ready for the recovery? - swissport international ltd. · port has provided some positive sto- ......

HISTORIC AGREEMENT

KLM GLOBAL DEALSwissport and KLM have signed along-term global cooperation agree-ment that covers the provision ofground handling services at morethan 60 of the carrier's outstationsworldwide. It is a move that could seta bold new trend within the industry.

8 – 9

INTERNAL FOCUS

US SECURITY

SAFE AND SOUND?The US Transportation Security Ad-ministration continues to implementwhat it describes as a sophisticated‘system of systems’ as it seeks toimprove levels of aviation securityaround the nation. Swissreporterlooks at some of the measures intro-duced to date. 16

INVESTING IN QUALITYDespite the general economic down-turn, continued pressure on handlingtariffs, tight resources and the increas-ing market share of no-frills airlines,Swissport continues to implement avariety of quality-based initiatives.

13

After the negative news of the pasttwo years there are now clear signsthat our industry is picking up. Swiss-port has provided some positive sto-ries of its own in recent weeks andis looking forward with confidenceto the rest of 2004.

Tackle today’s challenges with opti-mism and you will enjoy the upturntomorrow and its benefits the day after.Our industry has suffered more than itsshare of negative news over the last twoyears.And,given this series of setbacks,it is hardly surprising that some of ushave lost a little of our boldness andenterprise along the way.

We have to guard against this, though.Because we must all rediscover ourcommitment and inspiration if we areto derive full benefit from the growingdynamics within the global economy.Now is the time to put the difficulttimes and defensive attitudes behind

us, and replace them with new ideasand collaboration approaches as wemake things happen, set new trends inmotion and get to grips with the chal-lenges ahead.

That is certainly the spirit in whichSwissport is currently at work. We havemade a key acquisition (Groundstar),put new partnerships in place (withSwiss, United and KLM) and are turn-ing new business strategies (such as avi-ation security services) into reality.

We are feeling this change in-house,too, where our new organisation andenhanced business processes are layinga firm foundation for our further suc-cess.

Needless to say, we aim to face thefuture together with our customers.Thetesting times of the recent past havetaught us to optimise our workflowsand procedures and focus on the essen-

tials. And, having done so, we are nowready to scale new heights with our cus-tomers and achieve common goals.

We are happy to share our newfoundoptimism with all our industry partners.Above all, we remain determined tomake the most of the upturn when itcomes, to pool our enthusiasm and tapnew energies to all our common bene-fit.

Equally, our 20,000-plus personnel,comprising more than 100 nationalities

also waiting to make the most of thenew opportunities.

We hope you will join us. And we lookforward to working hand-in-hand to-wards our further,and mutual,businesssuccess.

Stephan Beerli

GROUNDSTAR

RIS ING STARSwissport’s acquisition of Groundstarin April doubled the group’s UK busi-ness volume and added five airportsto its overall network. It also markedthe coming together of two organi-sations that share the same qualityethos. 2–3

International customer journal

Swissport International Ltd., Issue 13, May 2004

Ready for the recovery?

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Swissport’s acquisition of Ground-star in April doubled the group’sUK business volume and addedfive airports to its overall network.Just as importantly, it also markedthe coming together of two organ-isations that share the same qual-ity ethos.

Senior management,and every one ofGroundstar’s 2,000 staff, can reflecton a remarkable few years for thecompany.

In just a short time, the UK groundhandler has turned itself from anunderachieving, relatively unknownniche player into one of the country’smost innovative and quality-orientedground service providers.

Groundstar was formed in 1999 fol-lowing an Institutional Buyout (man-aged by venture capitalist 3i) thatbrought together three UK handlingentities.After a difficult first couple ofyears, a new, paired down manage-ment team embarked on a business

strategy that focussed specifically ondelivering good quality service at afair price.

It is an approach that has paid offhandsomely in the notoriously com-petitive UK ground handling marketand Groundstar has succeeded in itsgoal of achieving controlled, sustain-able growth.

“Groundstar is a company that hasreinvented itself in recent years,” saysNigel Daniel, Managing Director.“Importantly, we have achieved very

high sustainable quality at a goodmarket rate.”

Today, the handler offers a full rangeof services at five UK airports: Lon-don Stansted, London Gatwick, New-castle (Groundstar’s headquarters),Manchester and Birmingham.

Ultimately, Groundstar’s ambition isto expand to nine or 10 bases – a tar-get that received a further boostrecently when it secured licences tooperate at two additional airports.The plan is to activate one of them inthe autumn.

Such a transformation was clearly notlost on Swissport.When 3i decided to

test market interest in its investmentearlier this year, Swissport was quickto react; on April 7, Groundstar wasannounced as a valuable new addi-tion to the group’s global ground han-dling family.

