3/2016Aviation World

Closely Intertwined with History 18A Man Who Is Prepared for Anything 14Finding Your Way 10

04 Europe’s Largest Certified Pharma Hub

2 Check-in

Dear Reader,Let’s reflect on Frankfurt Airport (FRA) 80 years ago, when the brand new “Rhine-Main Airport and Airship Base” was inaugurated with the first landing of a Junkers Ju-52 plane in the summer of 1936. At that time, nobody could have foreseen how the air-port would develop. FRA looked more like a farm – even with sheep and potato fields. After WW2 and the famous Berlin Air Lift, the airport began its rapid expansion to be-come one of the world’s leading aviation hubs. This success has always been predicated on the fact that the airport and its operator have adapted to new challenges – while embracing innovation and industry leadership, and while introducing new offers and services for customers.

This is the underlying theme of our cover story (page 4), in which we once again explore Frankfurt Airport’s response to changing market conditions. Specifically, members of the Air Cargo Community Frankfurt who handle pharmaceuticals are now certifying their activities under the IATA CEIV Pharma standard, in order to meet the increasing requirements for all companies involved in transporting pharma products – which de-pend on a consistent temperature-controlled “cool chain”. The IATA CEIV Pharma stan-dard (Center of Excellence for Independent Validators in Pharmaceutical Logistics) ensures that facilities, equipment, operations and staff comply with the standards and regulations expected from pharmaceutical manufacturers. This initiative will make FRA Europe’s largest certified pharma hub. In addition, it will strengthen our role as a global cargo gateway: for pharmaceuticals made right here in our region and Germany, as well as for other products transhipped via FRA.

In this issue, we take you behind the scenes (page 12) to gain insight into our air traffic control partners, the DFS German Air Navigation Services. We also examine the vital job of the loadmaster on the ramp (page 14,), and we outline some of the changes in recent years to make orientation and wayfinding more convenient for our passengers (page 10).

I hope you enjoy reading this issue.

Sincerely,Dr. Stefan Schulte, Executive Board Chairman of Fraport AG

Dr. Stefan Schulte,

Executive Board Chairman

Fraport AG

03 Fraport WorldFinding Your WayKeeping an Eye on the SkyLoadmaster Agent: A Man Who Is Prepared for AnythingA Tourist Destination with a View“Top Service Germany 2016” AwardThree Questions: New Ideas for the Airport

17 Airline WorldAirline Portrait Singapore Airlines: Closely Intertwined with HistoryLufthansa: New Destinations in the Winter ScheduleANA: New Station ManagerFCS Takes on Cargo Handling for Egypt AirVietnam Airlines: More Frequent Flights to Vietnam LATAM: New Station ManagerWOW air Becomes New FCS Customer

22 History World80th Anniversary of Frankfurt Airport

04 Europe’s Largest Certified Pharma Hub

17 Airline Interview: Air Arabia Maroc

22 80th Anniversary of Frankfurt Airport

Fraport World 3

Viral Video Campaign on Services at Frankfurt AirportAt first, it looks like a visitor is just filming the landing of a Boeing 777 at Frankfurt Airport on his smartphone. But then what happens? Before the plane has even touched down on the runway, it transforms into a robot. And that is not all: Like so many passengers at the end of a flight, first of all the robot needs to use the bathroom.

But what is it behind this video that has attracted considerable attention on the Internet and has already been clicked on more than five million times on the video portal YouTube? “The video is the first part of a campaign showing all of the ser-vices Frankfurt Airport has to offer. In order to generate a lot of attention, at the start of the campaign we focused on the viral popularity of our robot FRAbot and initially stayed in the background as the maker of the videos,” explained Mike Peter Schweitzer, Head of Media Relations at the airport operator Fraport. Mean-while, the popular protagonist has a new name: FRAnky.

FRAnky goes exploringNow Fraport is following up the great suc-cess of the first clip with more videos – all

25th Anniversary of the Fraport-MONITOR Passenger Survey“How often in the past 12 months have you flown via Frankfurt Airport?” For 25 years, the airport operator Fraport has been looking into this and other questions using the Fraport-MONITOR passenger survey. In collaboration with the company GfK Media and Communication Research, data on the passenger structure are col-lected, analyzed and documented at the airport. Passenger satisfaction has also been examined for the past 20 years.

In interviews lasting ten minutes each and held every fourth calendar day, some 29,000 travelers a year are asked about their opinions and travel behavior. The survey also picks up on different current projects and special topics each month, allowing the evaluation of new measures to be checked quickly and optimized if necessary. “Based on the valuable results on current trends and the satisfaction of our customers, we have been able to de-velop and continuously improve our offers

in a targeted way over the past 25 years. This is particularly thanks to the high level of willingness to participate and provide information shown by our passengers at Frankfurt Airport. The 25th anniversary of

featuring the famous protagonist, of course. FRAnky can already be seen performing relaxing exercises in the specially created yoga rooms at the airport and visiting one of the shower rooms. “Bit by bit, the shape-shifting robot will examine the dif-ferent offers available to passengers at Frankfurt Airport. He will show how pas-sengers can make their stay an exciting and enjoyable one,” revealed Thomas Kirner, Head of Service Quality at Frankfurt Airport.

The entire campaign helps reinforce the airport operator’s new mission statement “Gute Reise! We make it happen.” The aim is to enhance the quality of stay, im-prove customer friendliness and gear the existing range of services even more strongly toward travelers’ wishes.

The videos can be found on Frankfurt Airport’s YouTube channel: www.youtube.com/user/FraportundFRA

Fraport-MONITOR is a fitting occasion to thank all of the survey respondents for taking part,” emphasized Anke Giesen, Executive Director Operations at Fraport AG.

