Greuzi,
A good post but the SGHA does not set the handling standards just the services to be provided, the handling standards are set by a separate Service Level Agreement SLA and this is where the variations come in; but you are right about the food chain effect.
One of the issues is that VERY few airlines want to talk real service levels at contract time; they contract on price and then argue the SLA up after the contract award.
Southside.
Trying to regulate the ground business would be a nightmare.
Standard ground times will never go back to the 45-60 for a B737 turn, nor should they in the majority of cases.
The problem is that few airlines actually understand or are prepared to anlyse their route network and adjust their ground times accordingly.
EZY did look at a 3 stage system (Clockwork programme?) some time ago but never adopted it. They were looking at business to business (ie lower bag loads; business to leisure and then leisure to leisure where the bag loads are highest. Servisair, as they were the main EZY handlers in those days, did a huge data analysis programme to understand and justify the differentials and then came Menzies and it all got blown away.
It seems rational to have a 20 min turnround on a B737 (it can be done, and it can be safe for all) but only if the bulk load is limited; when you get full B738 bag loads in and out then the groundtime needs to be extended. Add cargo into the mix and it gets more complicated. Trying to regulate this (domestically and internationally) would be almost impossible but local knowledge, flight schedules and historic data etc. could make the airlines far more responsive.
It is unlikely that airlines will ever adopt a rational approach as long as the current SGHA indemifies them against any claims for injuries sustained by the employees of the ground handling (or other serevice providing) companies and the short termination clauses are sustained.
There is an experitment ongoing (at least I think it is still ongoing) at LAX where the airport have set a minimum hourly pay rate for all handling companies to stop the downward contracting spiral - it will be interesting if it is a success. The idea was to set a rate that could attract AND retain good employees rather than offering pay based on a decreasing revenue base which meant taking whoever you could get at the rate offered - sound familiar?
Just as in the charter airline business I think that within the next 24 months, maybe sooner, there will be some major rationalisation within the European handling companies that will see fewer trading in the market; that in turn will than give them the opportunity to improve their rates.