Stansted-3
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My son used to work for Swissport at almost minimum wage on compulsory short hour contracts. They always had a staff shortage as people kept leaving so they always had vacancies.
Join Date: Aug 2007
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Just thought it was unusual for a Captain to slag off SWISSPORT so much.. he sounded really fed up with them.. and yes.. not suprised their staff turnover is so high.. from what I have heard.. a thankless job for minimum wage and unsocial hours..
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Oh yep - It was a well cheap ticket.. not complaining
Just thought it was unusual for a Captain to slag off SWISSPORT so much.. he sounded really fed up with them.. and yes.. not suprised their staff turnover is so high.. from what I have heard.. a thankless job for minimum wage and unsocial hours..
On a serious note, just one of the effects of the low cost industry. How do people think low fares are possible?
Join Date: Sep 2004
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Passengers are quite happy to take out their frustrations on the crew where there is nothing the crew can do. Why not tell the passengers the truth?
It’s not all about the price of tickets. Remember there are always two parties that sign a contract. Of course Ryanair are going to try and get a cheap price, but the Swissport management on the other side of the table are agreeing to give Ryanair that price
It’s not all about the price of tickets. Remember there are always two parties that sign a contract. Of course Ryanair are going to try and get a cheap price, but the Swissport management on the other side of the table are agreeing to give Ryanair that price
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Join Date: Jul 2001
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I am no fan of Swissport but there are several reasons behind the issues at Stansted at the moment.
Jet 2 went fully self-handling this year and EasyJet changed handling agents to Stobart earlier in the year. I understand that there is an Exclusivity clause in the Stobart contract meaning Stobart cannot handle anyone else for a period of time. The loss of the EasyJet contract caused Menzies to pull out leaving Swissport as sole handler for the remaining business. Swissport don’t want to be sole handler as this leaves them in the position of not being able to refuse handling even if they don’t have the resource. With the Jet2, EasyJet and Ryanair contracts all locked up there is not enough business to reach the critical mass another handling agent would need to start working at Stansted.
The failure of Air Berlin and Monarch has left a gap in the market and as a result everyone has piled in to fill the gap and there is more traffic in the European Skies than ever before leading to ATC delays. Add to this, strikes in France and Spain and Weather in Germany and the ATC delays are the worst in a number of years resulting in a lot of off schedule flights.
The final reason is that even though Ryanair are off schedule and Swissport are struggling they are still filing slots for 25 minute turns and when they miss the slot are being thrown to the back of the queue and picking up a further delay exacerbating the problem for the next rotations. All this comes to a head after midnight when Swissport are supposed to have limited traffic.
So …..
It’s the “fault” of MAG for letting a Sole supplier situation occur at the fourth (or is it third) busiest airport in the UK.
It’s the “fault” of French and Spanish for striking
It’s the fault of climate change for increased thunderstorm activity in Europe.
It’s the fault of Ryanair for trying to not managing the slots well on off schedule movements.
It’s the fault of Swissport for not resourcing correctly for the above which is also driven by the wage rates which in turn is driven by their revenue which in turn is driven by the low cost nature of Stansted.
I imagine that it will be resolved in the next year or so because….
The number of flights will decrease as the losers in battle for the AB/MON space exit the market reducing the ATC issues.
Swissport demand higher pricing allowing them to increase pay and the Stobart exclusivity clause will expire.
So the end result is that ticket prices will rise gradually going forward so enjoy the cheap prices whilst you can.
Jet 2 went fully self-handling this year and EasyJet changed handling agents to Stobart earlier in the year. I understand that there is an Exclusivity clause in the Stobart contract meaning Stobart cannot handle anyone else for a period of time. The loss of the EasyJet contract caused Menzies to pull out leaving Swissport as sole handler for the remaining business. Swissport don’t want to be sole handler as this leaves them in the position of not being able to refuse handling even if they don’t have the resource. With the Jet2, EasyJet and Ryanair contracts all locked up there is not enough business to reach the critical mass another handling agent would need to start working at Stansted.
The failure of Air Berlin and Monarch has left a gap in the market and as a result everyone has piled in to fill the gap and there is more traffic in the European Skies than ever before leading to ATC delays. Add to this, strikes in France and Spain and Weather in Germany and the ATC delays are the worst in a number of years resulting in a lot of off schedule flights.
The final reason is that even though Ryanair are off schedule and Swissport are struggling they are still filing slots for 25 minute turns and when they miss the slot are being thrown to the back of the queue and picking up a further delay exacerbating the problem for the next rotations. All this comes to a head after midnight when Swissport are supposed to have limited traffic.
So …..
It’s the “fault” of MAG for letting a Sole supplier situation occur at the fourth (or is it third) busiest airport in the UK.