1991

49% business travel

51% private travel

57% originating*

43% transferring

40years of age

2015

40% business travel

60% private travel

41% originating*

59% transferring

41years of age

The typical passenger at FRA

*Trip starts/ends in Frankfurt.

Europe’s Largest Certified Pharma Hub

IATA experts to confirm quality of services for temperature-sensitive pharmaceutical products

5Fraport World – Keynote

6 Fraport World – Keynote

Each year, about 100,000 metric tons of

vaccinations, medicines and other pharma-

ceutical products pass through the airfreight

location at Frankfurt Airport on their way to

destinations all around the world.

A little jab can save lives. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates, for example, that measles vaccinations pre-vented the deaths of 13.8 million people worldwide between 2000 and 2012. Many of them were children. To eradicate this highly contagious disease, the WHO is therefore aiming for a worldwide vacci-nation rate of 95 percent, which has not yet been achieved even in Europe. This is just one example of why demand for vac-cinations, medicines and other pharma-ceutical products is continuously increas-ing – and why more and more of these products are therefore being transported all around the world.

“At Frankfurt Airport, pharmaceutical trans-portation already accounts for around five

percent of the total freight volume,” said Dominik Mißkampf, Chairman of the Pharma competence team in the Air Cargo Community Frankfurt. Certification by IATA is now intended to provide indepen-dent confirmation that the companies at Frankfurt Airport offer reliable services for these sensitive goods. The Air Cargo Community Frankfurt initiated this process and also plans to use it to improve pro-cesses and encourage dialog between the different companies involved.

Location and expertiseMore than two-thirds of the pharmaceuti-cal freight at Frankfurt Airport is exports, meaning that they are to be flown from Frankfurt to destinations all around the world. “Our airport is within reach by truck for many pharmaceutical manufac-turers. The short transportation times are obviously a plus point when it comes to shipping temperature-sensitive prod-ucts,” explained Mißkampf. “It is equally important for the companies involved at the airport to have the right expertise for handling these sensitive goods.”

This is because for some pharmaceutical products, such as insulin, it is essential that the cold chain is not broken during trans-portation. Otherwise, medicines and vac-cinations lose their effectiveness and have to be destroyed. The air transport associ-ation IATA estimates that incorrect han -dling results in annual losses of between USD 2.5 billion and USD 12.5 billion for pharmaceutical companies worldwide. According to the IATA, over 50 percent of all temperature excursions occur while products are in the hands of airlines and airports. So does airfreight face particular challenges when it comes to transporting pharmaceuticals?

Challenge: many different parties involved“Compared to other modes of transport such as sea freight, the process chain for airfreight contains more interfaces. This means that the cold chain can potentially be broken at many different points,” ex-plained Mißkampf. The pharmaceutical manufacturer hands over the goods to a forwarding agent, who brings them to a cargo handler at the airport, who then

In order to monitor the cold chain, pharmaceutical consign-

ments usually contain a device for measuring temperature data.

This enables the recipient to see precisely whether the conditions

have been met – in the event of significant deviations, the medi-

cines must be destroyed.

7Fraport World – Keynote

Refrigerated containers are the premium solution for temperature-sensitive products.

They ensure a specific temperature from the dispatcher to the destination airport by

means of active refrigeration.

Particularly for products that need to kept within a temperature

range of between 15 and 25 degrees Celsius, “passive cooling”

is sufficient given the right weather conditions. This means

that the temperature is maintained by a

cooling ceiling only.

For the temperature-controlled trans-

port of pharmaceutical products from

the warehouse to the aircraft and vice

versa, Fraport’s Ground Services offer a

special thermo transporter.

Staying cool at Frankfurt AirportFrankfurt Airport provides over 7,000 square meters of first line temperature-controlled (–24 to +24° Celsius) and GDP-certified storage and handling areas. Additional capacity comes from specially designated pharmaceuticals areas of many freight forwarders and other cargo handlers.

8 Fraport World – Keynote

The IATA CEIV Pharma Certification for the Aviation IndustryIn contrast to other standards such as the EU Good Distribution Practice Guidelines, the certification is specifically designed for the aviation industry and is globally recognized.

Certification process:

Training courses for employees (quality management, risk analysis, standard operation procedures)

To ensure the success of the certification process, the Air Cargo Community Frankfurt e.V. and the IATA organize and coordinate special training courses for employees of the

participating companies. It also offers them a platform for joint work on overarching processes so that they can exchange experiences and ideas across company borders.

At Frankfurt Airport, companies along the entire process chain are obtaining certification.

Review of pharmaceutical

processes and facilities

Reporting of any gaps

Actions to close gaps

Validation

Special thermo transporters ensure that

pharmaceutical products are kept at the right

temperature on the apron. However, these

sensitive goods are also shipped as part of

general cargo pallets, where they are pro-

tected using thermocovers as necessary.

Then the pharmaceutical products are

loaded into pre-cooled cargo holds.

Findings and

recommendations

9Fraport World – Keynote

prepares the consignment for the flight. Here, they are collected by a ground handler and handed over to an airline by loading them into the aircraft at its stand. “If just one company involved in the supply chain lacks the relevant expertise for these sensitive goods, then it might not matter how well the others do their job,” said Mißkampf.

Exchange of information is importantIn addition to the handling itself, it is im-portant for the exchange of information between the different parties involved to work properly. To take one example, phar-maceutical products do not have to be de-clared as dangerous goods. This means that a general cargo pallet may contain, among other things, medicines that can-not be stored above 25 degrees Celsius. “All of the parties involved therefore need to know that there is temperature-sensitive freight on the pallet so that they handle the unit accordingly and do not leave it out, unrefrigerated in the sun too long, for example,” said Mißkampf. “Information about the transported products and the corresponding declarations has to be for-warded throughout the whole supply chain.”