The acquisition sees Groundstar slipseamlessly into the Swissport net-work, with little or no upheaval for its2,000 staff. Senior Groundstar man-agement will remain in place – albeitwith Nigel Daniel now assumingoverall responsibility for SwissportUK.

2 Swissreporter – The Swissport customer journal ■ May 2004

N E T W O R K D E V E L O P M E N T

Swissport welcomes Groundstar

D I D Y O U K N O W ?

■ Groundstar currently operatesat five UK airports (with licen-ces secured for two more)

■ In 2003, Groundstar handled100,000 flights and 20 millionpassengers for more than 50customer airlines

■ Groundstar enjoys 70% per-cent of the ground handlingbusiness at London Stansted(led by Ryanair and easyJet)

■ Groundstar achieved rev-enues of $82 million in 2003

Groundstar is now actively look-ing to welcome new internationalcustomers. For more information,contact:

Andy CruiseCommercial [email protected]

“We can now give our UK operationseven more drive and further

expand both our station network andcustomer base.”

Joseph In Albon

From humble beginnings, Groundstar has grown to become a major force in the UK ground handling market.

And Groundstar’s appeal was clear.Swissport has now gained full accessto five UK airports and extended itsinfluence beyond the current opera-tions at London Heathrow (fullservice) and Manchester (cargo hand-ling only).

Groundstar also offers Swissport anenviable customer list that covers abroad cross section of scheduled,charter and low-cost carriers, includ-ing British Airways, First Choice Air-lines, Ryanair, Monarch, Britannia,Thomas Cook Airlines,easyJet,FlyBeand Eastern Airways.

Most recently, Groundstar signed acontract to handle Virgin Atlantic’ssix daily B747-400 flights from Lon-don Gatwick.

Swissport will also be able to learnmuch from Groundstar not only

about the markets it has so clearlysucceeded in, but also the methodsused. One example is Groundstar’sdecision to step away from buying,managing or maintaining groundsupport equipment (GSE).

Instead, the handler struck a net-work-wide deal two years ago withthe Brussels-based GSE fleet man-agement specialist TCR Internation-

al to supply all new equipment. Theagreement includes a rolling replace-ment after five years, as well as fullmaintenance and servicing.

It is no wonder that Joseph In Albon,Swissport CEO, is so pleased with the acquisition.“We can now give our UK operations even more drive andfurther expand both our station net-work and our customer base,” hecomments.

Of course, Swissport also bringsplenty of benefits to Groundstar.For while the UK handler has deve-loped an excellent reputation withairlines in its home market, it has,until now, lacked sufficient reach totarget major carriers from elsewherein the world.

“However, with Swissport as ourparent, we will now be marketed on

every continent,” says Daniel. “Wehave achieved immediate globalreach.”

In addition, Groundstar will be ableto tap into Swissport’s system ofglobal deals, while customers willenjoy the benefits of simplifiedpurchasing across a larger network,as well as cost effective multipointincentive programmes.

Andy Cruise, Groundstar Commer-cial Manager, already reports excel-lent feedback from existing custo-mers.

“Without exception, all of our cus-tomers have welcomed the excitingnews and are looking forward to fur-ther developments within our UKbusiness,” he says.

Cruise certainly sees excellent oppor-tunities for current and future cus-tomers as Groundstar begins torealise clear commercial synergieswith Swissport.

“Importantly, we can now leveragethe Swissport brand to go after carri-ers that fit into our downtime atvarious bases,” explains Daniel.

“What will not change, however, isour commitment to controlled growthbuilt on quality. And Swissport is100% behind that.”

Richard Rowe

The Swissport customer journal ■ May 2004 – Swissreporter 3

N E T W O R K D E V E L O P M E N T

E V E RY O N E W I N S

“As a team, we are delighted withthe buy-out and can only see good opportunities to continue ourgrowth in a controlled, sustainableway.”

Nigel Daniel, Managing Director,Groundstar

“Our staff are committed todelivering high levels of customerservice and we all work to achievethe highest standard of profes-sionalism. Our entire managementteam are excited at the prospect of continuing to develop the busi-ness working with the world’s lead-ing ground handling company.”

Tina Barbour, Operations Director,Groundstar

“What will not change is ourcommitment to controlled growth built on quality. And Swissport is

100% behind that.”Nigel Daniel

Effective April 1, Swissport Inter-national introduced a new mana-gement structure that is designedto better meet the challenges of arapidly developing global groundhandling industry.

The decision by the Swissport Inter-national Board of Directors andExecutive Management to imple-ment a number of modifications tothe Group’s top management struc-ture comes as a reaction to the rapidpace of change in the airline businesstoday – and thus also in the associat-ed ground handling sector.

In particular, the reshuffle is designedto better equip Swissport to face avariety of key market trends and chal-lenges. These include the growinginfluence of global airline alliances,continued market consolidation, car-go business development and theimportance of new business lines andgeographic markets.

