The airplane has evolved into a mass transportation medium; at the same time, competition among airlines has significantly intensified in recent years. To strengthen their market position, individual airlines are forming large alliances with the aim of providing their customers with an attractive range of nonstop flights and connecting options. Using methods from the field of operations research, Karsten Leibold develops a model to create the "ideal" flight schedule and to select and establish meaningful connections. He analyzes the process of creating a flight schedule, derives the essential fundamental relationships, and develops an appropriate optimization approach. Based on this, he identifies suitable solution methods and implements them. Finally, the resulting model is evaluated in terms of its practical application.