This generally works very well at Frank-furt Airport, he said, and the individual companies already provide the right con-ditions for fast, safe and reliable transpor-tation of temperature-sensitive products. “But the pharmaceutical industry that we cooperate with closely is setting ever higher requirements and increasingly often requires transport companies to have relevant certificates,” said Mißkampf. To remain competitive, some member companies of the Air Cargo Community Frankfurt therefore decided to complete IATA’s Pharma CEIV certification. “This comprehensive certification of the entire process chain enables us to have our quality confirmed independently. At the same time, we see the certification pro-cess as an opportunity for additional op-timization of our services and processes.”

Certification by the start of 2017At present, Perishable Center GmbH & Co. Betriebs KG and Bolloré Logistics Germany GmbH, both based in Frankfurt, have already completed certification in accordance with IATA CEIV Pharma. Other companies at the location are currently

“Temperature-Controlled Transport – Pharmaceuticals”

Competence Team at Frankfurt Airport

Dominik Mißkampf is the Chairman of the Pharma

competence team in the Air Cargo Community

Frankfurt and Senior Project Manager at Fraport’s

Ground Services.

undergoing or beginning the certification process lasting around nine months. “Once the certification process for these companies is complete, we will offer all shippers a wide range of services based on the IATA CEIV Pharma standard,” empha-sized Mißkampf. For example, over 95 per-cent of cargo handling and around 85 per -cent of the apron transportation and load-ing processes performed at Frankfurt Airport will then be certified. Many international airlines with important stations in Frankfurt are also currently obtaining certification in line with this standard. Mißkampf said: “The topic is simply relevant to all parties involved in the supply chain. The highest quality can be achieved only if we work together.”

To strengthen FRA further as an air-freight location, the airfreight sector at Frankfurt Airport established the “Air Cargo Community Frankfurt e. V.” in 2013. The “Temperature-Controlled Transport – Pharmaceuticals” compe -tence team is one of four working groups that deal with various different cargo-related topics.

In addition to certification, the Pharma competence team examines every single process step for possible optimi -zation potential, for example. Here, the

focus is on overarching solutions. Fur-thermore, the Community also cooper-ates closely with forwarders and phar-maceutical industry representatives to ensure that the products and services at the location meet the necessary require-ments optimally. This also includes the “Visit FRA Pharma” program, in which representatives from pharmaceutical companies can visit the location to find out about the high performance level and the many possibilities there. Further information: info@FRA-fr8.com

Finding Your Way What has the “Great to Have You Here!” program achieved so far? This time, we take stock of the developments in the “Welcome & Wayfinding” segment

Passengers heading toward their gates, service staff cleaning the floors, announce-ments for individual flights sounding out from loudspeakers – there is always a lot going on at an airport. Especially for pas-sengers who do not fly regularly or are not familiar with the airport, all of this ac-tivity can be as confusing as a labyrinth. At Frankfurt Airport, this is also intensified by the sheer size of the terminals. “Passengers need to be able to find their way easily in any situation and in any place,” said Martina Pfeffer, Head of Terminal Management at Fraport. “If this is not the case, then no matter how good our other offers are, the passenger will not leave our airport 100% satisfied.” This is why, as part of its service initiative “Great to Have You Here!”, the airport operator has now also placed a focus on wayfinding possibilities – true to the new mission statement “Gute Reise! We make it happen.”

Understanding informationThe question of signage at an airport is a science in its own right. Nonetheless, ad-equate signage alone is not enough to help passengers with navigation: “To enable people to find their way easily, the infor -mation needs to be understood – even though the people come from different countries and cultures and therefore also

times for security checks. “Passengers want to catch their flight, so it is impor -tant for us to provide them with in-formation like this,” explained Pfeffer. “In doing so, we are placing an even stronger focus on the needs of our guests with the aim of improving the quality of their stay.” And if passengers do not have to spend a lot of time finding their way, that means they have more time to enjoy the other services on offer – such as yoga, TV zones, work areas, shopping and gastronomy.

interpret visual information in very differ-ent ways,” explained Pfeffer. To overcome this obstacle, in recent years Fraport has in-troduced multilingual display boards and information kiosks, as well as creating the possibility to translate signs using the FRA app. “And those who prefer to get in-formation in person are of course wel-come to talk to our multilingual service staff in the terminals,” said Pfeffer.

More up-to-date information has been provided, for example, about waiting

Terminal 1 arrival level has been completely modernized. Following the redesign, the covered terminal forecourt now appears brighter, calmer and more open. The flow of traffic has also

6

Fraport World10

1) Around 100 information kiosks at both terminals

provide information in eight languages: German, Eng-

lish, Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Russian, Spanish and

Arabic.

2) Landed safely in Frankfurt, but now want to know

how to get to your destination? In pilot projects in the

arrivals halls of Terminal 1 and 2, all information on

trains, buses and long-distance buses can be found on

a display board. This also shows the time taken to travel

by car and the number of car-sharing vehicles avail-

able, as well as delays and traffic information updated

in real time.

3) Using the sign translator in the FRA app, passengers

can take photos of airport signs in the terminals and

have them translated into their native language. This is

possible for Chinese, Japanese, Russian, Arabic, Korean

and Spanish.

4) Information boards provide real-time information,

for example, about waiting times for security checks.

5) The flight display in the terminals informs many

travelers in their native language. The current flight

status, such as “Gate open” appears first in German,

then in English and finally in the language of the re-

spective destination. The information is currently avail-

able in Chinese, Arabic, Japanese, Korean, Russian and

Spanish. French and Turkish versions are being pre-

pared.

