CSE2/4DBF (2019) – Assignment 1, Part 1 Page 1/5

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CSE2DBF and CSE4DBF 2019

Assignment 1 – Part 1 (7.5%)
Due date: 10.00am Monday, April 8th, 2019

AIMS AND OBJECTIVES:

 to represent a problem description given in natural language as an (Enhanced) Entity-

Relationship model

This is an individual Assignment. You are not permitted to work as a group when writing
this assignment.

Copying, Plagiarism: Plagiarism is the submission of somebody else’s work in a manner that gives
the impression that the work is your own. The Department of Computer Science and Information
Technology treats plagiarism very seriously. When it is detected, penalties are strictly imposed.

No extensions will be given: Penalties are applied to late assignments (5% of total assignment
mark given is deducted per day, accepted up to 5 days after the due date only). If there are
circumstances that prevent the assignment being submitted on time, an application for special
consideration may be made. See Student Handbook for details. Note that delays caused by
computer downtime cannot be accepted as a valid reason for a late submission without penalty.
Students must plan their work to allow for both scheduled and unscheduled downtime.

SUBMISSION GUIDELINES:

This assignment is to be submitted in soft-copy (either PDF or JPEG) format using

the submission link on LMS, by 10:00 am Monday April 8th, 2019. The submission
link can be found under “Assignment 1 – Part 1” on the subject’s LMS page.

SUBMISSION CHECKLIST:

 Your (Enhanced) Entity-Relationship Model (EER) for the proposed database

Students are referred to the Department of Computer Science and Information Technology’s
Handbook and policy documents with regard to plagiarism and assignment return, and also to the
section of ‘Academic Integrity’ on the subject learning guide.
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PROBLEM DESCRIPTION:

New Endor Airlines Database

New Endor Airlines (NEA) is the premier aviation service in the small island nation of New Endor,
located in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. For the 40 years since its inception, NEA has operated
effectively with paper-based record keeping. Recently, New Endor has grown in popularity as a
business and tourism destination. Due to increased demand for their services, NEA has decided to
modernize their record keeping and automate much of their management activity. You have been
contracted by NEA to design a new relational database that fits in with their current business
practices. The database that you will design is focused on flight and aircraft management and is
described in full here. Ticket billing, advertising and other business activities are handled in
different databases that you will not be dealing with.

NEA operates local and international flights. Being small and somewhat geographically isolated,
all international flights from New Endor are classified as long-haul, and all local flights are
classified as short-haul. Flights are identified by a unique 9 digit flight identifier. The last 3 digits
of the flight identifier are referred to as the flight number. Passengers are given only the flight
number (e.g. a ticket reads flight number NE370), and the airline ensures that no two flights with
the same flight number are in the air simultaneously. Flight details that are recorded include the
intended departure date and time, departure terminal, arrival terminal, route information (including
departure and arrival locations), passenger/ticket and staff details, and details about the aircraft
being operated.

Each aircraft is given a unique aircraft number, and classified into one of two types according to
which type of flight they are used for: short-haul or long-haul. For short-haul aircraft, NEA
dedicates some cargo space to mail transport, so the dedicated mail cargo capacity is stored (though
other details regarding mail will be handled in a different database). For long-haul aircraft, extra
medical supplies are required, so they record the number of advanced medical packs and the number
of defibrillators on board. All aircraft must be serviced regularly, with an entry added to the
aircraft’s Service Log. The service log includes the date of service, a description of work done, and
the cost of servicing. If an aircraft’s details are deleted from the database, then the service log will
also be deleted. The frequency of servicing depends on the aircraft model, which is also retained in
the database along with basic model information such as the unique model identifier, number of
economy class seats, business class seats, first class seats, the cargo capacity, fuel capacity, length,
wingspan, and the number of flight hours between services as recommended by the manufacturer.
The airline often purchases more than one of each aircraft model.

Flights must be carefully planned prior to departure. Each flight travels along one strictly defined
route. Each route has a unique route identifier, route description, departure location and arrival
location. A location is defined as a local or international airport, having a unique 3 letter airport
code (issued by the International Air Transport Association). Additional location information
includes the country, address and contact details of the airport. A location can be the destination of
more than one route. Similarly, a location can be the departure point of more than one route. Also,
a route can be reused for multiple different flights. Aside from choosing the route, flight planners
must take fuel consumption, weather conditions and air traffic into account. So, each flight should
have a planned average speed, average height, estimated journey duration (in minutes) and
estimated fuel consumption.
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Each flight ticket is for only one customer and only one flight. When a customer buys a flight ticket,
NEA assigns them a unique customer number and collects a number of details (see Appendix A)
for flight management. The passenger’s name, home address, home country, birth date, passport
number (if held), email and phone number are kept on file. For the particular flight, NEA assigns a
unique ticket number to the passenger and also records the passenger’s checked luggage limit (in
kilograms), seat number, flight class code (economy ‘E’, business ‘B’ or first class ‘F’), as well as
a short description of any food allergies or medical conditions that the passenger may have. The
details of a ticket are only generated once the customer purchases it, and ticket availability is
determined by the number of seats on the aircraft model. For each flight, passengers may choose
either a regular in-flight meal or the alternative option which is both vegan and gluten free. Other
ticket details such as invoices, advertising and pricing are handled on a separate database.
Customer, ticket and flight details are all kept on the database indefinitely after a flight.