However, Swissport has respondednot so much with a structural revolu-tion as a more targeted reassignmentof resources to ensure that therequirements of all these key areasare adequately addressed.

The changes affect the Group’s com-mercial and cargo activities, and seethe number of regional divisionsreduced from five to three prime mar-kets. Increased attention will also bedevoted to the rapidly emergingAsian market.

The changes should have little effecton customers’ day-to-day dealingswith Swissport. On the key accountmanagement (KAM) side, Simon

Lehmann (Sales) and Dr LudwigBertsch (Cargo) will contact theirbusiness partners over the next fewweeks to discuss the new organisationand address any questions that cus-tomers might have.

Similarly, Erich Bodenmann (Ameri-cas) and Urs Sieber (Europe) willalso be communicating more detailsabout the organisational set up andprocesses within their divisions.

CooperationSwissport’s main objectives with this reorganisation are to step closerto customers and promote evenbetter cooperation around the world, while at the same time en-suring transparency and high ope-rational quality.

Following Swissport’s recent successin obtaining detailed cooperationwith two major global airlines (KLMand Swiss) – not to mention an over-all trend in the industry – there arealso plans to create a new function formajor global airline contracts andoutsourcing deals.

This important new department willbe headed by Willy Hallauer as VicePresident Outsourcing and GlobalAirline Contracts.

In addition,and to further enforce theGroup’s sales and KAM activities,Swissport is in the process of recruit-

ing a Vice President Sales and KAMto manage the entire sales team in thefield and coordinate all sales activitieswithin the Group.

Such a realignment – of structures,processes and post holders – willenable Swissport to further developits present leading position in theglobal ground handling sector.

In streamlining the organisation of itsoperational units,Swissport is empha-sising its determination on threefronts: to further grow the business, toconcentrate on specific growth areasand to increase the Group’s overallfocus on sales and customer service.

Stephan Beerli


I N S I D E

Structural streamlining

NEW SWISSPORT INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION

PRESIDENT & CEOSWISSPORT INTERNATIONAL LTD.

JOSEPH IN ALBON

AMERICASERICH BODENMANN

EUROPE & SWITZERLANDURS SIEBER

AFRICA/ASIA & CARGODR LUDWIG BERTSCH

COMMERCIAL (SALES)SIMON LEHMANN

FINANCE / CFOANDREAS BÜHLMANN

MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONSSTEPHAN BEERLI

HUMAN RESOURCESPETER GRAF

GENERAL COUNSEL & LEGAL AFFAIRSCRISTINA FEISTMANN

BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT(TO BE NAMED)

M O V I N G O N

Swissport is saying goodbye totwo outstanding senior managers:Dieter Altenburger, former divi-sion head for Latin America, wholeft Swissport at the end of March;and John Mc Donagh, former divi-sion head for Europe, who willleave the organisation at the end

We would like to thank Dieter andJohn for their sterling efforts dur-ing their time at Swissport andwish them both every success fortheir private and business futures.

of July.

al collaboration with KLM RoyalDutch Airlines,” she said.

Of equal importance to the Commit-tee’s final commendation was theextensive range of services offered bySwissport.

In addition to traditional ground han-dling services, these include logisticsexpertise, flight operation services,crew administration, fuelling, airportlounge management, catering, andaviation security – the latter followingthe acquisition of Protectas AviationSecurity (see page seven).

“We look forward to witnessing thecompany’s continued commitment todelivering the highest levels of cus-tomer satisfaction and the provisionof enhanced and cost-effective ser-vices to an even wider and broaderbase,” concluded Gavin.

Richard Rowe


R E C O G N I T I O N

Roll of honour

F R O M T H E T O P

“Gro

und

Handlin

g Company of theYear 2004”

Swissport

�

It has been a blistering start to theyear for Swissport, with dramaticdevelopments not only in our col-laboration with key customers,but also a continued accelerationinto new business lines and impor-tant markets.

People are our powerIn the space of just a few weeks,Swiss-port has made great strides in theimplementation of a new outsourcingcollaboration model with Swiss andnegotiated a groundbreaking frame-work agreement with KLM – betweenthem our top two customers.

Elsewhere, we have acquired UKhandler Groundstar, stepped stronglyinto security services with the launchof Checkport and entered a long-term partnership with EDS that willsignificantly lower our IT costs. Andthere is much more on the horizon.

These are all efforts that have beenrecognised by the Institute of Trans-port Management with the recentaward to Swissport of the prestigioustitle, Ground Handling Company ofthe Year 2004.

But such fundamental developmentsrequire additional focus throughoutthe organisation – a point beingaddressed with a new, streamlinedmanagement structure that concen-trates more closely on specific regionsand product responsibility.

Similarly, we are strengthening ouroverall commercial approach throughthe appointment of dedicated keyaccount managers to help developcloser ties with customers and pushgrowth areas such as cargo, executiveaviation and security services.