6) Another new project will enter the practical phase

this fall, when buses on the apron will start providing

current passenger and service information on in-

formation screens.

1

been improved.

2

3 4

5

Fraport World12

Keeping an Eye on the SkyAround 2,000 air traffic controllers ensure safe and punctual air traffic in Germany

With up to 10,000 aircraft movements a day, Ger-many is the country with the most air traffic in Europe. DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung GmbH (DFS), which is based in Langen, coordinates activities in the air-space to prevent dangerous approaches and en-sure that flight schedules run smoothly.

A firm handshake, alert eyes and a friendly smile: Ulrike Münzer is one of 2,000 air traffic controllers across Germany. You would willingly trust this per-son with your life. This sounds admittedly dramatic, but ultimately it is exactly what Münzer does. Every day, and sometimes at night, the air traffic con-troller makes sure that thousands of passengers and crew members pass through German airspace and reach their destinations safe and sound.

Complex skiesWhen Münzer explains how the airspace is divided up, it sounds fairly simple, but she herself admits that the skies above us are “incredibly complex,” at least as far as air traffic goes. Like roads or rail tracks, predefined routes traverse various differ-ently sized sections at several levels. As soon as a jet taking off from Frankfurt is in the air, it leaves the work area of the tower controllers and notifies the arrival and departure controllers, who are based at the control center in Langen. From here and three other DFS centers in Bremen, Munich and Karlsruhe, the so-called center or radar controllers monitor German airspace and guide the aircraft from sector to sector. Pilots are continuously given instructions by radio and must adjust their altitude or direction if necessary. At the destination, an air traffic con-troller monitors the descent and watches out for speed and safe distances until the team in the tower takes over again.

Complicated pattern on the radarMost flights go according to plan and are announced a long time in advance. Things get stressful if air-planes want to move into a different sector, for example due to a storm, and thus exceed their in-dividually determined capacity limit. “Like in a game of chess, you always have to plan and think a couple of moves ahead,” explained Münzer, point-ing to the computer screen where the airplanes are shown as squares steadily moving in all directions. For a layperson, it is complicated enough to de-cipher the combinations of letters and numbers next to the squares, which show aspects such as the

identifier and the altitude and speed, and figure out which of the airplanes is flying higher or lower than its neighbor. Münzer, who is responsible for a specific sector to the east of Frankfurt Airport, al-ways has her eye on up to 14 aircraft that are flying in her area, either passing through or on their way to or from Frankfurt Airport.

The air traffic controllers always work as a team. One person watches the radar and maintains contact with the cockpit while the coordinating controller monitors weather reports and coordinates with the teams in other sectors before handovers. “Elbow coordination,” as the 49-year-old calls it, since sometimes a little nudge from workstation to work-station is all that is needed to exchange information. In general, everything happens surprisingly quietly and above all calmly in the open-plan office at the control center in Langen, even though there are usually up to 100 employees working here at the same time. Fully focused, Münzer’s colleagues speak into their headsets to issue instructions to the cockpit crew, producing no more than a subtle background noise.

Intelligent assistantsEvery day, DFS staff guide up to 10,000 flights throughout Germany – meaning that there are probably at least a million passengers and airline employees a day relying on the DFS air traffic con-trollers to complete this very important task reliably. In doing so, the controllers are supported by intelli-gent computer programs, which for example gener-ate an optical warning signal in advance if two air-craft could possibly get too close to each other. DFS is doing research into systems that further improve these support functions, with the aim of relieving the controllers of routine tasks to an even greater extent so that they have more time available for indi-vidual monitoring.

This is challenging enough, Münzer explained, because – unlike in training with the simulator – “I cannot simply stop real operations if, for example, ice and snow cause a backlog in airport operations.” Often it is not about finding the best solution, but rather the quickest one in order to ensure safe air traffic: “Decisiveness is very, very important in my job.” And that makes it draining. Two hours in front of the radar are followed by a one-hour break, as stipulated by the regulations.

The air traffic controllers from

DFS German Air Navigation

Systems keep a watchful eye on

the airspace over Germany,

which is criss-crossed by an in-

tricate pattern of routes.

13Fraport World

State-of-the-art technology

(small picture, left) is an essen-

tial component of airspace

management, even for experi-

enced air traffic controllers like

Ulrike Münzer (below).

14 Fraport World

A Man Who Is Prepared for AnythingAs a loadmaster agent, Oskar Schmeichel coordinates

all processes relating to ground handling for an aircraft

Suddenly, things get hectic. Oskar Schmeichel gets a call on his cell phone. While still on the phone, he waves over two ground handling agents. “A pas-senger has not showed up, so now we need to off-load the respective suitcase,” he explains to the employees hurrying towards him. The Airbus A320neo to Hamburg was actually ready for take-off and just waiting for authorization to push back. It is 11:01 a.m., the clock is ticking and delays cost money.

Schmeichel climbs up into the pallet high loader and drives it to the aircraft, where a handling agent opens the door to the hold and unloads the first container. The baggage items in it are loaded ac-cording to a particular system, so it does not take Schmeichel’s colleagues long to find the suitcase, which cannot travel without its owner for security reasons. The container is loaded again and the airplane can start the push-back only a few min-utes later than expected – Schmeichel and his team are finished with ground handling for LH010 to Hamburg by 11:09 a.m.

