Servisair Cardiff to Close

[dispatch101]

As of may 31st 2009 Handling Agent Servisair will cease business at Cardiff Airport. Such a sad announcement for all those affected especially after news of Cardiff airports new development projects. Staff were made aware yesterday. A drop in business had led to hours being reduced in recent months but closure had not been seen as an option until at least the end of the summer season

No annoncement has yet been made with regards to any ‘new’ companies taking over or where the current TOM/TCX business will go.

Wish all the staff the best of luck and hope they can all transfer to a new company…whoever that may be.

Note: At the time of writing Servisair Cargo plan to stay.

[mathers_wales_uk]

Very sad news to hear of the Servisair closure at CWL and wish them the best of luck in finding alternative employment.

Link to the report on BBC (http://http//news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/7982284.stm)

Im sure that the airport are not to keen in having only one handling agents and will be looking for a replacement as soon as possible.

[caaardiff]

Not just the airport, but the airlines handled by Servisair.

In reality it was not only the loss of Zoom, but XL, TNT, Air Southwest, Skybus and the reduction in charter work at Cardiff that put the strain on.
It's a shame it couldn't be carried on for a bit longer until the reccession eases and airlines get back on their feet.

All staff are protected by TUPE, so for now, new employment isn't really anything to worry about.... hopefully!

[mathers_wales_uk]

I'm not sure on how TUPE works but i know if they move to a new company with same role but wage is less then they will keep their current wage.

If it was the other way around could the new company keep existing (lower wage) if they take on the redundant staff?

Would Aviance be forced to take on Servisair staff if contracts move over to them and no other handling agents are interested?

Current reduction in flights for Servisair hasn't helped the situation plus as has been mentioned on the Cardiff forum there is a possiblility of further reduction by TOM this winter.

There are a lot of experienced staff at Servisair and i would imagine that whether a new handling agent comes in or Aviance take on contracts then there will be room for those.

I wish everyone the best of luck and hope that everything gets sorted quickly.

[dispatch101]

Basically with TUPE the staff would be transferred to a new company BUT keep their current Servisair contracts meaning no reduction in wages

[mathers_wales_uk]

Basically with TUPE the staff would be transferred to a new company BUT keep their current Servisair contracts meaning no reduction in wages.

If Aviance take all contracts would they be forced to take on all Servisair staff or only the amount they require to run the operation?

I'm guessing it will be a very busy week for Servisair/Aviance and airport managers sorting things out.

[STN Ramp Rat]

The TUPE issue is very interesting. TUPE allows the staff to be transferred from one company to another and maintain their terms and conditions. If a staff member can be proved to work for a majority of their time on a contract, usually 55% of their time or more, then the staff can transfer with the work.

In this case Servisair close down and leave Aviance as the sole agent, Presumably Aviance pick’s up all the work and therefore under TUPE take all the staff. Presumably Aviance will then be overstaffed and have to undertake a redundancy program which they have to fund and which must include all staff from both Aviance and Servisair equally. Aviance will then have to pay the redundancy costs and Servisair will have walked away with no redundancy costs.
If this is the case then the laws an ass.

[Dropline]

Surely if Aviance pick up all the work they will need the extra staff? I imagine Servisair are running the station on minimum staff at the moment anyway so Aviance are hardly going to be overstaffed, especially with the summer season round the corner.
TUPE also protects the Servisair staff from being forced to accept lower wages and worse T&C's for doing their exisiting jobs for the new handling company. It's not their fault Servisair are pulling out of CWL! I bet if you were one of the Servisair staff you wouldn't think the law was an ass!!!

[mathers_wales_uk]

I agree that Aviance would more than likely require most staff if all contracts pass over but i doubt they would require the management though.

If the below statement it true under the TUPE agreement then i believe then there is a case for the law being an ass.

Aviance will then have to pay the redundancy costs and Servisair will have walked away with no redundancy costs.


At the moment it is early days and nothing is stopping a new handling agent coming in if they think it's viable.

[commit aviation]

With the industry in its current state I think it very unlikely that another handling agent would want to take the risk bearing in mind the considerable start up costs required.
Maybe when the upturn comes along.

Appears the opposite is happening in Leeds. Aviance closing & Servisair allegedly taking on the business. If the law is an ass then it will balance itself out!
As for keeping all staff don't forget economies of scale. Effectively one company doing everything can be more efficient than two doing similar work separately. It all depends on how your flying programme fits together.

[ReadyToGo]

Things not looking too good for Servisair.

Closing Cardiff, and losing a huge contract (EZY) at Newcastle. Actually didnt a lot of the staff at Servisair NCL, move to Gate Aviation under TUPE? From what I heard, the TUPE staff are on a significantly better contract than Gate's own staff.

Good luck to all concerned

RTG!

[boeingbus2002]

RTG - Things are not looking too good for many other companies not just Servisair!
In fact they have several new contracts too. Sometimes, the loss of a contract although it may seem like a huge loss can in fact help in a twisted way. If these contracts were negotiated on unfavourable or barely break-even terms then cutting these out "could" improve the books slightly.
Likewise, Aviance/Menzies et.al. have their own issues too. This is a common problem for ALL ground handling companies.

TUPE can also cause problems for the new handling company. Significantly higher employee costs than those on their on contracts will push up their costs. While they may have secured low contract prices--margins would be greatly reduced.

[bad bear]

I guess if there is only one handling agent they can charge what they like. If the price is too high and the airlines margin is also tight the flights could get dropped?
b b

[ReadyToGo]

Good points boeingbus!

