Newcastle Handling

[AviationNE]

If there are any Thomas Cook employees. Who did you find to be the best Handling agent over the Winter and who would you have prefered to go with?

[NCL1]

swissport ... servisair are crap!

[Aquarius Lad]

Unfortunately Servisair have won the contract to handle TCX for S08.

Scarey eh...:ok:

[lukeylad]

Didn't the darkside only get the contract due to the fact that MYT had 3 years left on there contract with Servis air. Where as the TCX contract was soon to run out.

[_ShIfTy_]

Servisair Had a better ontime performance with Mytravel then swissport did with Thomas cook.

[groundhogbhx]

Ah, but is that because Servisair were the better handling agent or Mytravel's policy of filing flight plans for 30 mins + before std to try and avoid slots??

[_ShIfTy_]

All this done was made it harder for servisair. MYT would get slots as early as 20min before it's STD putting pressure on servisair to load it, push it, and still allow the slot time to be achieved.

regards.

[transwede]

After over 1 week of Servisair handling TCX, how are they coping? TCX have 2 based aircraft, which now appear to be increasing in utilisation in readiness for summer schedules. It has been a long time since Servisair have had a contract which involves handling multi based aircraft on the charter front (apart from the obvious EZY), the last time was when MYT had 2 based? Or it could just be me talking drivvel!!!!!!!

Just wonder how they're getting on? Obviously the initial stages are always a learning curve.

[Maude Charlee]

Or maybe it's because the standard of handling from Swissport has nosedived spectacularly in the last few years, and they are now as bad, if not worse, than the Circus. The passenger handling op from Swissport is particularly poor, and dispatchers seem to have no understanding thet they need to have some contact with the flight deck during the turnaround and not just disappear for 30 minutes at a time.

Guess I know which handlers wear the big clown shoes and red noses these days. :}

[groundhand]

Lukeylad,

Contract length was irrelvant as both were standard IGHA with 90 day clauses.

Transwede,
True, but some Servisair staff have many more years experience of handling multi unit charter operators that others.

My guess on the contract award, a combination of a comparison of recent (6 months) handling standards and price.

On thing everyone can be sure of is that handling contracts are only as secure as their termination clause details.

[DL93]

Swissport have gone rapidly down hill, and they are even worse now they run after EK so much

TOM have handed a ninety day improvement notice in too swissport twice
T3 have handed 1 90 day notice for improvement
FLYBE have also had stern words with swissport mgt.

On the flip side servisair have had no formal warnings about their conduct in the last few years, fair enough servisair havent had a lot of contacts but they have learnt a lot, i say good luck too them and i hope they dont mess this up, which im confident they will not.

Swissport had a habit of offering handling at such a low price, they were practically turning the a/c around for nothing as they had other hubs too support them, servisair is a totally different set up they work on a station to station basis

[transwede]

Formal notifications from those airlines to Swissport cannot be good for their reputation surely?

I have always thought that T3 have such a substantial operation that self handling could well be a possibility, but I'm gethering this could be more expensive, but then again if their service levels are constantly in jeopardy from Swissport it could be something to mull over by the T3 management team.

I have never understood (prior to merger) why TOM only were non-Servisair at NCL - maybe in the future the circus may gain them back?

I agree with the comments that Servisair are improving, maybe they've turned a corner and good luck to them for the coming summer, it will be busy, but so far they seem to be managing well and obviously must be doing something right if airline management have not needed to have stern chats!

[anthperry]

Second that!!!! it must have been last summers ramp- recriutment selection??!!:ok:

[groundhand]

Transwede,

A little bit of history about the TOM contract. Are you sitting comfortably? then we'll begin....

Back in the mid 90's (think '93) Britannia, as it was then, had a bright young Purchasing Manager by the name of N Daniels (you may know of him if you have worked for Groundstar/Swissport).
He decreed that, unlike the previous number of years, BY would not place all their UK ground handling with one supplier. He wanted a method of measuring/benchmarking the service delivery standards; or he wanted a stick to beat Servisair with in terms of price comparison.

At that time Servisair had all BY's business in the UK except LTN; which was still BY self handling - later to be taken over by Servisair.

Servisair management had to decide where offer to give up a contract.
The company looked at medium sized operations - they did not to give up MAN or LGW and BY did not think some of the smaller operations MME/ABZ etc would offer a realistic comparison. It came down to 3 airport - NCL/GLA and I think EMA.

At that time NCL offered Servisair the best option as Northeast Aviation, as was the trading name of the current Swissport UK then, were a 'one airport' company and, as such, were less of a threat that the competition to Servisiar at both other airports. Back in those days Servisair at NCL had the majority of the work; NE had BA and Braathens and Dan Air did themselves and a couple of small charter operations (one Canadian - Odyssey? -and I think Monarch).

So the decision was made by Servisair to offer NCL as the way out; very much to the frustration of the Servisair NCL staff who had been in the BY 'Top 3' UK stations for the previous 5 years. Servisair had been BY's handling agent at NCL since buying out a local agent called Woolsington Handling around '68/69 who had held the contract since the Wright Brothers.....

Business is business and Servisair made a decision based on what was best for the company as whole and not what was best for NCL alone.

Bearing in mind how much smaller the contract is today (in terms of the overall handling to both companies) it does not have the same significance as it did then. I recall BY having 5 B737's based at NCL at one time; another it was 2 x B757 + 1.5 B767 + , I think 1 or 2 B737's.

Well, you did ask....

GH

[transwede]

With the summer fast approaching and Servisair recently gaining the contract for handling TCX, does anyone know if or think that there is a need for a 3rd handling agent at NCL? Do airports with similar passenger throughput have more than 2?

There was a rumour circulating a while back that a 3rd company (Menzies/Aviance?) was to be interested in establishing a base at NCL, but nothing seems to have occurred, though the rumour is still a frequent one! On the other hand could an airline like T3 or EZY go self handling as they do at other stations, particularly T3 at NCL considering their growth recently?

This is by no means a bashing at Servis or Swiss :)

[BIG E]

EZY haven't self handled ooer..for a while now.