Two jobs in oneOskar Schmeichel is one of 610 loadmaster agents working for Fraport’s Ground Services who coordi-nate the processes relating to ground handling for all Lufthansa flights. A second coordinator from Lufthansa is involved only if handling wide-body air-craft – simply due to the sheer quantity of suitcases and cargo. Otherwise, the loadmaster agent alone is responsible, performing the tasks of loadmaster and ramp agent in combination (see box). But it is not just last-minute calls like this that require Schmeichel to concentrate hard and act fast: His day-to-day work consists of a series of duties that need to be dealt with precisely. Let’s go back an hour to 10:00 a.m. Flight LH009 is expected at stand A16 in a few min-utes. Deutsche Lufthansa’s load planning network, Global Load Control, calculates the weight and bal-ance to determine how the aircraft will be loaded for each Lufthansa flight. And this is exactly where the loadmaster agents’ work begins. Using his mo-bile data entry device MobIS-L, Oskar Schmeichel logs on to the loading schedule in the Lufthansa Global Load Control network and goes through the upcoming ground handling process with the han -dling agents. They discuss how much cargo and baggage is on board, how much time is available

Oskar Schmeichel (47) has

been working for Fraport’s

Ground Services for 21 years

and as a loadmaster agent for

the past 11.

15Fraport World

for ground handling and who will perform which tasks, before checking whether all the equipment is ready and the stand is free of any debris (known as FOD).

Then the airplane moves toward the gate with a deafening roar of its turbines. Wearing ear protec-tion, Schmeichel and his colleagues set out the chocks. The routine sequence of the ground han -dling process begins: connecting the ground power, securing the aircraft in line with regulations, dock-ing the passenger bridge, unloading containers with the pallet high loader, removing individual baggage items from the belly of the airplane. Fuel trucks, catering and cleaning staff arrive. At the heart of the action, Schmeichel has an overview of everything. He moves purposefully from one place to the next, giving instructions and organizing what needs to happen. He directs approaching tractors, checks whether the cargo to be loaded is secured properly and determines what needs to be loaded first. When the captain appears on the stairs at the back of the airplane and asks when the crew will be picked up, the loadmaster agent coordinates this as well, and then disappears into the airplane to check how far along the catering and cleaning are. “As a loadmaster agent, you need to have an over-view of absolutely everything and also be good at delegating,” said Schmeichel. At the same time, he lends a hand wherever help is needed: whether it is helping his colleagues load special baggage or wav-ing over the beverage cart so that his colleagues can get some refreshment – Oskar Schmeichel is a man who is prepared for anything.

Importance of documentationThe loadmaster agent documents each completed step on the tablet-like MobIS-L. “It is very practical – previously we had to document everything on paper and clarify it by cell phone, now we have a direct line to Global Load Control,” explained Schmeichel. This enables changes to be communi-cated immediately. For example, if an additional baggage container is needed, Schmeichel passes on this information to Global Load Control and ad-justs the loading schedule. Or, if necessary, he may decide that cargo cannot be transported instead of baggage because the weight limit would then be exceeded. “I am responsible for ensuring that ground handling for the flight is carried out prop-erly and punctually, in line with the strict safety conditions of the aviation industry, for example, making sure that everything is loaded safely,” ex-plained Schmeichel. He also sees this as the advan-tage of his job: “When just one person alone is re-sponsible for ground handling, there cannot be any misunderstandings. Once I have checked something, I know that aspect has been dealt with.” By 11:01 a.m., everything is done. Ground handling for flight LH010 to Hamburg is complete. But then Schmeichel’s cell phone rings. A suitcase needs to be offloaded.

The role of loadmaster agent combines two jobs in one: Firstly, that of a loadmaster who coordinates the loading and unloading of bag-gage and cargo during ground handling. Sec-ondly, that of a ramp agent who maintains an overview of all processes relating to ground handling for an airplane, for example, whether refueling, catering and cleaning are in prog-ress. This special qualification exists only at Fraport’s Ground Services at Frankfurt Airport. It was developed in line with the requirements of Deutsche Lufthansa, the airline for which the job is primarily used. This combination of jobs reduces costs and is also intended to sim-plify communication with Lufthansa’s global load planning network.

Top: Other airlines use the mobile data recording device

MobIS-L for internal documentation only when performing

ground handling. At Luft hansa, it is directly connected with

the weight and balance system.

Middle: Oskar Schmeichel makes sure the cargo in the belly of

the Airbus is secured properly so that nothing moves around

during the flight.

Bottom: The work of a loadmaster agent includes a lot of

communication with coworkers.

Combination of jobs

“The loadmaster agent role that

we have developed with Lufthansa

is a good example of how we can

design ground handling processes

that are precisely tailored to the

needs of our airline customers.”

Christoph Horstmann, Operational Coordination Team Leader at Fraport’s Ground Services

16 Fraport World

“Top Service Germany 2016” AwardThe business newspaper Handelsblatt, the University of Mannheim and the consult-ancy ServiceRating have awarded their seal of quality “Top Service Germany 2016” to the airport operator Fraport. This places the airport among the 50 companies from all economic sectors, all over Germany that received this award. Whether it concerns the yoga room, the gaming world or com-fort services – the aim is to make passengers and visitors feel at home during their stay at the airport. This is also reflected in the slogan “Gute Reise! We make it happen,” a claim that the airport operator has com-mitted to in its new mission statement.

For more than ten years, the “Top Service Germany” competition has been giving participating companies the opportunity to have their customer focus evaluated based on a scientifically validated focus model. Both customer opinions and ex-pert analyses are incorporated in the as-sessment. Frankfurt is the only airport among the top 50 most customer and service-oriented companies in Germany.

More information on the wide range of services at Frankfurt Airport: www.frankfurt-airport.com > Flights & More

Ms. Bhasin, what is the Frankfurt Airport Innovation Challenge?In addition to our innovation man-agement, we already have an estab-lished suggestion system at Fraport that gives all employees the oppor-tunity to contribute their ideas. This has already led to many fantastic pro-jects. But now we want to make use of creative potential from outside the company, which is why we launched a public competition looking for ideas to make Frankfurt Airport an even more special place.

