no that wasn't the guy..
The man in question, came into Lgw last year to (in my opinion) attempt to change the business model to make it more profitable. But he failed, and unfortunately has managed to destroy not only our reputation, but also he is now damaging gatwicks reputation at the same time.
Bearing in mind everyone gatwick wants a second runway, the tales and wos of people waiting for their bags for two hours plus will not do gatwicks case any good for a second runway, and they will be anxious to ensure Swissport meet their obligations as a handling agent.
I believe now at least one contract has served 90 days notice, and I would imagine it won't stop there.
the men and women who work there on the frontline, do a fantastic job. Is it their fault the airlines demand as much as possible for as little money as possible?. My opinion is that unless you can adapt your business model, and stay In front then there's very little point in operating there in the first place. Profit margins are the talk of the day, service level agreements aren't.
Take a big airline for example, assuming they employ staff to over see the hagent, caterers, and cleaners etc, they will expect a high service. They will expect a decent clean, onetime bags, and catering regardless of the price. When one day the hagent delays a flight, the reps will be fighting hammer and tongs to defend their position, and to demand as to why the service is not being achieved. The pilots and crew may do the same thing, they will expect that all the bags will be loaded on the flight on time, they will expect a decent clean. When the third party suppliers fail, the pilots, crew, local airline staff are not happy. But go to the main office, speak to the accountant, talk to the procurement manager who is on commission for every £ he saves. The accountants are happy, the airline is making better margins... But crucially the SELF is happy as every year, the airlines have to compete with one another, and as a result keep their prices as low as possible.. Let's imagine it now, if you paid £100 one way for a flight to Malaga today, do you think they would be happy paying £200 next year? That's why the airlines can't put their prices up..
From what I understand at Lgw,Swissport we're attempting to be the biggest handling agent at gatwick in terms of market share. They were hoping, that by taking on lots of work over the last three years, they could see off competition. Then once gone slowly increase their prices. But due to the robustness of the business models of Menzies and to some extent servis air they failed. The only option was to buy out servis air, which backfired at gatwick, as they had to sell off servis air straight away.
As a dispatcher, (or now a flight supervisor) With over ten years experience at the airport,it's now fair to say anyone can do my job. So when companies do huge recruitment drives through agencies, prior experience is no longer needed. I'm just glad that when a captain asks me what his zfw is, or asks me a CG related question I can at least answer it without looking like a idiot. I feel sorry for those who are coming in, who just don't have the basic foundations that we all once had.