Blog Archives
-
IATA IGOM Webinar
By Steve Smith - Tuesday October 16, 2012We hosted an IATA IGOM Webinar last week, which attracted almost 400 people from around the world to register. Attendees heard a discussion of IGOM from Joseph Suidan, head of ground operations, IATA, and Captain Peter Laasner, senior manager of ground operations, Swiss European Air Lines and chairman of the IGOM Task Force. If the AHM is “what” to do, the IGOM is “how” to do it. The main idea is to provide a single industry manual that standardizes procedures, which ISAGO can audit. Undoubtedly, the key benefit of IGOM is to improve ramp safety. On hand to field questions were Michael Thuersam, head of quality, health and safety, Swissport (and also vice chairman of the IGOM Task Force); Max Corsi, manager of airport... -
New Companies, New Markets, New Materials
By Steve Smith - Tuesday October 9, 2012
We’ve been traveling for the past two weeks to trade shows and continue to see how wrong the notion is that there’s nothing new in GSE. Last week, we traveled to Atlanta and saw how one company is using synthetic material used in bullet-proof vests to make lighter cargo containers. And we visited with another company using a water-proof barrier that’s underneath the siding of most every new home built in the past few decades to insulate those same containers. On the last leg of our show tour, we met a company making modern-day blimps capable of carrying cargo to the most remote locations. (By the way, if you ever want to travel to Stuttgart and buy a Porsche right off the assembly line, we know the guys that can ship it back... -
Seat Belts On Order For GSE
By Steve Smith - Tuesday October 2, 2012
One topic of discussion we heard from every GSE manager we talked with at last week’s International Airport Expo was on seat belts. They are definitely on the way. Recall the big news earlier this year when Delta agreed to install seat belts on all its GSE following the death of a ground handler. About the only issue left to debate is on when a driver wouldn’t need to be belted. In some cases, it might be safer to be able to jump clear of the vehicle and do it fast. Some raised the death of a Southwest ground handler who died when his vehicle collided with a passenger transport bus as an example. Then again, others pointed out that the worker no doubt wasn’t wearing a seatbelt anyway. Most agreed that within close proximity of... -
Why Fight When You Can Switch?
By Steve Smith - Monday September 24, 2012I'll be traveling to Las Vegas today to attend the International Airport Expo. I won't spoil the surprise, but I know there will be an interesting new vehicle on display from a company well-known for electric GSE. Thing is this won't be electric. Anyone who wants to go anywhere will need to fill the tank with gas or diesel depending on the engine. This company's been successful selling eGSE, but the executive I spoke to last week says the pie just isn't big enough for electric in this country. Maybe only a couple a hundred vehicles when it comes to this type for the whole year. So why fight when you can switch? Not that long after my conversation, however, a press release came our way from Corvus announcing a new deal with... -
Safety Down Under
By Steve Smith - Tuesday September 18, 2012I’ve always been impressed by what I receive from the Australiasian Aviation Ground Safety Council . The group’s monthly newsletter, Safety Watch , is always packed with news on this important subject. The AAGSC’s LinkedIn Group also has great discussions, too. Finally, member Norman Hogwood – a past contributor to Ground Support Worldwide – has always kept me informed of the group’s milestones. Considering I and fellow blogger John Goglia have posted news on un safety lately, I was curious what Norman’s take might be. Mind you, we didn't conduct an extensive interview. We asked him one big question - What's the biggest difference between ground handling in the U.S. and elsewhere? So what is the biggest... -
Rushed? Just Sloppy? Or Rushed And Sloppy?
By Steve Smith - Tuesday September 11, 2012Temperatures were in in the high 70s under sunny skies at Newark Liberty International Airport Sunday, when a United Airlines employee driving a deicing truck hit the port-side engine of one of the airline’s 757s. Deicing in that weather? Well, luckily no one was hurt and the plane wasn’t scheduled for flight – if only because it was serving as a deicing drill. “Our crews were conducting deicing training on an aircraft and the deicing mechanism did come into contact with the aircraft, but there was no one on the aircraft,” a United spokeperson told local reporters. “There is damage. We’re evaluating and we will make repairs.” This news came my way yesterday afternoon. I’ve since tried to find out more and will... -
We’ll Be Turning 20 Soon
By Steve Smith - Tuesday September 4, 2012We’re planning to celebrate the magazine’s 20 th birthday next year. To be exact, February’s edition of Ground Support Worldwide will mark the date, and we’ll certainly have plenty in that issue to highlight the occasion. However, that issue will also serve as our show issue for Aviation ProsLIVE, March 12-14, 2013, at the Las Vegas Convention Center. As a result, we’re also planning other events, ceremonies and educational displays at the show to help all our readers celebrate the GSE industry. I’ve found a number of items to help us look ahead at what GSE might look like in the future. One of the maxims of publishing any anniversary issue is to look forward perhaps more than look back. However, I’ve also learned... -
Some Good News
By Steve Smith - Tuesday August 28, 2012
U.S. airlines are not only on time, but passengers and their bags are more likely to be reunited at their final destinations. So says the latest data from the Department of Transportation. Here are two highlights: Nearly 84 percent of domestic flights arrived within 15 minutes of scheduled arrival time in the first half of this year – a record high since the DOT began tracking these numbers almost 15 years ago. Fewer than three suitcases per 1,000 passengers were reported lost, damaged or delayed during the same time frame – in this case, a record low. If the last six months of this year are anything like the first, the airline industry will end 2012 with its best numbers since 1991. Wondering about the worst? Just 73... -
Our Digital Side
By Steve Smith - Tuesday August 21, 2012
My first job came complete with a typewriter. Computer? The office did have a mainframe that only one person could command. I remember I needed to give this manager 10 business days just to get a printout -dot matrix, of course - of mailing labels. High tech? We did have in-house typesetting that spit out all of one column of news print that then had to be cut with a razor-sharp knife and glued – yes, glued – to a board. Things changed. But my line of work hasn’t seen anything like the past few years. The digital world has completely remade how I cover and how you consume the news. We can find information instantly on Google. Twitter and Facebook allow any of us to post news, share an insight, add our 2 cents and reach out... -
A Club Of Our Own
By Steve Smith - Tuesday August 14, 2012I’ve been with Ground Support Worldwide for one full year now. One aspect of this job I found different from other editorial posts I’ve held is the lack of a bona-fide trade association for the ground support industry. Most readers of B2B magazines, for example, belong primarily to one trade association, but might have others to join that cover industry specialties. Typically, the main class of membership for a trade group spotlights the needs of a particular occupation or business, but another class of membership is also open to manufacturers of products and services used by the main class. Sure, there are subsets of IATA that cater to ground support issues. And after coming on board last year, I heard about the Aviation Ground...
Sign Up
for FREE newsletters
Events
-
- 05/21/13 - 05/23/13
- EBACE2013
-
Conference/Expo, Geneva,
-
- 06/03/13 - 06/03/13
- Ultrasonic Testing Level 1 Course
-
Training, Lewistown, PA
-
- 06/03/13 - 06/06/13
- ACI-NA Marketing & Communications and JumpStart & Air Service Development Program
-
Conference/Expo, Atlanta, GA
-
- 06/04/13 - 06/05/13
- 2013 Small Airports Conference in conjunction with the JumpStart & Air Service Development Program
-
Conference/Expo, Atlanta, GA
-
- 06/05/13 - 06/06/13
- ITQI: Improving Training Provision Conference
-
Conference/Expo, London,
