GATWICK
Join Date: Dec 2000
Location: Horsham, England, UK. ---o--O--o---
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This staffing issue is what happens when pay levels are pared to the bone! The turnover of trained staff whom find better alternatives in pay and working conditions will continue until those pay levels are addressed adequately.
As with the Passport slowdown there is a similar slowdown within Disclosure Scotland that check Airport workers for Criminal Record checks etc. I'm told the backlog is something like ten weeks before any new employees can get their Airside pass ID's.
Therefore, I can't see much is going to change in the short term.
The public wanted cheaper flights and they have them, but don't care about the quality of service until they start waiting four hours to collect their baggage!
Oh dear! Never mind.
I have no connection with Swissport formerly GroundStar in any way, but can see what is happening at Gatwick on a daily basis.
As with the Passport slowdown there is a similar slowdown within Disclosure Scotland that check Airport workers for Criminal Record checks etc. I'm told the backlog is something like ten weeks before any new employees can get their Airside pass ID's.
Therefore, I can't see much is going to change in the short term.
The public wanted cheaper flights and they have them, but don't care about the quality of service until they start waiting four hours to collect their baggage!
Oh dear! Never mind.
I have no connection with Swissport formerly GroundStar in any way, but can see what is happening at Gatwick on a daily basis.
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: Ballymena
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I am sure Lgw itself and the airlines will have plenty to say to Swissport this morning. But at the bottom of all of this and most issues with service from airlines now is how much we, the travelling public, are willing to pay. And until pax accept that there is a trade off between service and the price of that ticket, then they are getting what they are paying for.
TB
TB
Paxing All Over The World
True Blue
True - but since they have all outsourced to the same company - no single airline can pull it back. If one carrier wanted to get priority treatment? How could that work??
To tackle the whole problem would require Swissport to suggest a change to ALL their clients. But that would not work as all their clients would point to the current contract where Swissport already agreed to certain delivery times!
As others say, we want to pay less and we are getting less, most of modern Britain is based on this. Parliament/NHS/Military/etc.
And until pax accept that there is a trade off between service and the price of that ticket, then they are getting what they are paying for.
To tackle the whole problem would require Swissport to suggest a change to ALL their clients. But that would not work as all their clients would point to the current contract where Swissport already agreed to certain delivery times!
As others say, we want to pay less and we are getting less, most of modern Britain is based on this. Parliament/NHS/Military/etc.
Swissport
Buried somewhere deep in Swissport's contract will be a Service Level Agreement which they are clearly failing to meet. Also buried deep will be the consequences facing Swissport for failing to meet their obligations. The contract manager should now invoke any penalty clauses that Swisport have exposed themselves to for what is in effect breech of contract.
Well, that's today sorted but Swissport have quite clearly been struggling throughout the low and shoulder seasons so it was more than obvious that come peak season this house of cards was going to come tumbling down. The winning bids on contracts of this size are based on cutting not just to the bone but carving into the bone. The winning bidder then trusts to provenance that all will be well and if that isn't the case then the contract manager hasn't got the kahunas to invoke penalties.
I want two heads on my plate for tea tonight:
Swissport's chief of LGW ops for being knowingly involved in a crock, and
GAL's procurement chief for allowing a such an obviously wobbly contract to operate at their airport.
Well, that's today sorted but Swissport have quite clearly been struggling throughout the low and shoulder seasons so it was more than obvious that come peak season this house of cards was going to come tumbling down. The winning bids on contracts of this size are based on cutting not just to the bone but carving into the bone. The winning bidder then trusts to provenance that all will be well and if that isn't the case then the contract manager hasn't got the kahunas to invoke penalties.
I want two heads on my plate for tea tonight:
Swissport's chief of LGW ops for being knowingly involved in a crock, and
GAL's procurement chief for allowing a such an obviously wobbly contract to operate at their airport.
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Oslo, Norway
Age: 63
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For those of you that want to know; here is a pairing of ground handlers and airlines at Gatwick. This small list is based on information given in the June 2014 performance report here:
Our performance - Gatwick Airport
Swissport:
Air China, Air Vietnam, Arkefly, British Airways, Caribbean Airlines, flynas, Icelandair, Monarch, Strategic Airlines, TAP Portugal, Thomas Cook, Thomson Airways, Veuling, Virgin Atlantic
Menzies:
Aer Lingus, Air Malta, Aurigny, easyJet, Flybe, Titan Airways, Turkish Airlines
Aviator:
African Safari Airways, airBaltic, Air Europa, Air Transat, Emirates, Meridiana, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Ryanair, Ukraine International Airlines, WOWair
Our performance - Gatwick Airport
Swissport:
Air China, Air Vietnam, Arkefly, British Airways, Caribbean Airlines, flynas, Icelandair, Monarch, Strategic Airlines, TAP Portugal, Thomas Cook, Thomson Airways, Veuling, Virgin Atlantic
Menzies:
Aer Lingus, Air Malta, Aurigny, easyJet, Flybe, Titan Airways, Turkish Airlines
Aviator:
African Safari Airways, airBaltic, Air Europa, Air Transat, Emirates, Meridiana, Norwegian Air Shuttle, Ryanair, Ukraine International Airlines, WOWair
LN
You've just made me angrier
The stats in your link prove that Swissport are consistently under performing, how have they got away with it for so long?
The company should be drummed off the airfield, but not before I've had my heads on plates.
It's my tea time and I'm getting hungry
You've just made me angrier
The stats in your link prove that Swissport are consistently under performing, how have they got away with it for so long?The company should be drummed off the airfield, but not before I've had my heads on plates.
