Keeping Stride with the Industry

I’ve been fortunate to travel quite a bit lately and visit individuals in the industry to learn about their operations. It’s so important to immerse oneself in the industry in an effort to gain insight into the day-to-day operations and issues that affect the readership.

The past few months have brought visits with American Airlines at two locations. The first was at its JFK operation. I toured the new cargo facility as well as two GSE maintenance shops, all of which were featured in our May issue.

While in New York, I was also able to visit the new Sage Parts facility and gain an understanding of the company’s products and services. Before leaving New York, I was also able to meet with Peter Stearn of Fortbrand Services.

Shortly thereafter, I visited American Airlines at its deicing operation at O’Hare. I spoke with the crew about its operations and got a first-hand look at some of their equipment. To learn about the latest activities at American’s deicing station at O’Hare, please visit our website at www.groundsupportworldwide.com to read about it.

I would like to extend a special thank you to everyone who took the time to speak with me and show me their operations.

In May, I went to San Diego for the 23rd IGHC Annual Meeting and 3rd Ground Operations Symposium, where I had the pleasure of meeting individuals from all over the world and the opportunity to learn about operations in their respective regions. I also attended seminars on a wide array of subjects, including greening the ramp and ground damage prevention. To read more about the symposium, please turn to page 21.

That trip was closely followed by a visit to the Regional Airline Association convention in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Again, thank you to everyone who has taken the time to speak with me about their operations. I intend to keep myself out in the industry, and I look forward to visiting many more locations in the near future.

Thanks for reading,