Although varied in their scope anddirection, such initiatives have thesame end goals: to exploit synergies,control expenditure and, ultimately,grow revenue and create tangibleshareholder value.

Of course, reaching out to customers– and setting new trends in theprocess – is impossible without team-work, entrepreneurship and, aboveall, the positive attitude of every oneof our more than 20,000 peoplearound the world.

It is only by demonstrating this enthu-siasm every day that we will continueto meet and justify the expectationsand confidence of our highly valuedcustomers and partners. Thank youfor your continued support.

Joseph In AlbonPresident & CEOSwissport International Ltd

ongoing intelligent acquisitions andIT development,” noted the AirTransport Committee when announc-ing the award.

“In assessing the quality and eco-nomic competitiveness of Swissport’sservices and the unrivalled interna-tional coverage of its operations, theCommittee is honoured to acknow-

ledge Swissport with this award,”commented Caitriona Gavin,Head ofResearch for the Institute.

According to Gavin, the Committeealso recognised the internationalesteem in which Swissport is held.“This is exemplified most recently bySwissport’s new-style, long-term glob-

Once again, the Institute of Trans-port Management has awardedSwissport the prestigious title of Ground Handling Company of the Year 2004 in recognition of its exemplary industry perfor-mance.

Swissport is delighted to announcethat it has won the Institute of

Transport Management’s (ITM)Ground Handling Company of theYear 2004 award – amazingly, for the fourth year in succession.

As with previous years, the decisionto present Swissport with the titlecomes in the wake of research onindustry standards carried out overthe previous 12 months on behalf ofthe ITM’s Air Transport Committee.

“The ITM committee believes it is fit-ting to honour Swissport’s continuedcommitment to become a customer-oriented, full range provider – a goalit constantly strives to fulfil through

Swissport has won the ITM’s GroundHandling Company of the Year award

for the fourth year in a row.

It is a testimony to the hard workof every staff member that theSwissport Executive Aviation (SEA)business unit posted impressiverevenue growth of 18% in 2003.Similar revenue, and network,development is forecast for 2004.

After the highs of 2003, this year hasalso started brightly for SEA, mainlythanks to the unit’s involvement withthe World Economic Forum (WEF)event held in the Swiss mountainresort of Davos in January.

The main airport of entry was Zürich,which saw the arrival of more than400 fixed wing aircraft carrying 17Prime Ministers, 10 Presidents orDeputies and many leading interna-tional business figures.

As Swissport does not normally han-dle executive aircraft in Zürich, it wasagreed that a SEA team would workwith local FBO Execujet to provide aVVIP service for delegates.

The WEF did not start until January21, but Swissport-Execujet’s Forumbegan four days earlier with thearrival of the first state flights carry-ing delegates attending pre-eventmeetings at their embassies.

From January 17, the days were full.In total, more than 70 aircraft werehandled ranging from A310, BBJ,TU154, Global Express and Gulf-stream aircraft right down to Citationsand Learjets. The Forum ended forSwissport-Execujet on January 28 withthe departure of the final delegation.

The Swissport Zürich VIP service andExecujet teams worked seamlessly

to provide limousines, crew transportand aircraft handling equipment.

It is pleasing to report that there wereno service failures and the hard-pressed aircrews congratulated theteam on numerous occasions for thecalm and efficient way that their air-craft were handled and the prompt-ness of the departure documentationand transport.

The fact that SEA’s first WEF was

cess was due in large part to detailedadvanced planning.

This included a special page on thededicated SEA website, which out-lined the comprehensive packagesavailable to delegates covering lim-ousines, special fuel prices, hangarand parking availability, engineeringsupport,helicopter links, catering andsecurity measures.

Not surprisingly,SEA is actively eval-uating bases elsewhere in the world tocoincide with the anticipated growthin executive aviation flights duringthe latter part of 2004.

We need, and will be ready, to takefull advantage.

Alan [email protected]


P R O D U C T

SEA outlines service strength

In the meantime, and to assist opera-tors and flight departments, a dedi-cated enquiry and booking servicewas also available on the web page.We look forward to welcoming backdelegates for the World EconomicForum in 2005.

In other news, PrivatPort – the jointowned executive aviation handlingoperation with PrivatAir in Geneva –has secured an additional contractwith Club Airways, also based inGeneva. This latest deal, which fol-

lows the launch of a similar partner-ship with the airline at Basel, willbring around 2000 aircraft departuresper annum to SEA’s flagship Genevaoperation.

In addition, Club Airways is consid-ering the inauguration of flights toNice and the indications are that SEAis in a strong position to also win thisadditional future business.

SEA’s first World EconomicForum was an

unqualified success.

The Swissport-Execujet collaboration handled more than 70 aircraft during the World Economic Forum in January.

