Ground Handling International articles from December 2005

Ground Handling International archives from December 2005

Free for all?
December 1, 2005... At a time when handlers are expressing concern over shrinking profits and when carriers are battling against bankruptcy, a small, quiet revolution is unfolding on the east coast of the US. Along with their bigger neighbour in Orlando,...

A change of focus.(securities holded by S.Stuttgart Ground Services)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Swissport has sold its minority share in S.Stuttgart Ground Services, citing the need to focus its attention on joint ventures in which it maintains a majority stake. The venture, established in 2001, encompassed passenger handling,...

SATS seeks redefinition.(GROUND HANDLING NEWS)(Singapore Airport Terminal Services )
December 1, 2005... Singapore Airport Terminal Services has unveiled its latest product and service offerings, aimed at redefining the ground handling and in-flight catering industry. SATS President and Chief Executive Officer, Ng Chin Hwee, said of the...

Iberia Cargo, which currently transports over 13% of all flowers carried between South America and Europe.
December 1, 2005... Iberia Cargo, which currently transports over 13% of all flowers carried between South America and Europe, has begun using a new refrigeration chamber facility in Madrid to store flowers before their trans-shipment to other Spanish cities and...

Permira Funds has acquired all the shares of the Jet Aviation Group.
December 1, 2005... Permira Funds has acquired all the shares of the Jet Aviation Group following antitrust clearance.

The European Shippers' Council, which represents buyers of worldwide air cargo services, has welcomed a decision by the airline and freight forwarder members of Cargo 2000 to publish a series of additional performance data in 2006.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The European Shippers' Council, which represents buyers of worldwide air cargo services, has welcomed a decision by the airline and freight forwarder members of Cargo 2000 to publish a series of additional performance data in 2006. The move...

Flightcare and TNT Airways have signed a cooperation agreement to provide passenger services together at Liege airport.
December 1, 2005... Flightcare and TNT Airways have signed a cooperation agreement to provide passenger services together at Liege airport. As a result of this co-operation, both partners will be ready to meet the increased demands of the sector and consequently...

British Airways World Cargo has appointed Airline Services GSA, which is based in Vantaa, as the BA World Cargo general sales agent for Finland.
December 1, 2005... British Airways World Cargo has appointed Airline Services GSA, which is based in Vantaa, as the BA World Cargo general sales agent for Finland. The move boosts BA World Cargo's operations in Finland, where the carrier already has an...

FedEx Express has announced the appointment of National Aviation Service.
December 1, 2005... FedEx Express has announced the appointment of National Aviation Service to provide customs clearance services in Kuwait.

LOT to celebrate.(LOT Polish Airlines)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Over the last decade, the Polish aviation market has changed rapidly. Since 2004, Polish airports have noticed a 40% growth in passengers and numbers of operations. In the middle 1990s, at a time when LOT Polish Airlines had a dominant...

Airport progress slows.(Bangkok Flight Services)
December 1, 2005... The opening of Bangkok's Suvarnabhumi airport will be delayed until June or July 2006, according to Thailand's Prime Minister, Thaksin Shinawatra. Despite this, the Tourism Council of Thailand has said that the delayed opening will have...

A force to reckon with.(GROUND HANDLING NEWS)(Globalia Handling to be unified as Groundforce)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Globalia Handling, the division of ground handling services of the Globalia Group, has decided to unify its different companies under a unique international brand: Groundforce. This is the trade name under which it will operate in the...

Diversification at San Francisco.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... ASIG has announced that Nippon Cargo Airlines has selected ASIG to provide cargo warehousing services at San Francisco International airport. The agreement calls for ASIG to provide warehousing, staffing, ground handling and...

JV-or not to be?(GROUND HANDLING NEWS)(aviation industry dilema)
December 1, 2005... In our October issue we reported on the state of play within the Indian aviation sector and looked at the plethora of start-up operations that would, seemingly, take the continent to a new level of sophisticated travel. Apart from the many...

