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Help Wanted: FBO Management Certificate Courses
By John Goglia - Tuesday December 18, 2012As you may know, I am president of the Independent Fixed Base Operators Association whose mission it is to assist wherever we can small to medium-sized FBOs. It's a competitive world out there and competing against some of the major players can be a daily challenge. And the competition extends to the most qualified supervisors and managers. I am constantly hearing from operators how difficult it is to recruit qualified managers, especially when employee turnover is high as people leave FBOs for higher-paying jobs, often with the airlines. One of our missions at the association is to help provide the knowledge and skills FBO employees require to manage their organizations. To that end, I have been working with an aeronautical college... -
Globalization and Understanding Diversity
By ServiceElements, Christine Hill - Wednesday December 12, 2012The term “globalization” has been making its way into our business conversations more often these days. What does globalization mean to us personally in our work environment? How is it impacting our jobs and how we do business? This industry is leading the charge in globalization . In fact, you might say we are a key instrument for it since aviation is all about travel and reaching other destinations. Executives are traveling to distant lands more frequently to conduct business, and business people from other cultures are entering our business realms on a more regular basis. Misunderstandings because of cultural diversity and individual perceptions have long been a source of conflict and miscommunication. Therefore, they also... -
Getting Ready For AviationPros LIVE
By Steve Smith - Tuesday December 11, 2012
AviationPros LIVE, our annual conference and trade show that brings together the readers and advertisers of Ground Support Worldwide , and our sister publications Airport Business and AMT , will be held March 13-14 at the Las Vegas Convention Center. The name of the show might be new, but as always attendees will have the chance to meet manufacturers and learn about the latest products and services on the exhibit floor, network during show events and take advantage of education seminars geared to ground support equipment. This year, Ground Support Worldwide will host two seminars each on March 13: Funding Options For Electric GSE, 11 a.m.-12 noon Neal Wolfe, a senior consultant with LeighFisher, to discuss not just... -
AviationPros LIVE 2013
By Ronald Donner - Thursday December 6, 2012As this year soon comes to a close, many of us have already turned attention toward aviation tradeshow planning for next year. For all of us here at Cygnus Business Media, planning for AviationPros LIVE, formerly the Cygnus Aviation Expo is in full swing. Details and specific sessions will be available in the weeks ahead in Aircraft Maintenance Technology, Airport Business, and Ground Support Worldwide magazines, as well as regular updates on this website. We are very pleased to announce that AviationPros LIVE has partnered with Boyd Group International for the 2013 event. Michael Boyd, chairman of Boyd Group International, will outline the major issues facing aviation today and provide keen insight into the best and worst... -
What Would Thomas Jefferson Say About TSA?
By Art Kosatka - Wednesday December 5, 2012
Actually, I think we can come pretty close. I’ll admit it’s been taken just a tad out of context from The Declaration of Independence, where Jefferson was referring to the British Government sending additional customs officials and courts of admiralty into the colonies to enforce trade laws and prevent smuggling. But the operative phrase in founding our great nation was: “ He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harass our people and eat out their substance. ” In the opinion of many, that description fits TSA just fine, the difference being that it's not the King of England, but our own government that seems to have gotten out of hand. There have been several recent Congressional hearings... -
Out With The Old — In With The Older
By Ralph Hood - Wednesday December 5, 2012
Airport Business online, reporting on an NPR All things Considered Program, brought out a trend that I had not really noticed. Regional flights are reversing past trends by returning to turbo-prop — rather than jet — aircraft. This is a fuel-saving move, and Regional Airline Association President Roger Cohen says we can expect this to continue. Predicting what airlines will purchase and operate has always been a difficult and risky job. The first such wave I remember was the original switch from piston-powered airliners to jets in the 1950s and 1960s. The president of Eastern Airlines was WWI ace Captain Eddie Rickenbacker. Under his direction, Eastern enjoyed the unbelievable honor of being the first U.S. airline to operate... -
Taxibot Demo Day
By Steve Smith - Tuesday December 4, 2012
We got a first-hand look at the Taxibot towing system during a special demonstration put on for the media on the Monday before Thanksgiving at Chateauroux Airport. “Someday you can say you were a passenger of the very first jet towed by a Taxibot,” said Ran Braier, Taxibot project director for the Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd., as we sat inside an A320 with the pilot firmly at the controls of both the plane and the Taxibot underneath. Yes, you heard that right. The pilot controls the speed of the Taxibot and essentially steers the vehicle with his tiller during towing procedures that, ideally, take the plane all the way to the runway without any power wasted from the plane’s engines. There are a few characteristics that... -
Social Media Branding with Pinterest and Instagram
By Agnes Huff - Wednesday November 28, 2012Keeping up with the latest social media tools is not an easy task. But forward thinking airports tend to be the early adopters who benefit from getting in ahead of the competition. Now is the time for airports that are not already using Pinterest and Instagram to reach their travelers, to get on board. From generating interest in your airport to catching the attention of travellers with the new wave of social media, Pinterest and Instagram are essential tools for savvy airport marketers. Pinterest just recently launched business accounts and Instagram can be used in a fun and creative way to grab the public’s attention. Pinterest is considered the third largest social network in the world with about four million visitors a day. The... -
More On TLD
By Steve Smith - Tuesday November 27, 2012
We were somewhere over the Atlantic on our way back to ORD when you read last week’s GSW e-newsletter. Since we couldn’t cover everything in one blog, here are a few more highlights of our trip to France to see TLD’s Taxibot demo: Our trip started not much later than the time we arrived Sunday morning and made our way to the Sheraton, located at CDG. There, we met Fadi Anbouba, vice president of sales and service TLD America. Over espresso, Fadi told me more about TLD. Although TLD itself has been operating for the past 22 years, at least three of its former divisions, such as Ace, TRACMA and Lantis-Cochran, were true pioneers in GSE and began more than half century ago. TLD makes 15 lines of equipment and more than 100 models... -
Does Cutting Manpower On The Ramp Really Save Money?
By John Goglia - Tuesday November 27, 2012
Sitting at the terminal at Incheon International Airport after a quick trip to Seoul, Korea (well, not that quick if you include the flying time), I watched a new Airbus A-380 being towed to the gate. Soon thereafter catering trucks started toward the aircraft to prepare it for departure. What struck me was that the trucks were being marshaled into position. Not one, but two human beings were actually making sure the catering truck got as close as it needed to the aircraft – but no closer. As you all know, this is not a common sight at U.S. airports these days as it needs to be. For years now, the thinking all over the United States has been if a job could be done with less staff, then by all means eliminate the staff and save on...