H O N I N G H E AT H R O W

SEA’s London Heathrow facilityhad a difficult start to 2003, butstormed back to handle almost3,000 executive aircraft and postrevenue growth of 10% for the year.This was due, in part, to the num-ber of large aircraft handled suchas Boeing BBJs, B727s and B757s.

These larger aircraft carried cus-tomers that included exclusivetour operators with trips for highnet worth individuals, soccer teamsand sports-related events such asworld wrestling exhibitions.

London Heathrow certainly has avaried clientele.

considered such an tremendous suc-

However, the company also has ahighly developed capability in otherareas of the aviation security industry.This includes the exercise of accesscontrol, aircraft cabin searching andpassenger profiling – all of which aresupported by advanced in-housetraining courses.

“This mixture of capability and train-ing expertise provides the vital basisfrom which further growth can be devel-oped,” comments Malcolm Mackay,VP Aviation Security Services, Swiss-port.

Developing this strategy will meanthe maintenance of Protectas as aSwissport subsidiary, albeit rebrand-ed and marketed under the name ofCheckport.

Strategies will include not only theexpansion of Protectas expertisethrough its existing clients into newlocations,but also the development ofnew areas of aviation security activitysuch as the screening of air cargo.

Geographical expansion will also be animportant factor, with potential pro-jects relating to cargo screening andgeneral airport security already identi-fied in Latin America, the US andSouth Africa.

“More than anything else” concludesLouis Seliner, “our growth rate willrely upon the awareness of Swissportlocations to the potential offered bythis business line.”

Malcolm [email protected]

Louis Seliner [email protected]


I N N O VAT I O N

Protectas joins theSwissport fold

Protectas, formerly a subsidiary of themulti-national Securitas AB,has esta-blished an outstanding reputation inspecialised aviation security servicesand, in particular, that of travel docu-ment examination and verification.

Air travellers departing Switzerlandwill be familiar with the courteous,though rigorous, checks of travel doc-uments provided by the uniformedand multi-lingual Protectas staff.

Indeed, the company’s professional-ism has led to recognition by embassiesand immigration authorities world-wide and the award of official source

status by IATA’s Travel InformationManual Organisation.

Protectas has also expanded its secu-rity activities into the African airportsof Malabo, Lagos, Yaounde, Douala,Cape Town and Johannesburg – astrategic move designed to deal withpotential problems at source.

In February 2004, Swissport an-nounced the acquisition of fellowSwiss company Protectas AviationSecurity. The move has generatedconsiderable industry interest andconfirmed once more that Swiss-port has entered the aviation secu-rity market with a strong base.

“Although handling and security ser-vices have traditionally developedseparately, airlines increasingly seekgreater efficiencies in both operationsand cost and we are now in a betterposition to meet that need,” believesProtectas CEO, Louis Seliner.

“We have already been able todemonstrate the added value of pro-fessional document control, savingclient airlines more than CHF 12.5million in fines in 2003,” he adds.

“Now,with the greatly expanded plat-form offered by Swissport, we canexport that expertise to develop the

business line throughout the Swiss-port network.”

The cost to airlines resulting from thecontinued growth of traffic in asylumseekers and improperly documentedpassengers has provided the corebusiness of Protectas.

P R O T E C TA S / C H E C K P O R T

With a workforce of nearly 300employees,Protectas provides ser-vices to 25 airlines, including Swiss,KLM, Air France, Air Canada,SNBA, SriLankan, easyJet, Emi-rates, South African Airlines, Roy-al Air Maroc, Korean Airlines,British Airways, Alitalia and TAP.

The company has also taken overthe handling of inadmissible pas-sengers awaiting repatriation fromthe authorities in Zürich.

Protectas has forged an excellent reputation in the field of aviation security.

After months of talks, Swissportand KLM have signed a long-termglobal cooperation agreementthat covers the provision of groundhandling services at more than 60 of the carrier’s outstationsworldwide. It is a move that couldset a bold new trend within theindustry.

It is not every day that a ground hand-ler is involved in a piece of genuinehistory, but that is exactly what hap-pened on March 31, 2004: the daywhen Swissport and KLM concludedthe industry’s first global, combinedground services procurement agree-ment.

The five-year frame agreement seesSwissport secure preferred supplierstatus for passenger, ramp and cargohandling at all stations where itprovides such services and KLMflies. In all, it covers the groundoperations of KLM Ground Ser-vices, KLM Cityhopper and KLMCargo at more than 60 stationsaround the world.

Although signed in March, the agree-ment has been implemented retro-actively from January 1 this year.

Such global cooperation marks agenuine milestone in the evolvingrelationship between airlines andtheir ground service partners. It is alsoconsidered a breakthrough strategicdevelopment for both parties.

“This collaboration is proof of whatwe have always claimed that out-sourcing is a trend and somethingbeing considered by the more innov-ative carriers,” comments Joseph inAlbon, Swissport CEO.