Decision time.(outsourcing the ground handling services )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Deutsche Lufthansa and Fraport have been in the headlines recently, with the former going on record to say that it might consider outsourcing its ground handling services in Germany as its passenger airline struggles to match last year's...

New destination for freight carrier.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The Japanese airport of Nagoya is set to become a new addition to Lufthansa Cargo's freighter schedule. In collaboration with its WOW alliance partner, Japan Airlines Cargo, the carrier started to fly to Nagoya and back with a MD-11 cargo...

Waiting in the wings.(Vitoria International airport)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... As cargo business has steadily expanded at Vitoria International airport over the last decade, pressure on ground services has also increased, especially handling. The airport, ranked third for cargo in Spain, saw an increase of 8.8% (44,000...

Quicker and slicker.
December 1, 2005... The time taken to execute turnarounds of certain aircraft at the Dares Salaam and Kilimanjaro international airports has been halved, thanks to steps taken by ground handler Dahaco to increase its efficiency. Before such measures came into...

Canadian shuffle.(Vancouver Airport Authority gives licence to Swissport instead of Worldwide Flight Services)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... In Canada, the Vancouver Airport Authority has decided not to renew the operating licence of Worldwide Flight Services. Instead, the licence has been granted to newcomer Swissport. The immediate impact of this decision is that 400...

Northwest Airlines.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... Northwest Airlines has named David Davis as its new Senior VP--Finance and Controller replacing Jeff Putnam, who has resigned.

Japan Airlines Group.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... Japan Airlines Group has appointed Katsuhiko Nawano to serve on the boards of JAL International and JAL Domestic, with responsibility for China business activities for JAL International.

Aviance.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... Richard Hunt is stepping down from his executive post at Aviance. Arthur Dodgson, who has been Deputy Chief Executive, becomes the company's new Managing Director.

Budapest Airport Handling.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... Lorant Limburger has been made MD for Budapest Airport Handling following the outsourcing of handling at the station.

easyJet.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... Former RAC chief Andrew Harrison is the new Chief Executive of easyJet. Also, Ed Winter has retired and will be replaced by Michael Szucs.

Aeroportos de Portugal.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... At ANA--Aeroportos de Portugal, the Board of Directors has changed. The new President and Vice-President are Antonio Rodrigues and Carlos Madeira respectively.

FedEx Ground.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... FedEx Ground, a small package ground carrier and an operating unit of FedEx, has named Shannon A Brown as Senior Vice President, Human Resources.

British Airways World Cargo.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... British Airways World Cargo has appointed Adam Carson as Area Manager UK and Ireland.

Ivyport.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... At Ivyport, Edwin Suarez has been appointed Ramp Supervisor.

SN Brussels Airlines.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... Management Committee Chairman Rob Kuijpers has resigned from SN Brussels Airlines.

British Airways.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... British Airways has announced that Group Treasurer and Head of Taxation Keith Williams will succeed John Rishton as CFO.

KLM.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... KLM recently elevated Barbara van Koppen to Company Secretary, succeeding Jan Ernst de Groot, who has been appointed to the new function of Executive VP--Corporate Centre.

Boeing.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... Boeing has named Jean Pritchard VP--Commercial Airplanes and Commercial Activities for Washington operations. Pritchard most recently served as Director-Commercial International Programmes for Asia and the Americas.

Alaska Air Group.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... Alaska Air Group has confirmed that George Bagley, Executive Vice President of Operations for Alaska Airlines, will retire at the end of 2005, after more than 16 years in operating roles at both Alaska and Horizon Air.

Malaysia Airlines.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... Malaysia Airlines has appointed Idris Jala to the position of MD and CEO.

KLM has appointed Peter T M Elbers to the position of Senior VP--Corporate Communications.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... KLM has appointed Peter T M Elbers to the position of Senior VP--Corporate Communications. He replaces Jan Christiaan Hellendoorn, who has taken up a new position as Head of Communications at Albert Heijn.

