Blog Archives
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Promoted to Supervisor from the Floor or Frontline – What Do I Do Now?
By ServiceElements, Christine Hill - Wednesday February 29, 2012Management Scenario: Mike has been a maintenance technician at XYZ Aviation for 18 years. He is the most knowledgeable and dependable maintenance professional on his team. Jerry, his supervisor, recently retired after 35 years on the job. Mike was promoted to Maintenance Supervisor because of his experience and commitment to the company. Mike was of course thrilled with the promotion, but he has had some challenges. The guys on the floor are all his buddies, so it has been a tough transition from “buddy” to supervisor. It has also been difficult for Mike because he has never had any formal management training with tips on how to be a successful leader. This scenario happens quite frequently in the aviation/aerospace industry... -
A Pleasant Surprise!
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday February 29, 2012I have spent many years marketing flight training, with varying results. This week I got a pleasant surprise. WNC Aviation, Asheville, NC, (hereinafter called WNC, which, BTW, stands for Western North Carolina) is actually selling flight instruction with what is to me a new and unique marketing tool in the aviation industry. Groupon, as many of you know, is an online company that distributes coupons across the nation and—so far—in 44 other countries around the world. They send me notices of such deals for my area every day, and I read them to see if there’s a bargain that I want or need. This week, to my amazement, there was a coupon deal from WNC. The coupon provided an hour of simulator training for half price. Let... -
See You Next Week In Vegas
By Steve Smith - Tuesday February 28, 2012All the “AviationPros” will be heading to Las Vegas next week for the Cygnus Aviation Expo , March 7-9. I’ll be glad to meet everyone I can so stop by our booth No. 408 for a visit. In the meantime, here’s a recap of some events presented for Ground Support Worldwide readers. Green GSE Seminars March 8 in the Exhibit Hall Theater Going Green At US Airways Express 1:30-2:30 p.m. US Airways Express/Piedmont Airlines has used electric GSE at many of its locations for years, in particular at the Charlotte-Douglas International Airport and the Philadelphia International Airport. In fact, electricity powers a major portion of its baggage tractors and belt loaders at these busy airports. The seminar promises to share... -
Training Ramp Workers
By John Goglia - Tuesday February 28, 2012
One of my pet peeves when I ran my own FBO was training the ramp guys. There never seemed to be enough time – and the customer never wanted to spend any money – getting the ramp guys trained to the customer's needs. After all, customers usually call the shots on how they want their aircraft loaded and unloaded, fueled, etc. So all the training ended up being OJT – "on the job," for those of you who may be reading me outside the country. OJT probably ends up costing everyone more in the long run. In my experience, unless OJT is formalized it rarely results in the same level of training as a structured course – which does not have to be a very long course to be effective. Sometimes, a day or two of classroom-style training can pay... -
NATA Hosts a Webinar on FAA Reauthorization ...
By Brad McAllister - Wednesday February 22, 2012
The webinar presentation, conducted on Tuesday, February 21, states, "NATA is pleased that Congress was able to reach agreement on a number of differences, enabling a final agreement on legislation to reauthorize the FAA." Public Law 112-95 (H.R. 658) contains several provistions sponsored by the association including consistency of regulatory interpretations and the study of Part 135 operations. Comments National Air Transportation Association (NATA) VP Eric Byer, "One of the biggest issues that we have had is dealing with regulatory consistency. One of the things we see at the local level are FSDOs that repeatedly have differing interpretations on a variety of different rules and regulations. "Another area we continue to struggle... -
How to Manage & Address Ambiguous and Awkward PAX/Customer Interactions While Maintaining Professionalism
By ServiceElements, Christine Hill - Wednesday February 22, 2012Sometimes: 1. Situation: Passenger/Customer will engage in conversations which are highly sensitive, for example, a recent decision made by service provider’s management. 2. Response: Aviation service provider has no answer or avoids providing a response. 3. Result: An awkward and sometimes embarrassing conversation. Try these suggestion for possible responses instead (if you can) : 1. Passenger/Customer will engage in conversations which are highly sensitive . 2. Aviation service provider listens carefully. 3. And: Promises to respond as soon as possible. Promises to follow up with an answer either personally or via department... -
Everyday Stress And Sprain
By Steve Smith - Tuesday February 21, 2012We recently reported on www.AviationPros.com that a Southwest Airlines ramp worker died when the baggage tractor he was driving hit a passenger shuttle at Dulles International Airport. Then, just a week later, we posted news that a ramp worker at Washington State's Paine Field Airport got trapped under the wheels of a Boeing 787 as it was towed. When we think of ramp accidents, we tend to imagine the worst. However, at the same time we reported these two unfortunate accidents, we were also interviewing D. Bradley Keith, Aircraft Service International Group's director of health, safety, environmental and training, on two safety programs – a corporate program called ZIPP for "Zero Injury Philosophy + Process," as well as one of... -
AMT IA Renewal Exam
For many years AMT Magazine has provided an annual AMT Recurrent Training Exam with questions based on AMT's past year's print and the Online Exclusive articles. You can search through your own copies, read the individual articles online, and as you know this exam is good for four hours toward your IA renewal and six hours credit for the FAA AMT Awards program with a passing score of 85% correct answers. Late last year all of the Cygnus Aviation properties, including AMT , combined together into the very interactive portal known as AviationPros.com. During the roll-over from the old amtonline.com website to the new AviationPros.com portal it appears several of last year’s Online Exclusive articles inadvertently did not roll-over... -
Time Mode - "Time Wasters"
By ServiceElements, Christine Hill - Wednesday February 15, 2012This is the final article in this series about “making time count” in the workplace. The four categories of activities that most professionals spend doing on a typical workday: Firefighting; Attention Getters; Capacity Building; and Time Wasters . This week we will highlight the final category of activity: Time Wasters. Time Wasters are activities that are done each day that do not result in any productivity. If an inordinate amount of time is spent surfing the web, playing computer games, watching television, or visiting every co-worker who will listen to a good story, then time is being wasted . Time management gurus will tell us that nobody really plans to waste time, so time wasters cannot be described as proactive... -
Paschal’s Is Different
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday February 15, 2012Someday I want to write a book titled “Good Places to Eat in American Airports.” So far, it would be a short story. Most airport eateries are good places to get un-hungry. You eat there because you must, not because you want to. There’s a great bar-b-cue place in one of the Texas airports, but I never can remember which one. There’s been a great little restaurant at the Monroe, LA airport for years. I remember eating there in the very early 1970s and 1980s. Then there’s Paschal’s at—of all places—the Atlanta airport (ATL). Paschal’s is just different. When connecting through ATL I can always figure out how to have a meal at Paschal’s. The Paschals—an African-American family (why in the world...
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