It's my tea time and I'm getting hungry
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Oslo, Norway
Age: 63
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I know caberra97, but I found it so cute that Gatwick did this Zebra error (the airline ceased operation in 2009) that I had to write what they wrote.
Akrotiri bad boy, don't be agry at me - I just found the information on the Gatwick website.
Akrotiri bad boy, don't be agry at me - I just found the information on the Gatwick website.
Paxing All Over The World
Glad I've only got a cabin bag for Saturday morning to BOD.
Akrotiri bad boy has nailed the matter. Companies think they can save money but when the proverbial hits the turbine blades they are left carrying the can to their customers. They think that Service Level Agreements will work but the ONLY thing that gives you control of staff is controlling their pay and security of employment. In my view, contracting out does neither.
One quick example: Some years ago (2006/7, I think) fuel tanker drivers went on strike in what was (I think) illegal secondary action. The company ultimately paying for the drivers to deliver their product had outsourced the contract to a big Italian Company, who had outsourced it to a local UK company. It took several days for that chain of command to made to be made to work and tell the drivers to return.
I saw this trend start in the USA in 1988 (my then employer was doing it) and I didn't like then. Nothing I have seen in 26 years has made me change my mind.
Akrotiri bad boy has nailed the matter. Companies think they can save money but when the proverbial hits the turbine blades they are left carrying the can to their customers. They think that Service Level Agreements will work but the ONLY thing that gives you control of staff is controlling their pay and security of employment. In my view, contracting out does neither.
One quick example: Some years ago (2006/7, I think) fuel tanker drivers went on strike in what was (I think) illegal secondary action. The company ultimately paying for the drivers to deliver their product had outsourced the contract to a big Italian Company, who had outsourced it to a local UK company. It took several days for that chain of command to made to be made to work and tell the drivers to return.
I saw this trend start in the USA in 1988 (my then employer was doing it) and I didn't like then. Nothing I have seen in 26 years has made me change my mind.
Join Date: Jul 2013
Location: Belfast
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Actually no, the swissport guy should keep his job for doing all he could to keep everyone in their jobs...cull the gal procurement tw*t along with the airline tw*ts for buying an un workable contract...this would send a message out to all in this profession that things need to change...
Join Date: Dec 2012
Location: Gatwick
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True Blue
Re WAW that duty will i suspect be what our planning department call a 'short night' or more accurately a split duty, its not the shortest 'short night' i've seen but it something Norwegian routinely do across many bases, the objective is to avoid empty ghost flights departing at midnight, by using the time zones and the fact that far more traffic is inbound to LGW than the other way(it goes back obviously) it can leave early from WAW 07:00 and arrive in London at 08:25 and will have a full days flying planned before it (or another one) heads back to WAW at 19:10
Most routes start off like that then as the loads build up another morning rotation will be added East bound, it's not based in WAW but doesn't night stop in LGW either?????
Most routes start off like that then as the loads build up another morning rotation will be added East bound, it's not based in WAW but doesn't night stop in LGW either?????
Join Date: Nov 2012
Location: MAN
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Waldo1
I don't think you can point the finger at GAL procurement. The ground handling companies have no contractual relationship with GAL, other than landlord and tenant type arrangements. Under the 1996 EU directive on ground handling, airport operators are severely limited in their ability to limit the numbers of ground handling companies. If a number of airlines choose to use a particular ground handler, it would be a brave/foolhardy airport operator to try to prevent it.
Clearly the issue is that airlines' natural attempts to reduce costs, coupled with a highly competitive handling market, have led to a situation where Swissport bought a lot of business without adequately resourcing for it. There's not much an airport operator can do to interfere in such a process, without falling foul of the 1996 EU directive.
I don't think you can point the finger at GAL procurement. The ground handling companies have no contractual relationship with GAL, other than landlord and tenant type arrangements. Under the 1996 EU directive on ground handling, airport operators are severely limited in their ability to limit the numbers of ground handling companies. If a number of airlines choose to use a particular ground handler, it would be a brave/foolhardy airport operator to try to prevent it.
Clearly the issue is that airlines' natural attempts to reduce costs, coupled with a highly competitive handling market, have led to a situation where Swissport bought a lot of business without adequately resourcing for it. There's not much an airport operator can do to interfere in such a process, without falling foul of the 1996 EU directive.
Join Date: Jan 2007
Location: solihull West Midlands
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True Blue,
Unless they are to release more flts, it seems the Monarch Sched for next summer has been cut a fair bit compared with this.
Looks like LGW, BHX, and MAN all loose a based plane each.
Supposedly down to the new boss who wants to trim under performance and increase load factors.
Rumours that either EMA or even Doncaster might see increases as their programmes are not yet released, but seen nothing to support this yet.
Nigel
Unless they are to release more flts, it seems the Monarch Sched for next summer has been cut a fair bit compared with this.
Looks like LGW, BHX, and MAN all loose a based plane each.
Supposedly down to the new boss who wants to trim under performance and increase load factors.
Rumours that either EMA or even Doncaster might see increases as their programmes are not yet released, but seen nothing to support this yet.
Nigel
Join Date: Jan 2007
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Facelookedbovvered.
If it was to be announced it would be a new base at Doncaster.
However that and EMA are only rumours.
The fact that EMA summer 2015 is still not out is puzzling when the other main airports including Gatwick have been out for 2 weeks now.
So they are either terminating a base out of EMA which seems hard to believe or there will be a big announcement soon on expansion ?
Nigel
If it was to be announced it would be a new base at Doncaster.
However that and EMA are only rumours.
The fact that EMA summer 2015 is still not out is puzzling when the other main airports including Gatwick have been out for 2 weeks now.
So they are either terminating a base out of EMA which seems hard to believe or there will be a big announcement soon on expansion ?
Nigel