The reason I take an interest in Servisair is that I used to work for them at NCL, and still have many friends who do, and all I seem to hear is bad news. While losing contracts such as EZY may have balanced the books for head office, its still devastating for the lads on the ground who won't be getting the hours and the overtime.

As you say though, the flipside is, TUPE guaranteed some of them further employment in the industry and protects their earnings. All at the expense of the thier new employers.

Anyone got any ideas how long TUPE staff get on their old terms and conditions?

RTG!

[STN Ramp Rat]

Bad Bear
You are correct about the pricing; this is a sign on the pendulum swinging back in favour of the handling agents. In the good/bad old days there was less competition about. It was usual for there only to be one agent at a number of UK regional airports. The prices were higher their than at the bigger UK airports where there was more competition. The profits were higher and the quality was better at the regional’s that the majors. Then with deregulation competition came. Prices and therefore quality dropped. The handlers are being pressed to reduce losses and are walking away from markets so we have come full circle. At the moment Stansted is bucking this trend with 4 handlers where two would be more appropriate but I suspect this is a matter of time.

As to the question of longevity of the airlines, I suspect you will see a return to the days of more expensive flights from regional airports that from the majors. It will be interesting to see the reaction of Ryanair to the "take it or leave it” offers from the sole handling agents at the airport.

[boeingbus2002]

RTG - Definately sad to see colleagues split up and move on. At least in the intermediate term TUPE assures a job.
However, when the handling agent who receives these TUPE'd staff notices how employee costs rise significantly compared to "their" own staff costs, they will no doubt put pressure on staff to be "promoted" to new roles..of course changing employment T&Cs too! Unions will need to be strong here and back these staff members.
There are common misconeceptions about TUPE protecting staff for x amount of years/months. However in truth, it just means a transfer of employment on current terms. If the new employer wishes to change these, they can do so as and when they like. Many choose not to since it will of course create annomosity etc. However in this current climate, financial based decisions will no doubt have a stronger influence.

Good luck to all those who will TUPE accross.

Maybe when airlines notice the deterioration in service provided due cost cutting, (less staff allocated per flight/less equipment/ training etc), then they may realise the effect.
Handling agents who can survive loosing contracts initially may be able to be in a stronger position to win the work back.

[commit aviation]

TUPE does not necessarily assure a job. Economies of scale may mean the new company (lets call it company X) only needs (& I'm pulling figures out of the air here!) 30 out of the 60 staff that get transferred from company Y. As they all now work for company X they will review and elect to get rid of 30 staff that are not required. Now all staff - existing employees of X as well as the staff from Y could be in the "at risk" category.
Ultimately in the current world it may be that T's & C's will have to change. The company may not be able to revise the airline contracts until they next come up for renewal & the additional labour costs could make it unviable to continue with the status quo.

Interesting to consider how airports might deal with a scenario where no handling agent can actually make a profit out of a particular operation......:uhoh:

[Stopend]

Interesting to consider how airports might deal with a scenario where no handling agent can actually make a profit out of a particular operation......http://static.pprune.org/images/smilies/worry.gif

By the sound of it, given some of the stations that have started to close or down size, that day may not be far off!

[groundhand]

Back to the thread

Really sorry to hear that CWL is closing, it has been in the Servisair group for a long, long time - probably late 60's or early 70's.

Several of the older members of the team will recall some of the characters from years gone by that have sat in the hotseat..CB, JE and who can remember who preceded JE? - MB.

It goes to prove that nothing lasts forever as the guys and girls from Dan Air CWL found out all those years ago. DM and team never thought the axe would fall on them but it did.

I hope all the current Servisair team find new jobs and opportunities, either through TUPE or in other avenues. I wish you all well.

GH

[ReadyToGo]

In the event of a Handling Agent being unable to make a profit on a particular airline, I would suggest there are two outcomes.

1. The airline is forced to up its offer or look elsewhere (Good for handling agent)
2. The airport authority steps in and subsidises an agent to do the work. (I think it'd have to be a significant airline for this to happen).

I have heard rumours of this happening a while ago at NCL with a certain high-profile charter company who were going to be agent-less. The airport couldnt afford to even think about losing the X-number of flights (and passengers) over the summer season and in effect paid some money to the agent and offered significant reductions in rent in order to ensure the airline remained flying. Not sure if this is standard practice or not.

RTG!

[7mthomas]

I know if we get the Servisair contract, the guys at Servisair will come over to us as theyre jobs are protected whatever handling agents take them.

We just recently had Thomson contract so I dont think any handling agents will come to Cardiff just for Thomas Cook, and a once a week charter.

[plaincrazy]

From what i hear no pen has been put to paper on the Thomson contract yet.
Servisair handle more than just TCX and Tom during the summer months. So someone may still come in.

[caaardiff]

As of late last week, it had been released that Thomson were "going" to sign with Aviance, but as stated above, had not put pen to paper.

Servisair generally were handlers for most charter airlines in the past, but this summer is a bit dire, leaving Highland, Air Malta and Onur Air as regulars, and Monarch, Air Southwest and BlueLine on a few Ad-hocs.
Saga airlines were signed with Servisair for May, but due to the changes and it being a new contract decided to go straight to aviance as of May 1st.
It leaves the airlines in a tough position if they cant agree contracts with Aviance, but cant get a new handler in who can make it work.

[hana994]

just heard that servisair staff are all going over to aviance.