The agreement is also an example ofhow carriers today are examiningnew collaboration models with theirsuppliers and, in particular, showinggreater willingness to step away fromlocal and ad hoc purchasing agree-ments and explore wider, longer-termdeals instead.

Cost savingsIn this particular case, KLM is able toachieve substantial cost savings aswell as greater flexibility in networkdevelopment thanks to a reduction inits number of suppliers.

Likewise, Swissport not only has thestability of a long-term agreement,butalso an opportunity to genuinely investin developing KLM’s handling product.

“The long-term nature of this agree-ment is crucial,” confirms Dr LudwigBertsch, Executive VP, CorporateServices and Cargo, and Swissport’soverall Project Leader on the collab-oration.“It demonstrates our willing-ness to invest in achieving greaterefficiencies and cost savings – some-thing we could only do with the secu-rity of a long-term deal.”

KLM’s decision to use Swissport as itsglobal preferred supplier comes as

part of a wider cost saving initiativethat has touched every part of the car-rier’s business.

“We looked carefully at what wecould do more effectively within pro-curement,” explains Mark Kramer,Project Manager, Ground Services,KLM. “Concentrating our businessvolume was one such method.”

Initially, the project began under theKLM Cargo banner. “However, itbecame apparent that bundling thetotal KLM ground handling spendtowards suppliers would deliver the best results in terms of cost andservice quality,” continues AndrewMorch, Director of Operations, TheAmericas and KLM’s Project Leaderon the agreement.

With this understanding, the projectteam – approved by its sponsor,KLM CEO Leo Van Wijk – combinedthe services of KLM Ground Ser-vices, KLM Cityhopper and KLMCargo.

But developing the framework forthis new approach represented atremendous learning experience forboth organisations. “We have essen-tially concentrated the activities of


C O L L A B O R AT I O N

Making history with KLM

FA S T FA C T S

The extended relationship betweenSwissport and KLM now involvesthe following:

■ Handling 27,046 flights (ofwhich 12,838 are new)

■ Passenger/ramp handling atmore than 30 stations

■ Cargo handling at more than45 stations

■ Handling 333,476 tonnes ofair cargo (of which 26,129 arenew)

Members of the KLM and Swissport project teams celebrate the signing.

KLM CEO Leo van Wijk shakes hands on the historic agreement with Joseph In Albon.

three handling entities,” explainsKramer.

Unusually for a national carrier,KLM has a long history of outsourc-ing many of its key processes; as such,KLM decided that it made sense totarget suppliers that already had asizeable part of its business.

In many ways, Swissport was an obvious choice. The handler alreadyaccounted for a significant part of

KLM Cargo’s business following the acquisition last year of CSC, thecarrier’s old cargo handling opera-tion, from D. Logistics. Swissport alsoprovided passenger handling forKLM at a number of stations world-wide.

Now with the ink dry on the contract,the implementation plan for migrat-ing the remainder of KLM’s handlingbusiness at those overseas stationswhere Swissport currently operateshas begun. While the timing will varyaccording to each station, it is plannedthat full migration will be completedin 2005.

As might be expected for such a largecontract, Swissport has assigned de-dicated Key Account Managers –Michael Kilchherr (passenger/ramp)and Heath White (cargo) – to workclosely with Swissport country andstation managers.

Each KAM will be responsible formanaging the implementation andwill also act as a ‘gatekeeper’ betweenthe two organisations. In addition,both Swissport and KLM haveappointed Board Level Sponsors toensure that the implementation main-tains momentum.

Outsourcing trendOf course, KLM is not the first carrierto turn to Swissport in such a way.Last year, the handler took on United

Airlines’ domestic cargo warehous-ing, while Swiss initiated a new col-laboration model when it handedover its entire ground services toSwissport.

Although the KLM agreement is notas far reaching as the Swiss model, itis no less important: it means thatSwissport now has a special relation-ship with its top two customers.

“The KLM agreement proves thatour strategy to become the world’sleading ground handler in scope isbearing fruit,” believes David Har-man, Swissport’s Project Manager forthe agreement. “Had we not beenable to provide a service at a largepercentage of KLM’s stations, wewould not have been selected tomake the proposal.”

Importantly, Swissport’s preferredsupplier status means that whenever

either party opens a new station inthe future, there will be an opportu-nity to bid for KLM’s business.

Similarly, the agreement has alsocaught the attention of KLM’s part-ner airlines, as well as its future fellowmembers of the SkyTeam Alliance.As such, the contract has been struc-tured with incentive devices in placeshould partner carriers wish to join ata later date, explains Harman.

Those involved believe that the col-laboration sends a clear message tothe rest of the industry.“It has shownthat the ground handling market isready for globalisation,” believesMark Kramer.

Harman agrees: “The fact that Swiss-port has been able to successfully con-clude a deal of this magnitude with acarrier like KLM will guarantee inter-est from other major carriers.”

