Blog Archives
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Tow Bars Really Do Break When You Least Expect It
By John Goglia - Monday August 27, 2012
I know I’ve written about tow bars breaking before in this space. But it’s always worth repeating since a lot of tug drivers seem to drive as though that possibility never occurred to them. Coupled with the drivers perhaps driving a little too fast, I all too frequently see aircraft towed with no one in the cockpit – even though most ground operations manuals require it. Sometimes this is the fault of the ground handling company that doesn’t want to pay for the extra personnel. But sometimes it’s the aircraft owner who doesn’t want anyone in the cockpit who isn’t a direct employee. Security concerns are often the main reason for this decision. Aircraft owners, however, are justifiably picky about the interiors of their... -
Ramp’s Eye View Of Private Flying
By John Goglia - Tuesday August 14, 2012
Once in a while, it’s wonderful to fly on a private jet. OK, it’s always wonderful. A taste of flying private spoils you from the moment your car pulls up to the aircraft. Yes, pulls up to the aircraft. And, of course, there are no check-in lines. No TSA hassles. No lost luggage issues. There is food that’s actually edible, that, in fact, tastes good. Not to mention flying at 43,000 feet far from everyone else. I had the opportunity last week to fly in a brand-new Lear jet from a small general aviation airport in New England to a fairly small commercial airport in Florida. I’m still thinking about how hassle-free that experience was. But of course, on the ground, my attention was focused on ramp operations. With no bag belts... -
Decent Wages for Ramp Workers?
By John Goglia - Tuesday July 31, 2012
Of course, it comes as no surprise to me that ramp workers in a major U.S city are not paid a lot. But to see them highlighted in a study reported in The New York Times is dismaying indeed. According to the Times , the study listed “the city’s worst low-wage employers and industries, those that pay inadequately and fail to offer decent benefits.” Prominent for me on that list were airline contractors who provide baggage handlers and cabin cleaners. I know that the airlines look to the lowest bidder for these jobs, but I also know that the lack of training and turnover among employees – probably caused in good part by the poor wages and benefits – causes problems for the contractors who hire these employees and the... -
Lightning Precautions For Ramp Workers
By John Goglia - Tuesday July 17, 2012Waiting for pushback the other day on a flight with a short connecting time for yet another flight, the Captain announced an indefinite delay because of weather – lightning in the area of the airport, to be precise. While I was worried about making my connection in Charlotte, I was also glad that activity on the ramp had stopped to wait out the danger of a high-voltage discharge of atmospheric electricity anywhere near people working outside at the airport. And near doesn’t mean right over the airport either. Lightning can travel miles from its source. I believe I have heard as many as 10 miles. And an airport is basically an open field with aircraft tails usually the highest obstacle. Closing the ramp during electrical storms was... -
Summer Heat Precautions On The Ramp
By John Goglia - Tuesday July 3, 2012
The first sweltering days of summer are here in the Northeast, and I can’t help but think what it’s like for workers on the ramp. Extreme heat and humidity causes fatigue and delays reaction time. Many of us on the safety side of aviation have long considered fatigue to be a major factor in incidents and accidents. It could well be a significant factor or at least a contributing factor in the high incidence of ground damage at airports around the country. Extreme changes in temperature appear to affect workers more than consistently high temperatures, probably because people adapt in countries like India – where temperatures this past May during my travels there were more than 110 degrees for days at a time. So it’s... -
A Peek At India’s Aviation Future At HYD
By John Goglia - Tuesday June 19, 2012While India’s growth rate may have slowed in recent months, its aviation growth is still expected to be significant, especially when compared to the rest of the world (except maybe China). I had the privilege to spend several weeks in Hyderabad, India – a city of enormous contrasts. While the old city is comparable to many of India’s older metropolises, it has a brand-new, high-tech image with corporations such as Microsoft, Google and Honeywell building major corporate centers. The airport at HYD is an image of India’s aviation future. With its very modern, high-tech airport it also has the luxury of extremely low labor costs. And it obviously takes advantage of those low labor rates in its ground operations. As usual, I... -
Ramp Watch At LHR
By John Goglia - Tuesday June 5, 2012
As readers of my blog surely know by now, if I have a few hours to kill at an airport, I spend the time watching ramp operations. Some people – I suppose, a lot of people – would be spending that time shopping or getting food or a drink in the bar. To each his/her own. I find airport ramps fascinating, in part, because for all the talk of standardization, I have yet to find an airport whose ramp operations match those at another airport. There’s always some variation, seems to me. Last week, with five hours to kill before my next flight, I had a good bit of time to observe the ramp at London Heathrow Airport. I know I’ve mentioned how impressed I’ve been with their ramp side operations. They did not disappoint. One of the... -
Is Your Airport Taking Advantage Of The VALE Program?
By John Goglia - Tuesday May 15, 2012
I know a lot of people roll their eyes when they think of applying for federal funding for anything. Red tape and lots of it comes to mind almost immediately. But the VALE (Voluntary Airport Low Emissions) program may have some advantages over the typical federal program – and may help replace old, polluting GSE with newer, more environmentally-friendly equipment. And that can be a win-win-win-win for clean-energy GSE manufacturers, GSE owners/operators, the airports, and of course, those of us who breathe the air at and around airports. A couple of criteria: Only projects at commercial service airports are eligible for VALE funding and these airports must be in so-called air quality non-attainment or maintenance areas. These are... -
GAO Faults FAA And NTSB On Ramp Safety Data
By John Goglia - Monday April 30, 2012
It will certainly come as no surprise to readers of this blog that government agencies do not give ramp areas the same level of attention to safety they give to airline operations, maintenance or other areas of an airport, such as runways and taxiways. Some may be happy to leave the Federal Aviation Administration or National Transportation Safety Board out of their ramp business and do not want a safety spotlight shined on ramp activities. I know I might have felt that way myself when I ran my FBO. But my years on the NTSB convinced me that this lack of official attention can also foster a lack of respect for the critical safety impact of ramp functions. In addition, ramp incidents and accidents are very costly and analysis of incident... -
Cameras On The Jet Bridge
By John Goglia - Tuesday April 17, 2012
I was talking the other day with a gate agent at Delta and he was telling me what a difference it makes when there's a camera under the jet bridge. It's so much easier to avoid damage to property and injuries to people when you can see what's around the jet bridge. I know from my own experience how difficult it is to maneuver jet bridges in a congested space, especially with the pressure to make a schedule and without the number of people that used to be available to assist on the ground. So why aren't more cameras deployed at airport jet bridges? Many cars have backup cameras as standard features yet we expect gate agents to maneuver large, awkward pieces of equipment without being able to see the hazards around them. These cameras...
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