What was the response like?Even bigger than we had hoped. There were 9,000 visitors from a total of 95 countries to the competition website. They included passengers, aviation fans, people who work in the industry and people with no connec-tion to aviation but with a general in-terest in innovation competitions. The participants submitted a total of 624 ideas for a wide range of different areas. These ideas were aimed at, for example, new or improved services, facilities or parts of the travel chain.

Will the ideas really be implemented? A group of Fraport experts examined all of the suggestions submitted. Al-though there is no guarantee of im-plementation for the best contribu-tions, we are currently examining which of the ideas we can take on.

New Ideas for the Airport

Richa Bhasin,

Innovation Manage-

ment Specialist

at Fraport AG.

“We wanted to use creative

potential from the outside.”

Three QuestionsA Tourist Destination with a View

One of the most popular leisure attrac-tions in the Frankfurt Rhine-Main region is available once again following a facelift: the Visitors’ Terrace at Frankfurt Airport.Covering 1,800 square meters, the terrace can accommodate up to 800 guests at once. The redesign includes the addition

of a modern reception and attractive new flooring in the outdoor area. Because of a new protective fence, guests now no longer need to clear a security check. This opens up the possibility of temporarily leaving the platform – to grab a snack, for example, and then returning.

The winners: The decision of the jury was not

made until after this issue of Aviation World went

to press. An overview of the best ideas is available

at: www.fra-challenge.de.

17Airline World

trips of an average stay of five days. So we are keen to have our share of this busi-ness, also by being present in Frankfurt.

How do things stand after a year in Frankfurt?We are looking at the long-term oppor-tunities that this route has to offer and working towards building it up. But we are optimistic about the growth of the route, which will depend on the current season's results. We also appreciate the cooperation we have with the manage-ment of Fraport. This cooperation is as professional as required, and we are keen to see it evolve in a positive way.

“Optimistic About the Growth of the Route”

Air Arabia Maroc is one of the newest airlines at Frankfurt Airport and is convinced

that it is well positioned for the future

Morocco is also known as “the gateway to Africa,” which already highlights the country’s hospitality. It has also been given this name owing to its location in the northern part of the continent. For several years now, Air Arabia Maroc has been contributing towards opening this gateway even further. In this interview, Adel Ali, Group CEO of the parent com-pany Air Arabia, reports on the strategy that will be used to do so in the years to come.

Mr. Ali, Air Arabia Maroc is still a relatively new subsidiary of Air Arabia as it was founded in 2009. Why was it founded?The idea of establishing a hub in Morocco was part of the Air Arabia Group’s vision to expand into North Africa and Europe. Morocco is not only ideally situated at a far end of the Arab world and close to Europe. It also enjoys a stable economy and an emerging travel and tourism sec-tor. Therefore, we had a clear vision when we first started operations to contribute to the Moroccan economy by flying more people.

What strategy are you pursuing with this airline?Since Air Arabia Maroc took off to the skies, we have constantly invested in growth and customer service. The route expansion strategy remains at the heart of

Adel Ali, Group Chief Executive Officer of Air Arabia.

Maroc’s parent company Air Arabia set up the airline

group in 2003.

our operations. We have been serving the European market well, and we look forward to doing the same in the African market when we are allowed.

Speaking of growth: How many desti-nations does Air Arabia Maroc fly to at the moment?Air Arabia Maroc flies to 19 destinations in Europe from five Moroccan airports, which makes a total network of 29 routes. 2016 will see the addition of two new routes to our growing network: Fez – Toulouse and Marrakech – Pau. More destinations will be announced soon.

You have also been flying to Frankfurt twice a week for a year now. What was the reason to expand your network? The Frankfurt route was launched to support the tourism objectives of the Moroccan government. It aims to promote tourism in the Marrakech region, and it will be maintained during the coming seasons, too. Moreover, it completes our existing network to Germany as we were already flying from Nador to Cologne.

What kind of passengers do you have so far on this route? Due to the nature of Marrakech as a lei-sure destination, the majority of our pas-sengers on this route are tourists – and Germans are the world champions when it comes to tourism travel, with 54 million

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Closely Intertwined with HistorySingapore Airlines started small, but now it is hard to imagine international flight operations without it

Germany has always played an important role in the

success story of Singapore Airlines – a long partner-

ship connects the national airline of the city state of

Singapore with Frankfurt Airport in particular.

1972 was an important year for Singapore Airlines: Not just because the airline added Frankfurt Airport to its route network on August 1, but rather be-cause this was the year when Malaysia-Singapore Airlines split into two airlines: Malaysian Airline System and Singapore Airlines. “That was when we really started to grow. We constantly expanded our route network and our fleet,” explained David Lim, Station Manager for Singapore Airlines at Frankfurt Airport. And it was a success: Today, the five-star airline is among the top award-winning airlines. It also got people talking when it became the first customer of the Airbus A380 in October 2007. Singapore Airlines currently uses 19 of these wide-body aircraft for long-haul flights; another five have been ordered and are due for delivery in 2018.

Name changes come to an endBut it all started very small: Back in 1947 with a twin-engine aircraft that flew between Singapore, Penang Island and the Malaysian cities of Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh three times a week. “The history of Singapore Airlines is closely intertwined with the history of Malaysia and Singapore,” explained Lim. This is reflected not least in the frequent changes in the airline’s name. To start with, it oper-ated under the name Malayan Airways Limited, then after the foundation of the Federation of Malaya it became Malaysian Airways Limited and later Malaysia-Singapore Airlines. These changes came to an end in 1972. Since then, Singapore Air-lines has grown while keeping the same name. And its image has not changed much, either. The ser-vice staff on board still wear the traditional sarong kebaya uniforms that were first introduced in 1968.“Our philosophy is based on three pillars,” said Station Manager Lim. “We stand for product excel-lence, service excellence and an extensive net-work.” As one of the first members of Star Alliance, Singapore Airlines was able to expand its route

David Lim has been the Station

Manager for Singapore Airlines

at Frankfurt Airport since June

2016.

