 9 17 $4.10 NO-Atl 11 20 5 54.18