2013 June/July News

June 27, 2013

2013 EAA AirVenture Oshkosh
July 29-Aug.4
Oshkosh, WI

2013 Deicing Management Conference
July 31-Aug. 1
Arlington, VA

Inter airport Europe
Oct. 8-11
Munich, Germany

Business Buzz

Ground handler creates own deicing fluid: Baltic Ground Services will become the first ground handling service provider to develop, certificate and produce its own eco-friendly Type I deicing fluid in Europe. Baltic announced the successful certification of a glycerin-based Type I deicing fluid called Defrosol ADF.

Delta retrofits GSE to electric: Delta Air Lines recently partnered with Clean Cities Atlanta on a project to retrofit 35 diesel-powered GSE to all-electric units at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Conversion of the GSE units was completed in February. Hercules Engine Components repowered 24 TUG Belt Loaders, JBT Corporation repowered 11 FMC Container Loaders, while Averest, Inc. supplied the batteries for the converted units.

SATS posts higher profits: Growth in Asia's aviation sector boosted full-year profits for SATS. Earnings for the fiscal year ending last March rose 8.1 percent year on year to $184.8 million. The earnings growth came on the back of a 7.9 percent jump in sales to $1.82 billion. Spending during the time grew by 7.3 per cent to $1.63 million. In other news, SATS clinched the "Best Air Cargo Terminal in Asia" title at the 27th Asian Freight & Supply Chain Awards. It is the 15th time that SATS has received this award.

AMSS opens new factory in UK: Aircraft Maintenance Support Services opened a new $1.9 million engineering/manufacturing facility this week. The new site is set to create a minimum of 28 new jobs over the next three years, in addition to 23 already created and will enable the company to meet the growing demand for its products.

Signature opens at SIN: Signature Flight Support will open a new facility at Changi International Airport. It will provide “supervisory services” for ground handling and fuel coordination. The Changi location will be Signature’s second facility in Asia and joins its investment in the Hong Kong Business Aviation Center at Chek Lap Kok/Hong Kong International Airport.

Airline collected $6 billion in fees in 2012: U.S. airlines collected more than $6 billion in baggage and reservation change fees from passengers last year — the highest amount since the fees became common five years ago. The nation's 15 largest carriers collected a combined $3.5 billion in bag fees in 2012, up 3.8 percent from 2011, according to the Bureau of Transportation Statistics. Fees for changing a reservation totaled $2.6 billion, up 7.3 percent. Delta Air Lines once again took in the most fees — $865.9 million from baggage alone — but it also carried more passengers than any other airline. Delta collected $7.44 per passenger — about average for the industry. Low-cost carrier Spirit Airlines collected the most, an average $19.99 per passenger in baggage fees last year.

Airline takes airline-owned ground handler to court: Dutch Antilles Express had to take the Surair Ground Handling Services to the court to get services restored to its flights upon arrival at the Paramaribo-Zanderij International Airport. The president of Suriname Airways refused to provide services to DAE even though DAE made the demanded transactions to eliminate outstanding arrears and also offered to pay cash on delivery. Suriname Airways is the owner of the only terminal of the only international airport in Suriname, the owner of the only ground handling service company at the airport and is a direct competitor of DAE to Curacao and Miami.

United to offer annual packages for checked bags: United Airlines will offer customers annual subscriptions to prepay for checked bags and more legroom. Starting at $349, United passengers can prepay for checked bags for a year. The subscription also has add-ons, such as checking more than one bag and adding additional travelers.

GlobalAir upgrades rating system: Aviators can now more accurately shop for FBOs at GlobalAir.com. Pilots can view the ratings on each FBO’s page to get the overall score, or select the rating system to view a more detailed rating of the facilities’ cleanliness, front desk and line services, competitiveness of fuel price and the pilot amenities.

Mitigation work continues at LGA: The Port Authority approved $59 million for enhanced storm mitigation and recovery measures from Superstorm Sandy. At LaGuardia Airport, for example, a large generator will be installed at the pump house to ensure that water can be quickly pumped off the airfield. Approximately 100 million gallons of water flooded Delta Air Lines’ shuttle ramps at LaGuardia Airport and destroyed the airport’s Instrument Landing System Pier.

Honors for Palmer Johnson: Eaton recently named Palmer Johnson Power Systems to its list of Top 24 North American Hydraulics Group Distributors for its excellent 2012 performance as an Eaton Airflex distributor.

‘E’ Awards for AAR, Gorman-Rupp: U.S. Acting Secretary of Commerce Rebecca Blank presented AAR and The Gorman-Rupp Company with the President’s “E” Award for Exports. The “E” Awards are the highest recognition any U.S. entity may receive for making a significant contribution to the expansion of U.S. exports.

Emirates wins … again: Emirates SkyCargo won the Best Air Cargo Carrier Middle East award for the 18th consecutive year at the annual Asian Freight & Supply Chain Awards.