United Services.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... United Services has appointed Randall Crain to Director--Aircraft Sales.

ASIG.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... ASIG has named David L Aschenbach Vice President Sales & Customer Service, replacing Leif Andersson, who is set to retire later this year.

SAS Ground Services Denmark.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... Bo Eklund assumed the position of President of SAS Ground Services Denmark in October.

Atlantic Southeast Airlines.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... Bryan T LaBrecque has been named President and Chief Operating Officer of Atlantic Southeast Airlines.

Boeing-Saudi Arabia.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... Boeing has appointed Ahmed Jazzar to the new position of President of Boeing-Saudi Arabia.

Swiss.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... Swiss has elected Rolf Jetzer as its Chairman of the Board and Walter Bosch to serve as Deputy Chairman.

British Airways recently appointed Tim Steeds to the post of Director--Safety and Security.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... British Airways recently appointed Tim Steeds to the post of Director--Safety and Security. He succeeds Geoff Want, who has been promoted to Director--Ground Operations.

US Airways.(Industry moves)
December 1, 2005... US Airways has named Hal Huele as Senior VP--Technical Operations.

Aid(e) memoire: mindful of abuses at regional airports, the EU has at last addressed the issue, notes Bob Schmitz.(INDUSTRY COMMENT)
December 1, 2005... On September 6, the European Commission published its long expected new state aid guidelines, aimed at the development of regional airports whilst stopping ruthless negotiating methods used by low cost airlines to obtain illegal aid which...

Deliverance from debt: as US carriers continue to seek the haven of Chapter 11, Ken Reynolds updates us on recent changes to the bankruptcy laws.(LEGAL COLUMN)
December 1, 2005... On April 20 this year President Bush signed the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer Protection Act (hereinafter known as the "Act"). The Act, in large measure, save certain exceptions, became effective with respect to bankruptcy cases...

On the air.(AirRadio Ltd., BAA PLC)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... One of the leading providers of wireless communications for the air transport industry, AirRadio has entered into a Letter of Agreement with BAA for the supply of radio communications at the Airport Authority's seven UK airports. ...

The bigger picture.(proveo's contract with Lex Transfleet )(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... British company Lex Transfleet has signed a contract with proveo, a Germany-based IT company specialised in the optimisation of ramp processes. To win the contract, proveo bid against international competitors and now its Real-Time System...

Clean sweep for OCS.(Groundstar Ltd. to implement IT systems at Inform Software Corp.)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... INFORM has been awarded the contract for the implementation of its GroundStar IT system at OCS in the UK. With its roots firmly established at the turn of the last century, OCS has grown into the largest family owned property support...

QATAR Airways and Lufthansa Systems have entered into an agreement covering a major upgrade to the airline's IT systems.
December 1, 2005... QATAR Airways and Lufthansa Systems have entered into an agreement covering a major upgrade to the airline's IT systems. This includes the selection of FACE (Future Airline Core Environment) from Lufthansa Systems as its reservation and...

Aircargo Operations ACO, the new cargo handling arrival at Bratislava airport.
December 1, 2005... * Aircargo Operations ACO, the new cargo handling arrival at Bratislava airport, will be the third new customer this year for Lufthansa Systems' ELWIS (Electronic Logistics & Warehouse Information System) freight handling system, following...

Virgin Nigeria, a joint venture between Virgin Atlantic and major Nigerian financial institutions, has outsourced its passenger revenue accounting operation to Mercator.
December 1, 2005... * Virgin Nigeria, a joint venture between Virgin Atlantic and major Nigerian financial institutions, has outsourced its passenger revenue accounting operation to Mercator. This critical process, which converts the information printed on used...

St Paul gets CUTE.(common-user terminal, St Paul airport)
December 1, 2005... The growth of Minneapolis St Paul airport has created the need for outsourced IT support for its new infrastructure and to that end the airport authority has appointed ServiceTec Airport Services International and SITA to provide the...

