Ground Support Worldwide

APR 2017

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APRIL 2017 AviationPros.com 13 GROUND SERVICE PROVIDERS matters, and to make that work, airports and ground handlers need to communicate, address challenges head-on, but most of all, have each other's backs in an environment built on mutual trust and teamwork. A Common Mission "Southwest Airlines and the airports depend on each other for our partnership to be successful," echoes Chris Johnson, senior director of ground operations at Southwest Airlines. "It takes both entities. We have a common goal to provide a safe environment and customer-friendly travel experience for our passengers." Terry Blue, vice president of operations at Memphis International Airport (MEM), says it is essential for airports and ground handlers to recognize that passengers have options and they will go to a different car- rier, or even airport, if they are met with inconsistent service. At MEM, the ground support companies are tenants, but operate under an operating permit which says they must abide by MEM's rules, regulations and standards of safety. Johnson, who has worked in more than 10 airports during his career with South- west, says the close relationship the air- line continues to have with its peers exists because they don't allow relationships to become strained. "It's in our best interest to make sure the customer's experience is great," he notes, adding that when a customer buys a ticket on a specific airline, it's that airline whose reputation is at stake. Blue agrees, and says the airport recog- nizes that their reputation is on the line too, especially in today's competitive flying envi- ronment where airports and airlines want to be the top choice. As an example, Blue says one of his colleagues no longer flies with a specific airline because of a challenging experience many years ago. "It certainly does last," he says of a com- pany's impression. "She uses that in her daily job to remind her of the constant mission to take care of the customer first. If you would talk to many of the folks that I work with here, they all understand that message." Johnson says at Southwest they use the word "hospitality" because it reflects the highest level of customer service. "It's more than just a transaction," he says. "It's how we treat our customers." This message is carried to both employ- ees in the airports and those involved with the aircraft itself. He says the airport teams really focus on ways to improve services such as baggage handling and safety, and encompass all these things into a very pro- fessional standard of operations for South- west as a whole. There are Challenges Johnson of Southwest explains one of the things that must be balanced – and some- thing that takes effort – is the airport's standards versus the Southwest standards of operation and customer service. He under- stands the airport must remain a neutral entity because they are working with many carriers and yet have their own standards. "They might just not be able to honor the things you want," he says from the airline perspective. "They do a really good job of not playing favorites." He says that at all airports, Southwest employees must be badged, whether work- ing inside or outside. Driving rules, deicing policies, etc., vary from location, as does the way an airport administers its policies. There are also differences in working with smaller airports and larger facilities, Johnson explains. The policies and proce- dures may be similar, but the message must also be expanded to a much larger group of staff say at, Memphis versus a regional airport. In order to keep all these fine lines in order, Southwest actually employs a sep- arate Standards Department, tasked with ensuring all the policies and procedures at each airport are up to date, known by the station managers and then followed. With 101 airport clients, this is no small task, but an essential one for Southwest to maintain a high level of service. Ben Leischner, airline scheduling man- ager at Seattle-Tacoma International Air - port (SEA), explains that at Sea-Tac, safety requirements are very proactive and more conservative than any of those put in place by the airline partners. "Due to recent litigation for accidents and injuries on the ramp, airports have gained a liability for maintaining safety on our ramps," he says. "One aspect of this is defining standardized approaches to the use and allocation of ramp space." A unique challenge for Memphis, notes Blue, is the short travel distance from some of the gates' jet bridges to the baggage car- ousel. He says the first person coming off the plane could find themselves settling in for a 20-minute wait and that it's entirely possible that when the bags arrive, the last person on the last row of the airplane is still onboard. "Perception is something we have to manage," he explains. There is no 'I' in Team Perception is something all air travel entities must manage, and this is where the team- work becomes so vital to success. MEM's Blue says that during his career as an airport executive, both in Milwau- kee and Memphis, he's been blessed to see ground handlers really take on a teamwork approach. "They recognize we are all in this together; we will all succeed or fail together," he says. Leischner agrees, he says that Sea-Tac has always utilized a highly collaborative approach of being transparent as well as open-minded when enacting policies that affect air carriers and the way their opera- tions function at the airport facilities. "It is a constant and open line of com- munication, as we continue to have a record number of operations here at Sea-Tac, which is now the ninth busiest airport in the coun- try," he notes. Perception is something all air travel entities must manage, and this is where teamwork becomes so vital for success .

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