Birmingham

[TCX69]

Anyone know who is handling the Norweigan Air Shuttle due to commence ops this weekend. Meant to be operating out of terminal 2.

Norwegian Air Shuttle are handled by Aviation Support from T2.

[bazzab68]

Down to aviation support. These guys are not the most organised, they managed to delay yesterdays sky europe by two hours and even then there seemed to be no rush. Also heard a rumour they have not paid there staff for 3 months as cash is in short supply after paying off the airport and ba for the loans of tugs and equipment. Come on aviation support!!!!!

[call100]

Aviation Support are living on borrowed time. They are basicly a one man band run by an ex aviance or Servisair ramp employee. They have been warned by the airport to pull their fingers out. Can't see them getting renewals from their contracts.

[bazzab68]

The reason for the first delay was down to them not having any prior training at using T2. The first bit of training was done while the Norweigan was on stand. Simply not good enough.:ugh:

[OltonPete]

This is almost too incredible to believe (I know it is true) but what does it
say about the airlines that gave them (him!) the contract.

Aviation Support have DY, NE & HLX not exactly second-rate airlines. I know cost is almost everything in this business but surely there must be some kind of standard required?

As I said in a previous post, I was in T2 Thursday with what I assume were DY pax looking to check-in desk with less than 2 hours to departure.

Farce?

OP

[legalize]

I'm sure they must owe swissport money as well then as I have seen there equipment on Aviation Support's airlines quite regulary. There must be a deal in place where Swissport are the backup crew if BA cannot make it.

[bazzab68]

Aviation support seem to have got their hands on a long haul service, Globespans YHM service. Oh dear do Globespan know what they are getting into. The whole summer programme may go down the pan when one of there 757s is stuck in bhx. It takes 3 hours to turnaround a 737 let alone a 757. Oh dear..................................

[hunters]

Aviation Support average Turnround performance for a 737 currently at 27mins :ok:

I think they're doing really well, and now are growing too!!!!!

No matter who or how anybody wants to run the company down, they haven't got this far if they weren't doing a good job. Because as we all know airlines do talk to each other.

I think Globespan like the others have made a good decision, cause the other handlers at BHX have a lot on there plate this summer.

So well Done Aviation Support :D

[call100]

Well Aviation Supports first employee pops up.....
I don't think you have ever managed 27 mins for a turn round.
The airlines are only bothered about the cost so they can dump cheap seats onto the markets. The level of service is not usually a consideration. If it were all the airlines would change handlers. Pilots are complaining on a daily basis about all the handlers at BHX

[OltonPete]

I have just checked a BHX arrival/departure site and their performance
has improved but it could have hardly got any worse.

These are wheels on the ground to wheels in the air: -

Norwegian 1/5/07 14.36-15.34 (scheduled out at 15.25)
HLX/TUI 30/4/07 19.48-20.43
HLX 26/4/07 19.43 - 20.37
Norwegian 26/4/07 14.45-15.45
HLX 25/4/07 19.56-21.12
Norwegian 24/4 14.46-15.37
SkyEurope 23/4 14.05-15.01

Allowing for the taxing in and out (plus push-back), they are not too bad and certainly nothing like the mid-April shambles.

Pete

[jmc757]

Does this occur with Swissport elsewher, or with other handling agents?
Its not just BHX, and its not just Swissport. Airline ground handling is a funny business. Especially in the last few years, the airlines are constantly demanding cheaper ground handling contracts, and to win these contracts the ground handlers are ever more squeezing the operation to deliver these lower prices. All of a sudden they find themselves in the situation of loads of contracts, but barely making ends meet as the revenues on them are so bad. Staff morale goes down, service levels go down.... etc its a viscious circle.

It wasn't all that long ago that Swissport were the smallest BHX agent, now they're the biggest. At what price? Its a pattern that gets seen a lot accross the industry. The companies that lost the contracts to Swissport will have taken the chance to sort out their issues, build up service levels, and will be poised to snap up contracts IF Swissport looses them. Then the circle starts again...

This is by no means a hard and fast rule, just indicative of what can, does, and has happened, not just with Swissport and not just at BHX. Until the airlines wise up and realise that they need to pay for a decent service it will continue. But then, with the airlines now concentrating so much on expenditure, will that ever happen? Funny old industry...

[legalize]

It is bad at other handling agents but not that bad!!! Having dealt with Swissport the problem I have found is that there are to many cooks. Everyone you see walking around seems to have some sort of title on their back. It seems like there are a lot of chiefs but not many workers and this could be one of the problems.

[OPS1978]

BhxVine

I no what you mean even in ops we are short staffed not one new despatcher and we are into the middle of may. Having to despatch 2 or even 3 aircraft at the same time surely that cant be safe can it?. Should have recruited in start of april for the start of the summer season. Will get new staff soon hopefully but you no waht will happen they have to wear an escorted hi-viz so what is the point?. People are not covering the O.T because we look forward to our days off that much because we are hammered whilst we are there.

[groundhogbhx]

But hey I have been asked to train up 7 new despatchers in AUGUST!!!!!!:ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh::ugh:

[OPS1978]

Funny that bhxvine we awere told the same about ops weather the storm and everything will be ok. Loadcontrol nobody wanting to do it are we in the bermuda triangle or something the storm is STILL HAPPENING.

[danishdynamite]

EEEEEKKKK

Handling in BHX is terrible. Btw so is MAN.
I have never left any of those on time even though we almost always land before our scheduled on block.
One of the craziest was in MAN, we were waiting 20 minutes for a guy to operate the finger. All luggage was offloaded after 10 minutes but the pax had to wait 20 to get off....
I would even say that handling in Spain and Italy is better than BHX and MAN.
And OPS freq is not manned all the time...

Come on guys - you can do better