Refocusing Agi
Separated from airport management, it targets airline/airport services
By John F. Infanger, Editorial Director
July 2001
GLENDALE, CA — Airport Group International was for years a leader in contract airport management. It still is, under new parent TBI, but AGI today is a division targeting airline/airport services.
CARGO, PASSENGER SERVICES
The company remains a player in the airline
fueling business, but is looking at other service areas to bring in more
manageable margins.
Says Evans, "The fueling is where AGI
really got its start, under the old Lockheed Air Terminal. We had fueling
contracts with a lot of airports. We don’t have as many into-plane
fueling locations as we had with all the changes in the company, and really
what we’ve been doing lately is strengthening our passenger services,
ground handling, and cargo operations. We acquired an East Coast company,
U.S. Airports, in November 1999, and we now have six airports where we’re
providing cargo operations. That’s probably been our biggest thrust
— trying to get away from an into-plane fueling specialization and
picking up some of these other operations.
"We’ve kept the cargo as a separate
operating division. The potential for growth is significant."
Quote ... End Quote
AGI’s Jack Evans has overseen management of airports internationally. He shares his thoughts on how airports operate in the U.S. and abroad.
• On "ownership" of three Bolivian airports under a 30-year lease ...
"When you own the airport, it’s
a lot easier to go out and make changes in the structure or the service,
because the only one you have to convince is the leadership of the company.
So we made substantial changes, and there weren’t a lot of people
who really got to vote on that. Now, you did have to work with the government,
and there were a lot of government officials in Bolivia who had a say
in the airport."
• On potential inefficiencies at U.S. airports ...
"There are airports that I go to in
this country right now where I will go in and see things happening at
the airport, and you’ll wonder why they’re doing something that’s
inefficient, wasteful. You know, they could save a lot of money by not
providing that function.
"If you go to airports around the country,
you go to some and they have their own trash collection agencies. I’m
sure they can find several companies that are picking up trash. And, are
they doing as good a service as one of those trash companies would? It’s
probably costing them more money in the long run.
"If you can outsource or privatize
and get the same service at a cheaper rate, then it ends up being better
for the airport, for the carriers, and for the passengers, because it
keeps your costs down."
• On lessons learned from the Indianapolis management contract led by Mayor Stephen Goldsmith ...
"If I can go to the Yellow Pages and
I’m a government agency, and I can see that there are three companies
that are providing a service, then they can probably provide that service
more efficiently. Since there’s three, you can get a competitive
bid and probably get a low price."