Russian Sabre dance.(Aeroflot Russian International Airlines)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Aeroflot Russian Airlines has demonstrated significant progress in its technology upgrade project, which started in March this year. At a recent press conference in Moscow, the Russian flag carrier launched a pilot version of its new online...

Business change--or change of business? November 28-30, 2005, Athens.
December 1, 2005... Dear colleagues I have always appreciated the highly inventive and provocative themes of the Ground Handling International Conference. I assume many of you will still remember last year's presentation by Chris Smith of SH&E and his...

Ramp Safety Awards 2005.(Ground Handling International Conference)(Advertisement)
December 1, 2005... Now in its third year, the Ramp Safety Awards Ceremony has become a popular feature within the framework of the GHI Conference. This year, the Ramp Safety Awards will be presented by Stephen Sackur of the BBC during the event's Gala...

The far East: plenty of activity around the region suggests that business is holding up well.
December 1, 2005... Was 2004-2005 all about cargo--or was progress made in other sectors, too? For Jon Conway at least, Director and General Manager at Hong Kong Airport Services, freight figured largely in his retrospective. "Once again, airlines are...

A paperless proposition: throw away your fax machines and sell off the A4, for the tide is inexorably turning against paper-based systems.
December 1, 2005... The dates have been published. The vendors have set out their stalls. The future face of passenger and cargo business will never be the same again--for the future will be one that embraces IT, rather than trees. If we are truthful, the...

Turkisk delight: for the IATA conference delegates this year we have chosen a picturesque course that captures the flavour of this beautiful country.(EIGHTH ANNUAL GHI/IGHC GOLF CLASSIC)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... The KG&CC Golf Club is, without question, Istanbul's most impressive golf club. The course itself is 6,300 metres long and a par 73. Set amongst the rolling hills of the Belgrad Forest, the Kemer offers a championship golf course of rare...

Oktoberfest: this year saw undiminished interest in the services sector, with plenty of GSE on show.(ground support equipment )
December 1, 2005... With a total area of 50,000 square metres available, 563 exhibitors from 31 countries put on show their products and services. The organisers reported over 12,000 trade visitors during the event, which represented an increase of 5% over 2004....

Winning the sweep stakes: for the MD of OCS Transport, tidying up is all in a day's work.
December 1, 2005... Being unencumbered by a lifetime spent in the aviation sector, Martin Gammon is fortunate enough to be able to view the industry, to an extent, through an outsider's eyes. Some of his key interests are those espoused within the pages of this...

Aviapartner has announced the agreement of a major three year contract with Lufthansa for the provision of ramp handling services for the Lufthansa Regional Fleet at Cologne-Bonn airport.(Contract News)
December 1, 2005... Aviapartner has announced the agreement of a major three year contract with Lufthansa for the provision of ramp handling services for the Lufthansa Regional Fleet at Cologne-Bonn airport. The contract came into effect in September.

For the first time in history, Icelandair has changed its ground handling supplier at Stockholm-Arlanda airport.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... For the first time in history, Icelandair has changed its ground handling supplier at Stockholm-Arlanda airport. Effective from November 1, Nordic Aero began carrying out handling duties for the carrier. The contract includes passenger...

ASIG has begun to offer services for both VARIG and EOS Airlines at John F Kennedy International.(VARIG and EOS Airlines )(Aircraft Service International Group)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... ASIG has begun to offer services for both VARIG and EOS Airlines at John F Kennedy International airport, adding an additional 21 weekly flights serviced at the airport. Back in May, ASIG commenced full ground handling and passenger...

SkyWest Airlines took over the ground handling work for United Express at the Aspen/Pitkin County airport in October.(Contract News)
December 1, 2005... SkyWest Airlines took over the ground handling work for United Express at the Aspen/Pitkin County airport in October, although Air Wisconsin continues to operate United Express flights.

Swissport has taken over the handling of easyJet at Geneva.(Contract News)
December 1, 2005... Swissport has taken over the handling of easyJet at Geneva where it will provide the carrier with a full range of ground handling facilities.

