Swissport, Virgin Atlantic Cargo Sign Five-Year Agreement

April 16, 2012
Local agreements are being supported more closely with long-term global relationship agreements

Zurich, 16th April 2012 - Swissport International, the world’s leading provider of ground services to the aviation sector, has signed a five-year agreement with Virgin Atlantic Airways to intensify their global cargo collaboration, with the aim of further improving quality, efficiency, and consistency.

The new agreement further supports the direction in which collaborations between airlines and their ground handlers are currently developing, underlining the growing importance of global cooperation activities within the cargo-handling sector. Under this trend, local agreements are being supported more closely with long-term global relationship agreements that provide long-term stability and continuity as well as stronger customer relations. In turn, this means delivery of tangible synergies for both the partners involved.
 
John Batten, Executive Vice President of Global Cargo at Swissport International, commented: “We are delighted to reach this agreement with Virgin Atlantic Airways, a company that shares our own belief in the importance of efficient, high-quality customer service, provided consistently around the world. This long-term global strategic relationship with regard to cargo handling will allow both parties to explore savings in overhead costs where Swissport could perform additional services with an overall target of improving financial conditions and quality standards. It is an opportunity to start working more closely together using the agreement as a springboard into other areas and opportunities.”
 
Swissport currently handles cargo for Virgin at four online destinations, as well as 45 offline stations across Europe for import handling, and 24 offline export stations in France, Belgium, Scandinavia and Poland. The online airports are: Cape Town International (CPT); Johannesburg OR Tambo International (JNB); Nairobi Jomo Kenyatta International (NBO); and the most recent addition, Tokyo Narita International (NRT).
 
John Lloyd, Director of Cargo at Virgin Atlantic Airways, commented: “We are really excited to sign this landmark agreement with Swissport International. Not only does it benefit both companies but also demonstrates a shared vision in the delivery of high-quality global service levels and a consistent approach in providing top-class operations across our network.”

Swissport International Ltd provides ground services for around 108 million passengers and 3.2 million tonnes of cargo a year (the latter using 98 warehouses with a total floor area of over 350,000 square metres) on behalf of some 650 client-companies in the aviation sector. With a workforce of around 35,000 personnel, Swissport is active at 177 stations in 36 countries on five continents, and generated consolidated operating revenue of CHF 1.7 billion in 2011. www.swissport.com