It’s the “fault” of French and Spanish for striking
It’s the fault of climate change for increased thunderstorm activity in Europe.
It’s the fault of Ryanair for trying to not managing the slots well on off schedule movements.
It’s the fault of Swissport for not resourcing correctly for the above which is also driven by the wage rates which in turn is driven by their revenue which in turn is driven by the low cost nature of Stansted.
I imagine that it will be resolved in the next year or so because….
The number of flights will decrease as the losers in battle for the AB/MON space exit the market reducing the ATC issues.
Swissport demand higher pricing allowing them to increase pay and the Stobart exclusivity clause will expire.
So the end result is that ticket prices will rise gradually going forward so enjoy the cheap prices whilst you can.
Join Date: May 2005
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I’d accept that argument if I hadn’t experienced the same on perceived “expensive” airlines
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So …..
It’s the “fault” of MAG for letting a Sole supplier situation occur at the fourth (or is it third) busiest airport in the UK.
It’s the “fault” of French and Spanish for striking
It’s the fault of climate change for increased thunderstorm activity in Europe.
It’s the fault of Ryanair for trying to not managing the slots well on off schedule movements.
It’s the fault of Swissport for not resourcing correctly for the above which is also driven by the wage rates which in turn is driven by their revenue which in turn is driven by the low cost nature of Stansted.
It’s the “fault” of MAG for letting a Sole supplier situation occur at the fourth (or is it third) busiest airport in the UK.
It’s the “fault” of French and Spanish for striking
It’s the fault of climate change for increased thunderstorm activity in Europe.
It’s the fault of Ryanair for trying to not managing the slots well on off schedule movements.
It’s the fault of Swissport for not resourcing correctly for the above which is also driven by the wage rates which in turn is driven by their revenue which in turn is driven by the low cost nature of Stansted.
Join Date: Jul 2006
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I don’t see why Ryanair don’t go self handling at Stansted, I’m sure adding £1 or 1€ onto the ticket price would more than pay for it, I have worked closely with swissport in the past and it was problems after problems in all areas of the operation.
Join Date: Jul 2001
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because it more hassle than its worth for Ryanair, they self handle in Dublin and no where else. they are an airline not a handler ..... and self handling is expensive
STN Ramp Rat -
A good explanation of the dynamics affecting handlers at STN. I disagree with one point, however:
...as I can't see the numbers of flights decrease - all airlines are looking for growth. As one falters, others rush in. The only driver of an overall reduction in flights would be a recession, which looks unlikely
A good explanation of the dynamics affecting handlers at STN. I disagree with one point, however:
The number of flights will decrease as the losers in battle for the AB/MON space exit the market reducing the ATC issues.
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Well it seems to be working for Jet2. And to an airline like Ryanair I don’t think it would break the bank.
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BA at LHR and LGW( through a subsidiary company) full handling.
Jet 2 at the main bases full handling
Virgin front of house at Heathrow
Norwegian at Gatwick (full handling through and agency)
if it was cost effective more airlines would be doing it .
Join Date: Jul 2006
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Maybe it’s something we might see in the future with Ryanair and their always getting better policy.
customer service will have to come more to the forefront as more people get sick of waiting an hour + for there luggage.
On another note, does anyone know if the National / Primera STN-EWR has taken off tonight, it’s showing as unknown on FR24.
customer service will have to come more to the forefront as more people get sick of waiting an hour + for there luggage.
On another note, does anyone know if the National / Primera STN-EWR has taken off tonight, it’s showing as unknown on FR24.
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STN Ramp Rat, you must be a manager because you’ve got all the excuses nailed on, more or less except the actual explanation.
Swissport have been a liability for years, across the whole country. And that’s because they hire staff on seasonal zero hour contracts, to work 12+ hour shifts starting and/or finishing in the middle of the night, on mixed roster patterns, whilst earning near enough minimum wage. At the end of the season, or when the handling company lose an airline contract, they are jobless again, if they haven’t left before then by their own accord.
Every weekend in the summer, in every airport in the UK, Swissport are short staffed. That’s as predictable as the rest of the excuses yourself, as well as most UK airline management teams, are reeling off this summer.
Swissport have been a liability for years, across the whole country. And that’s because they hire staff on seasonal zero hour contracts, to work 12+ hour shifts starting and/or finishing in the middle of the night, on mixed roster patterns, whilst earning near enough minimum wage. At the end of the season, or when the handling company lose an airline contract, they are jobless again, if they haven’t left before then by their own accord.
Every weekend in the summer, in every airport in the UK, Swissport are short staffed. That’s as predictable as the rest of the excuses yourself, as well as most UK airline management teams, are reeling off this summer.