It also opens up the possibility ofdeveloping new lines of business withKLM and other potential customers.

There is no doubt that by adoptingsuch an innovative approach, KLMhas taken a risk – albeit a calculatedone.“We remain convinced,however,that Swissport is capable of meetingthe terms of the global frame agree-ment,” comments Andrew Morch.

Likewise, Swissport is equally deter-mined to demonstrate that the carri-er has made a wise choice.“KLM hasshown great belief in us and we lookforward to repaying this trust in themonths and years ahead,”says JosephIn Albon.

Richard Rowe


C O L L A B O R AT I O N

T H R E E ’ S C O M PA N Y

Swissport’s preferred supplier col-laboration with KLM covers theoperations of three business enti-ties:

■ KLM Ground Services – theground handling division ofKLM

■ KLM Cityhopper – a fullyowned subsidiary that fliesEuropean routes in codesharecooperation with other air-lines

■ KLM Cargo – the carrier’scargo arm and operator of theworld’s largest combi aircraftfleet (21 B747s and threeB747-400ERFs).

“We remain convinced that Swissport is capable of meeting the terms of the

global frame agreement.”Andrew Morch

Swissport will now provide a full range of ground handling services for KLM at more than 60 stations worldwide.

Swissport Executive Aviation

(.) = Number of airports served

FranceLilleLyonMulhouseNantesNiceParis (2)RouenStrasbourgToulouse

FranceLilleLyonMulhouseNantesNiceParis (2)RouenStrasbourgToulouse

London (4)

Guadalajara

Denver

Porto AlegreFlorianopolis

São Paulo (3)

Buenos Aires (2)San Fernando

MontevideoPunta del Este

Salto

RosariaCordoba

Mendosa

Rio de Janeiro (2)

New York (4)Rockford

Newcastle

Birmingham

New Orleans

Harlingen

Philadelphia

Checkport


N E T W O R K

Some of the more than 650 customers served bySwissport International around the world

Adria AirwaysAegean Cronus AirlinesAer LingusAero LloydAeroflot Russian Intl. AirlinesAerolineas ArgentinasAeromexicoAir AlfaAir AlgerieAir CanadaAir ChinaAir EuropeAir FranceAir HollandAir IndiaAir Jamaica Ltd.Air MaltaAir MauritiusAir SeychellesAir Tanzania Air Transat A.T. Inc.Alaska AirlinesAlitaliaAll Nippon AirwaysAmerica West Airlines Inc.American Airlines Inc.American Trans Air Inc.AnatoliaArizona Fueling FacilitiesArkia Israeli Airlines Ltd.Asiana AirlinesAtlas Air Inc.Austrian AirlinesAviancaBAX Global Inc.Belair Airlines AGBiman Bangladesh AirlinesBoston Fueling CorporationBritanniaBritish AirwaysCargolux Airlines InternationalCathay Pacific AirwaysChina Airlines Ltd.China Eastern AirlinesCielos AirlinesCondor Flugdienst GmbH

Congo AirlinesContinental Airlines Inc.Copa AirlinesCroatia AirlinesCSA – Czech AirlinesCyprus AirwaysDAT Nv / SaDelta Air Lines Inc.DHL Worldwide ExpressEasyJet EgyptairEl Al Israel Airlines Ltd.Emery Worldwide Airlines Inc.EmiratesEthiopian AirlinesEva Airways CorporationFederal Express CorporationFinnairFirst Choise Airways Ltd.Fort Myers Fuel CommiteeFreebird Airlines A.S.GermanwingsGhana AirwaysGOL Transportes AéreosGulf AirHelvetic AirwaysIberiaIcelandairJapan Airlines Co. Ltd.JAT – Jugoslav AirlinesJetBlue AirwaysKLM Royal Dutch AirlinesKorean AirKTHY-Kibris Türk Hava YolariKuwait AirwaysLacsaLAN Chile S.A.Lauda AirLibyan Arab AirlinesLOT – Polish Airlines S.A.LTU International AirwaysLufthansaMaersk AirMalaysian Airline System BerhardMalev – Hungarian AirlinesMartinair Holland

MEA – Middle East AirlinesMesa AirlinesMexicana AirlinesMNG Cargo AirlinesMonachNippon Cargo AirlinesNorth American Airlines Inc.Northwest Airlines Inc.Oackland Fuel FacilitiesOlympic AirwaysOrlando Sanford InternationalPegasusPIA – Pakistan Intern. AirlinesQantas Airways Ltd.Qatar AirwaysRoyal Air MarocRoyal JordanianRyanairSaudi Arabian AirlinesScandinavian Airlines SystemSingapore AirlinesSkymasterSouth African AirwaysSouthwest Airlines CoSpanair S.A.SriLanka Airlines Ltd.Swiss International Air LinesSwiss WorldCargoSyrianairTACA International Airlines SATAP – Air PortugalTaromThai Airways InternationalTunisairTurkish AirlinesUairUnited AirlinesUnited Parcel ServiceUS AirwaysUSA 3000 Inc.Varig – Brazilian AirlinesVirgin Atlantic Airways Ltd.Virgin ExpressVolare Airlines SpAWorld Airways Inc.

