Servisair Ramp Agent

[261A]

I am 17 and looking for a part time job at my local airport which is one that is used by servisair.

I visited the Servisair site a few minutes ago and they have a vacancy for a ramp agent/baggage handler at my local airport but I am not sure whether to apply because I am 17 and it does not say on site what age is the minimum to apply.

If anyone works for Servisair please tell me as soon as - I want to apply as soon as possible if I am eligible.

[KiloMIke]

I am not 100% sure but I thought you had to be 18. Why not phone and ask?

[261A]

I have sent an email to them so hopefully I will receive reply sometime in 24 hours.

[Lite]

For most airport jobs with handling agents, the hiring age is usually 18. For ramp staff this is typically because you're required to have a driving license to fulfill some of your job functions. On a broader scale, handling agents prefer people aged 18+ because legally people under that age are not allowed to work shift patterns or outside the hours of 0500 - 2200, which is not convenient for the typical working patterns of these sort of companies.

That isn't to say that handling agents don't ever hire people who are under 18, although this is typically for passenger service roles rather than jobs on the ramp. Typically, if handling agents are short staffed, they'll take anyone, which from my local airports, seems to be most evident at Servisair.

As I've said before, this is an excellent company to get some experience with, and if you're enthusiastic & knowledgeable, you'll be a very welcome addition to the team, but if there are lots of applicants, you'll be at the bottom of the list!

[261A]

Lite

Thanks for your reply.

I really want to know offically what the minimum age is from Servisair.

I would be doing part time work at my local airport which is only a mile away.

Hopefully they will reply to my email tomorrow.

Cheers

[Lite]

The minimum age restriction that is advertised for both passenger service & ramp roles is always 18 for Servisair (and for that matter all other handling agents), and a desired attribute is that you are in possesion of a driving license. I have seen however, the company often hire people under the age of 18 for passenger service roles if there is a need to fill vacancies for a season, as the company has always had a notorious image of being understaffed. Definitely consider a summer in pax services if they will open this job function to 17 year olds, as it still provides you with an income & airport experience, which will be important if you decide to move to ops or ramp jobs in the future.

[captainbritboy]

Further to recent replies, BAA airport ID passes cannot be issued to persons under the age of eighteen years for legal and other reasons. If you are seventeen, you do not have too long to wait, and I wish you the best of luck. Working for a handling agent like Servisair, Groundstar or Aviance will be good experience, but ideally, you want to consider working for an airline in the longer term. The conditions are better, and you will get concessions on air travel which are very worthwhile.

[Leezyjet]

Starting off at the Circus is not a bad thing though. Many Many people in the industry have worked for the circus at some point.

Yeah the pay is cr@p, and the company treats you like scum, but they know you are not going to make a career out of them and will jump ship as soon as something better comes along, but it's a great place to start and get a foot in the door to get that valuable experience.

:)

[Maude Charlee]

I'll echo that it is a good place to get a start in the industry. It's an interesting job, but more than that you will get lots of contact with crews (both sides of the door) and almost everyone else involved in the aviation industry. If you have ambitions of reaching the flight deck, then a background in dispatch will arm you with a wealth of useful knowledge and understanding that many flight crews lack, and this will help you to manage situations more effectively when things don't go to plan.

Servisair are only as bad an employer as the managers who run the station, and they only treat you like dirt if you let them. This is usually the case because of the high numbers of young and inexperienced (in relative terms) people who take jobs there, and some managers abuse this lack of understanding of their employment rights. Learn what acceptable standards of behaviour the company lays down in it's own procedures and ensure that you point out, formally if need be, when you feel your boss has overstepped the mark. It's called managing your manager - believe me it works. :)

[BOHEME]

Hello,
I'm load planner/dispatcher with Servisair/Globeground at Heathrow and it is not bad as you are saying.
I know that Servisair is different in each station, but at LHR, it's quite OK, you work with few different airlines, short haul, long haul, about 60 flights a day to cover, the sytem is serious, reliable, lots of people very experienced and the pay is not to bad after the first 6 months.
Could anyone tell me what you are doing and where ?

[Flap42]

261A are you not also LGW15 who claims to be 15?

[rampyrat]

Starting off at the Circus is not a bad thing though. Many Many people in the industry have worked for the circus at some point.

Yeah the pay is cr@p, and the company treats you like scum, but they know you are not going to make a career out of them and will jump ship as soon as something better comes along, but it's a great place to start and get a foot in the door to get that valuable experience.

:)yes you are right about the management using you and trying to get you to cut corners on safety when it suits them, im at nema and they are big on safety, then the allocators send you out to your a/c undermanned and still expect safety not to be compromised!

[ScootCargoOps]

When did the rule change about BAA not issuing a pass to anyone under the age of 18 ?

I started on the ramp when I was 17, and trust me its better to be working for an Airline than a handling agent in my opinion.