Singapore makes a big impression on visitors thanks to its

spectacular gardens such as the Gardens by the Bay (left), its

rich cultural heritage including the Mariamman Hindu

temple (middle) and the world's highest hotel pool at the

Marina Bay Sands.

19Airline World

– Arose from Malayan Airways Limited, which started flight operations in 1947

– Since 1972, the airline has been operating under the name Singapore Airlines

– Corporate headquarters in Singapore– 13,983 employees worldwide, including 101 in Germany

(excluding cargo) and 28 at the airport traffic office in Frankfurt– Revenues: USD 12 billion (fiscal year 2015 – 2016)– 19 million passengers (April 2015 – March 2016)– Fleet: Airbus A330, Airbus A350, Airbus A380 and Boeing 777;

107 aircraft in total

At a Glance

network enormously thanks to codesharing and co-operation with other airlines. Just recently, the air-line agreed on a close collaboration with Lufthansa, in which the two airlines will operate key routes between Singapore and Europe on a joint-venture basis. “Expanding our route network through co-operations and alliances is the future,” said Lim with conviction.

A trust-based relationshipRight from the start, Frankfurt was an important station for Singapore Airlines. Not just in terms of establishing a direct connection to the financial center and the economically strong Rhine-Main region. As part of Germany, Frankfurt is also very important to the airline’s European operations. Station Manager Lim, who has been in Frankfurt for only a few months, values the relationship with the airport operator Fraport that has evolved over the years: “There is close cooperation between Fraport and Singapore Airlines. Our staff know each other well and there is always an open communication channel between our staff on day-to-day matters and also between the management of both com-panies. This allows us to discuss issues openly and quickly.” Lim is particularly satisfied with the or-ganizational processes, such as those involved in ground handling and baggage handling. “Fraport’s way of doing business is very computerized and digitalized. This speaks well for efficiency,” he said.The latest projects include the introduction of Pre-mium Economy Class and the resumption of direct flights from Singapore to the USA, which were dis-continued in 2013 and are now scheduled to start again in October. Meanwhile, Singapore Airlines already achieved a major goal in July this year when it started flying to Düsseldorf Airport. “Germany is the only European country in our network in which we are serving three different airports,” said Lim.

But Frankfurt is still the most important German location for the airline, as the Station Manager makes clear. This is the case even just based on the 44 years that Singapore Airlines and Fraport have been working together now, said Lim: “My prede-cessors also speak well of Fraport and so I am com-fortable that I am dealing with a competent group of people.”

The Singapore Airlines team at

Frankfurt Airport (above) makes

sure that passengers enjoy an

atmospheric start to their trip

to Asia. Rickshaws are just one

of the things awaiting them in

Singapore. Many passengers

also use the city-state as a stop-

over on the way to Australia or

New Zealand.

Airline World20

ANA: New Station Manager

Narimatsu Kazuhisa was appointed as the new Station Manager of ANA All Nippon Airways at Frankfurt Airport start-ing in April. He has worked for the airline since 1992, including as

a flight dispatcher and in the Load Con-trol and Passenger Service divisions. Most recently Kazuhisa worked in the Oper-ation Management Center in Tokyo. As Station Manager, his focus is now on the passengers: “ANA has been certified with the highest five-star airline rating for five years now thanks to the quality of the standards we provide at our home base, Tokyo Haneda Airport. With regard to FRA, though, we have only limited time and opportunity to communicate with customers since most of our passengers are here for transit. But we always try to be friendly, kind and cheerful – offering Japanese hospitality (O-MO-TE-NA-SHI) in order to provide our best service.”

FCS Takes on Cargo Handling for EgyptAir

EgyptAir already flies to Frankfurt Airport with passenger aircraft on a daily basis. Now, since July, Frankfurt has also been in-cluded in the network of the cargo division of Egypt’s state-owned airline. It currently serves the route on Sundays with an Airbus A300–600 freighter. “EgyptAir Cargo has decided on FCS Frankfurt Cargo Services – part of the global WFS Group network – and, of course, we very much welcome this decision,” said FCS Managing Director Hans-Georg Emmert. “We will give the airline the best possible service with our offers.”

The EgyptAir Cargo fleet currently con-sists of four medium range wide-body aircraft, two A300B4F and two A300– 600F. In addition, the airline uses the belly capacity of passenger aircraft at the affiliated company EgyptAir Airlines. As such, EgyptAir Cargo operates more than 70 scheduled international destinations in major cities in the USA, Canada, Europe, Africa, the Gulf area and the Far East. EgyptAir Cargo is expected to continue expanding its cargo volume in the future, including in Frankfurt.

Lufthansa: New Destinations in the Winter ScheduleWhether you want to enjoy some snow and ice or prefer to escape the winter, Lufthansa is offering two new destinations from Frankfurt in its winter schedule for both options: Madeira and Lapland.

Starting from November 5, Madeira, the island of flowers, will be just around four hours away from Frankfurt on a non-stop flight. The new destination in the middle of the Atlantic will be served every Satur-day by an Airbus A321 with more than 200 seats in Business and Economy Class. LH1170 will leave the Lufthansa hub in Frankfurt at 9:40 a.m. and reach Funchal at 12:55 p.m. The return flight will take off

from Funchal in the early afternoon at 2:30 p.m. and land at Frankfurt Airport at 7:40 p.m.