Each flight has at least two pilots on board: The flight captain and the first officer. The captain has
ultimate responsibility for everything that happens during the flight. During each flight, the captain
makes a single entry in the Captain’s Log, recording the actual time and date of departure and
arrival, as well as a short description of each irregular event that occurred during flight (see
Appendix B). The First Officer (FO) is second in command and so, like the captain, the FO is
distinguished from any additional pilots that may be on board. When a pilot is hired by NEA, they
are given a staff number, and their total hours of prior flight experience are recorded, along with
their name, address, email, phone number, passport number (as all NEA flight staff must have a
passport), and a list of qualifications/licenses held.

To be captain or FO on a flight, an NEA pilot must have at least 3000 logged hours (counting both
prior experience and time with NEA) and must also hold an Air Transport Pilot License (ATPL).
A pilot holding only a Commercial Pilot License (CPL) may be employed on a flight (e.g., as a
trainee pilot), but not as captain or FO. To train other pilots, a pilot must hold a Certified Flight
Instructor (CFI) qualification. To keep a record of pilot activities, NEA assigns a short two letter
‘activity code’ for each additional pilot on board each flight (aside from the captain and the FO).
This code categorizes the reason that the pilot was on board (e.g., ‘TR’ signifies training). Along
with this, NEA wishes to store a short description of the activities undertaken by the additional
pilots (e.g., a pilot may fly with activity code ‘TR’ and have activity description ‘precision
instrument approach training’). When flight training occurs, there may or may not be
customers/passengers or other staff on board.

The other type of staff to be covered by the database are flight attendants. When hired by the NEA,
flight attendants, like pilots, are issued with a staff number, and their name, address, email, phone
number and passport number are recorded. It is possible that an NEA employee could be both a
flight attendant and an airline pilot (it is not uncommon for NEA pilots in training to work as flight
attendants between training flights). All staff members are automatically given membership to the
prestigious NEA Companions Club (NEACC), receiving their own NEACC member number that
provides access to regular rewards such as complementary flight upgrades and exclusive member
dinners. First class passengers and frequent repeat customers are also treated to NEACC
membership. NEACC members accrue ‘FlightGold’ member points, which may be earned and/or
used during flight, so the number of points of all current members are stored.
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TASKS:
You are required to develop an EER model for the above problem description. The EER should
contain all necessary information such as entities, attributes, primary keys, relationships (including
specialization/generalization if any), cardinalities, and participation (including (min, max)). All
specialization/generalization and union type must be represented accordingly, instead being treated
as simple association relationships. Any assumptions should also be stated clearly. If assumptions
are made, it is important to make sure that the assumptions reflect possible real practice for a
particular industry and do not contradict with the problem description above. Assignment should
be typed, not written/drawn by hand. Use any software to draw figures in your assignment.
[100%]

Appendix A: Passenger Flight Form

New Endor Airlines PASSENGER TICKET FORM

Welcome to New Endor Airlines. If you have flown with us before, then you
do not need to fill out Section A (in which case, please skip to section B)

Section A: Passenger Details

First name:
Last name:
Home address:

Postcode: ______ Country:

Date of birth:
Email address:
Phone:
Passport number:

Section B: Flight Details

Please complete this section with assistance from your travel agent

Flight number: Departure date:

Departure airport:
Arrival airport:
Seat number (check availability):
Class (tick one): Economy □ Business □ First class □
Checked luggage limit (tick one): 15kg □ 30kg □ 50kg □
Meal choice (tick one):
Standard (ST) □ Vegan / gluten free (VG) □

Please give the passenger number(s) of any people you are flying with
Add another page if you are flying with more than 3 passengers
Passenger number 1:
Passenger number 2:
Passenger number 3:

Please describe any food allergies or medical conditions:

Failure to report a serious medical condition prior to flying is illegal and may
compromise your safety and the safety of others on board the flight

Admin use only

Passenger number:
Ticket number:
Identification provided? □
Staff name:
Date purchased: Staff signature:
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Appendix B: Flight Captain’s Log

New Endor Airlines CAPTAIN’S LOG ENTRY

To be completed by the FLIGHT CAPTAIN for each flight and witnessed by the FIRST
OFFICER. If the captain is incapacitated during flight, then responsibility is passed in full
to the first officer onwards from the time of the incapacitating event.

Captain full name: Staff number:

Flight identifier: Flight number:
Was the captain incapacitated during flight? Yes □ No □
First officer full name: Staff number:
Date: Time (use 24hr format):
Captain signature:
First officer signature:

Date and time of departure (use 24hr format):

Date and time of arrival (use 24hr format):
See NEA Flight Operations Manual Section 17B for the definition of an irregular event.
Did any irregular events occur during the journey? Yes □ No □

Give details of irregular events. Attach and sign extra page if necessary.
Event 1 Date: Time: Details:

Event 2 Date: Time: Details:

Event 3 Date: Time: Details:

Event 4 Date: Time: Details:

IMPORTANT ADMIN INFORMATION: The unique identifier for an

event is composed of the Event Number (e.g., 1, 2, 3 or 4) and the Flight
Identifier.