SkyWest Airlines has announced the ground handling transition of six United Express mountain resort destinations.(Contract News)
December 1, 2005... SkyWest Airlines has announced the ground handling transition of six United Express mountain resort destinations. Effective from September, SkyWest Airlines assumed ground handling service at Eagle/Vail, Gunnison/Crested Butte and...

Servisair/GlobeGround.(Contract News)
December 1, 2005... Servisair/GlobeGround has taken over the ramp handling contract at Los Angeles and began passenger and ramp handling services at Tobago for Virgin.

Servisair and Shell Fuel Services.(Contract News)
December 1, 2005... Servisair and Shell Fuel Services have been awarded the into-plane fuelling contract for Southwest Airlines at Burbank Glendale Pasadena airport, effective with the first flight in September 2005.

Aviapartner has signed a major three-year contract with SAS Scandinavian Airlines for the provision of ramp handling services at both Dusseldorf and Hanover airports.(Contract News)
December 1, 2005... Aviapartner has signed a major three-year contract with SAS Scandinavian Airlines for the provision of ramp handling services at both Dusseldorf and Hanover airports, which took effect on October 1.

Flightcare has successfully bid for the new Aerolinas Argentinas route, which will see the carrier flying twice a week between Barcelona and Buenos Aires.(Contract News)
December 1, 2005... Flightcare has successfully bid for the new Aerolinas Argentinas route, which will see the carrier flying twice a week between Barcelona and Buenos Aires. The contract is open-ended and will encompass both ramp and cargo handling.

TNT has signed up Flightcare in Liege for a passenger services contract.(Contract News)
December 1, 2005... TNT has signed up Flightcare in Liege for a passenger services contract. The first flight serviced was on September 30.

The big draw: the imminent arrival of the A380 has given the pushback sector fresh impetus.(Munich's InterAirport show)
December 1, 2005... Munich's InterAirport show had no shortage of pushback tractors on display this year and you can read about those present in the article elsewhere in the issue. The preceding year, though, has seen steady, if unspectacular sales of this big...

Counting the cost.(ramp incidents)
December 1, 2005... The cost of ramp incidents and accidents is reaching mammoth proportions and all the alphabet groups are now focusing on reducing the billions it costs the industry each year. The latest initiative comes from IATA and is called the Ground...

Oslo plans ahead.
December 1, 2005... The Radiant Energy Corporation, developer and marketer of InfraTek, the revolutionary, infrared aircraft de-icing system, recently announced that construction was underway of an InfraTek system at Oslo airport in Gardermoen, Norway and that...

Cutting the risk.(conventional forklift)(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... In 2003 Fraport Ground Services recorded two instances of heavy aircraft damage within the space of a month. These were down to the use of a conventional forklift, which was involved in the process of loading and unloading heavy pieces of...

Towing--without a hitch?(Chorus Motors and WheelTug )
December 1, 2005... Chorus Motors and WheelTug recently confirmed that they have designed an initial version of a WheelTug drive that can fit within the existing nosewheel hub of a B767 class aircraft: if adopted, this will obviate the requirement for a pushback...

New tractor makes its debut.(MACHINERY & EQUIPMENT UPDATE)
December 1, 2005... FMC Technologies has developed two products designed to service the new A380, thereby expanding its capabilities to serve the full range of commercial passenger and freighter aircraft. FMC Technologies' latest towbarless tractor is...

Retrospective move.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Travelling back in time is not, perhaps, the best way forward on the ramp but for one handler, 50 year old technology has come to its aid. The Mobile Freight Loading Unit is a machine that assists ground loading teams to load and unload...

All tanked up.(Brief Article)
December 1, 2005... Aviation services provider Servisair/ GlobeGround is to begin using an Allibert Helix plastic bulk tank at Manchester airport as part of a supply contract with Brotherton Speciality Products. The new Allibert Helix 55 cubic metre litre...