There will also be new connections to the far North, which is so popular among winter sports enthusiasts, with flights to Tromsø (Norway) every Saturday starting from November 26, 2016 and flights to Ivalo (Finland), also every Saturday, starting from December 17, 2016. Flights to Tromsø, located 350 km north of the Arctic Circle, will be served by an Airbus A319 with 138 seats in two classes until March 25, 2017. LH870 will leave the Lufthansa hub in Frankfurt in the morning and reach

Tromsø at 1:15 p.m. The return flight will take off from Tromsø in the early after-noon at 2:10 p.m. and land at Frankfurt Airport at 5:35 p.m.

Ivalo, Finland, has the northernmost air-port in the European Union and is seen as the “gateway to the North.” It will also be served by an Airbus A319 with 138 seats in two classes until March 25, 2017. LH846 will leave the Lufthansa hub in Frankfurt in the morning and reach Ivalo at 2:10 p.m. The return flight will take off from Ivalo in the early afternoon at 3:05 p.m. and land at Frankfurt Airport at 5:35 p.m.

With the three new destinations of (from left) Madeira,

Tromsø in Norway and Ivalo in Finland, Lufthansa's new

schedule will allow customers to escape the winter cold

or enjoy the snow and ice.

21Airline World

Publisher:Fraport AGFrankfurt Airport Service Worldwide60547 Frankfurt, Germany

www.twitter.com/Airport_FRA www.facebook.com/FrankfurtAirport

Editor-in-chief:Sigrun von Kienle, Corporate Communications

Editors:Anette Schmid, Fraport Ground ServicesRicarda Wahl, Airside and Terminal Management, Corporate Safety and Security

Content, information and ideas for articles:Susanne Kalbe, Sigrun von Kienle, Nicole Ruschig-Brunck, Anette Schmid, Ricarda Wahl

Written by: Profilwerkstatt GmbH, Darmstadt: Hannah Barthel (Chief Copywriter), Gesche Brock, Johannes Büchl

About This PublicationLayout: Profilwerkstatt GmbH, Darmstadt: Anke Rabbeau

Translations: EVS Translations GmbH, Offenbach

Printed by: Airport Print Center, Frankfurt

Production and project management:Profilwerkstatt GmbH, Darmstadt: Dr. Claudia Klemm

Photo credits: Fraport – p. 1, 2, 4, 7, 8 (all except logos), 9 (top), 10, 11, 13 (bottom), 14, 16, 20 (bottom right), 21 (top), 22 and 23 (central archive); Fotolia/Yuriy Klochan/123rf – p. 6; FCS Frank-furt Cargo Services – p. 8 (logo); Perishable Center Frankfurt – p. 8 (logo); Bolloré – p. 8 (logo); Luft -hansa Cargo – p. 8 (logo); Swiss -port – p. 8 (logo); LUG –

p. 8 (logo); Celebi – p. 8 (logo); Air Cargo Community Frankfurt e.V. – p. 9; DFS Deutsche Flugsicherung – p. 13; Air Arabia Maroc – p. 17; Singapore Airlines – p. 18 (top), 19 (logo and bottom); Singapore Airlines, Bjoern Wilps – p. 18 (middle), 19 (middle); shutterstock/ Kanuman (bottom left), Sabine Hortebusch (bottom middle), Vichy Deal (bottom right) – p. 18; shut-terstock/ Anilah (top left), Marina Sosnovskaya (top middle), Victor Maschek (top right) – p. 20; ANA All Nippon Airways – p. 20 (bottom left); LATAM Airlines Group – p. 21 (bottom left); Christian Christes – p. 21 (right)

LATAM: New Station ManagerLATAM Airlines Group has a new face in Frankfurt, with Lillian Bernardi as its new Station Manager since February. She began her career at LATAM Airlines Group in 1994.

After working in different airports as a Service Coordinator, she was appointed

More Frequent Flights to Vietnam Vietnam Airlines is steadily expanding its range of flights for travelers to Vietnam and Asia: From December 2016, passen-gers will be able to fly non-stop from Frank -furt to Hanoi or Ho Chi Minh City nine times a week. Vietnam is a popular destination that can be reached in just 10.5 hours with the non-stop connection. The Vietna-

The new Boeing

787–9 is used on

the route.

mese airline currently serves the Frankfurt – Hanoi route on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thurs-days, Fridays and Sundays and the Frank-furt – Ho Chi Minh City route on Mondays, Wednesdays and Saturdays. Starting from December, Vietnam Airlines will also fly from Frankfurt to Hanoi (VN36) on Saturdays and from Hanoi to Frankfurt (VN37) on Fridays.

Station Manager in Milan in 2007. In De-cember 2012, Bernardi returned to Brazil assuming the position of Manager of Air-ports in Latin America and the Pacific. In 2014, she was appointed Senior Coordi-nator Airport Services. Bernardi held that position until moving to Frankfurt.

WOW air Becomes New FCS CustomerThe low-cost airline WOW air from Iceland is one of the newest airlines at Frankfurt Airport. Since June, it has been flying from Reykjavik to Frankfurt six times a week. FCS Frankfurt Cargo Services GmbH per-forms cargo handling for it. “We are de-lighted that WOW air has chosen FCS as its cargo handler,” explained FCS Managing Director Hans-Georg Emmert with regard to the new customer. “As part of the glo-bal WFS Group network, FCS Frankfurt Cargo Services is exactly the right partner for an airline geared toward growth and success as it provides sustainable support for its customers, along with professional services and quality.”

Adding Frankfurt to the route network is another important step in the growth of the airline, which was established in 2011. Its founder Skúli Mogensen expects that Frankfurt will soon take on a key role for the airline and expects particularly good development opportunities from this lo-cation.

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