Shell honors FBOs for safety: ExecuJet Europe’s FBOs at Berlin Schönefeld Airport won the Shell Aviation Platinum Award for Safety and Quality. This latest accolade marks five consecutive years the Berlin FBO has been presented the award. In addition, ExecuJet’s FBO at Frankfurt am Main International Airport won the Shell Bronze Award for Safety and Quality, after being in operation for just one year.

United opens kennel at ORD: United Airlines has opened a new, on-airport kennel facility at its Chicago O'Hare International Airport hub. The kennel, which is located inside United's new cargo facility, has 28 individual enclosures. The O'Hare facility also has a fleet of specially built, temperature-controlled PetSafe vans that the airline uses exclusively to transport pets to and from its Chicago flights.

New Deals

  • Dubai-based flight support specialist Hadid International Services has launched a partnership with Saudi Arabia's Wallan Aviation to offer ground handling for business aircraft across Saudi Arabia.
  • Cryotech Deicing Technology and Proviron will introduce Polar Guard® II, a Type II aircraft deicer. This fluid is certified to AMS standard 1428 and specifically designed for the European market.
  • Frankfurt Airport awarded ACCIONA Service a seven-year contract to provide handling services at the airport until 2020. The company competed with five others for the only ground handling concession at the airport.
  • Turkish Airlines, Air Baltic and Monarch Airlines have chosen Air Malta as the preferred ground handling partner at Malta International Airport. Starting this summer the airlines will operate more than 140 flights to and from Malta.
  • ATS Euromaster mobile technicians will be working airside after winning a contract to inspect, fit and service tires for TCR. Technicians at nine of the UK's largest airport will conduct monthly comprehensive tire safety inspections for GSE and provide TCR with a report listing needed work.
  • Dnata purchased the 50 percent stake it hadn't already owned in Italy's Servair Airchef. The in-flight caterer with nearly 700 employees has a presence in 23 airports in Italy.
  • Swissport International Ltd. signed a contract with Service-VS, the ground handling operator at Vnukovo Airport, to launch a joint-venture and mark the first time Swissport has done business in the Russian Federation. Service-VS has more than 1,300 employees and more than 500 units of ground aviation, which allows to serve more than 100,000 flights a year.
  • WheelTug and airberlin have signed a letter of intent, which gives Germany's second largest airline the opportunity to become one of the world's first airlines to install the system on part of its fleet after the drive technology has been certified.
  • NTL Aviation Services will provide customer service, baggage handling and aircraft cleaning to QantasLink at the Mildura Airport. NTL provides similar services for regional airlines in New South Wales, Tasmania and Victoria.
  • Etihad Airways has acquired three airport services companies to accelerate and consolidate the development of in-flight catering services, ground handling and cargo operations at Abu Dhabi International Airport. Formerly part of Abu Dhabi Airports Company, the three companies, Abu Dhabi Airport Services, Abu Dhabi In-Flight Catering and Abu Dhabi Cargo Company, are being incorporated, subject to regulatory approvals, into Etihad Airport Services

People In The News

Jerry Derusha, Premier Engineering & Manufacturing, was on hand to accept the Equipment Provider of the Year for 2012 by Southwest Airlines' GSE department - the second year in a row the deicing manufacturer has won the award. The award started in 2007 as an expansion of the GSE department's employee recognition program. The entire GSE staff nominates and then selects the winner based on criteria ranging from customer and parts support to training and warranty.

Swissport International Ltd. announced that John Batten, executive vice president, cargo services, and a member of Swissport's Group Executive Management will step down from his position effective Aug. 31 to pursue new opportunities. Batten joined Swissport from Qatar Airways in August 2008. “His contribution has been pivotal to the success of the Swissport’s Cargo Division”, says Per H. Utnegaard, group president and CEO of Swissport. “Swissport is very grateful for John's dedication and exceptional contribution over the past five years.”

In other news, Swissport International appointed Steen Georg Pedersen as commercial director, integrator handling, effective.

Paul Nutter joined ABC Industries, Inc.’s industrial ventilation ducting division as a product manager with an emphasis on airline, dehumidification/restoration and distributor development. Nutter brings over 20 years of outside sales experience to ABC. In his new role, Nutter will be responsible for building and managing customer accounts and new product development. He will also work closely with inside sales to assure all aspects of customer service are executed in a timely, accurate manner.

Mike Beck was named vice president and general manager of the fuel and motion control systems division for Eaton’s Aerospace Group. Most recently, Beck was the chief executive officer of GKN Aerospace Engine Systems Business where he led the due diligence, business synergies and integration of a $1.1 billion acquisition. Prior to that, he was president and chief executive officer for GKN’s propulsion systems and special products business where he led a global organization with 15 manufacturing locations.

Three more senior executives of Kingfisher Airlines Ltd, including Saurav Sinha, chief information officer, Capt. Ronald Nagar, flight operations head and Ajit Bagchi, cabin crew dead, have quit the grounded carrier. Their resignations come close on the heels of Hitesh Patel, executive vice president and Murali Ramachandran, ground handling chief reportedly parting ways with the airline.