K E Y F I G U

Number of

Number of

Annual rev

Aircraft han

Metric tonn

Passengers

169 stations

GermanyBerlin (2)CologneDresdenDusseldorfFrankfurtHamburgHanoverMunichNurembergStuttgart

Germany

CologneDresden

MunichNuremberg

BelgiumAntwerpBrusselsLiege

BelgiumAntwerpBrusselsLiege

Luxembourg

Milan (2)

Nevsehir MumbaiMumbai

LagosYaounde

Amsterdam

Warsaw

Kayseri

Samsun

Erzerum

DiyarbakirGaziantep

Malabo

Douala


N E T W O R K

Latest contracts signed

Anchorage ContinentalBoston JetBlue AirwaysCancun Ryan International Airlines,

Vacation Express, Air HollandCape Town Kenya Airways, Condor FlugdienstChicago Swiss International Air LinesCuritiba UairDurban Condor Flugdienst, L A MFortaleza FinnairFort Lauderdale Southeast AirlinesGeneva Air Botnia, Air Cairo, Duo AirwaysHouston KLMJohannesburg LAMLa Romana Blue PanoramaLas Vegas JetsGo,Alaska Airlines, Philippine AirlinesLondon/LHR Malaysian Airline SystemLos Angeles Mexicana, QantasMiami Air France, Aviacsa, Delta Air Lines

Cargo, Swiss International Air LinesMontreal Japan Airlines CargoMunich Duo AirwaysNairobi East African SafariNantes Ocean AirwaysNatal Air Holland, FinnairNew Orleans TACA International AirlinesNew York /JFK Alliance Airlines, L O TNew York /LGA American Trans AirNice Europe Airpost, Norwegian.No, Jet 2,

LufthansaOakland North American AirlinesPalma de Majorca Helvetic AirwaysParis /CDG DAT Nv/Sa, Iberia, Qantas,

Singapore AirlinesPhoenix Federal Express Corp.Philadelphia Delta Air LinesPuerto Plata Air Holland, NovairPunta Cana Air Holland, Allegiant Air, AviorSalvador Air HollandSan Francisco Airtran AirwaysToulouse Europe AirpostVienna Duo AirwaysWashington / IAD Air Canada, Alitalia,

Virgin Atlantic AirwaysZurich Aer Lingus, Air Nostrum, Bulgaria Air,

Duo Airways, Luxair, Sky EuropeAirlines, UnitedAirlines

R E S F O R 2 0 0 4 S W I S S P O R T

customers over 650

employees over 22,000

venue (2003) USD 950,000,000

ndeled per year 2,000,000

nes handled 3,000,000

handled per year over 70,000,000

s in 34 countries

Everybody has heard of ourindustry’s current buzzwords: no-frills, back-to-basics, value formoney, deregulation, emergingmarkets, mergers, synergies, out-sourcing, growth and change-management.

But let us forget the risks and suscepti-bilities of our business for a moment.Our industry is marked by an excep-tional dynamism and promisingopportunities. What counts today are

creativity and innovation to find newsolutions.

As always, the Swissport team willattend this year’s IATA Ground Hand-ling Council meeting in Vancouver.

As might be expected for such animportant event, Swissport will be rep-resented by members of our senior andexecutive management, all of whomlook forward to discussing issues witha great number of participants.

We will, however, not only talkabout slogans, news and rumours …we would also like to open our eyesand ears and discuss new and con-structive approaches to ground hand-ling.

Among the topics we would like todiscuss are:

■ Contract packages (from regionaldeals to complete outsourcingagreements)

■ Cross-selling opportunities (usingsynergies between cargo andground handling)

■ Aviation security services (ournew business line)

■ The latest Swissport acquisitions(and the opportunities they offer)

■ Our organisation in general

We look forward to a refreshing get-together. See you in Vancouver!

Stephan Beerli

This summer, Swissport CargoServices plans to introduce a new,easy-to-use tracking and tracingtool that will provide immediatecompetitive advantage for airlines,agents and freight forwarders.

Always looking to make life easier forcustomers, Swissport Cargo Services(SCS) is putting the finishing touchesto an innovative new online tool –

known as FreightFinder – that willhelp airlines keep track of cargo ship-ments.

FreightFinder will allow airline staffto monitor their shipments and flightsat any SCS station,as well as plan out-bound flights or transit cargo move-ments. Similarly – depending on thecustomer setting from the airline –agents and forwarders will be able to

monitor inbound and outbound ship-ments,as well as warehouse inventoryof their shipments.

Information is presented via threekey status pages:

■ Shipment status page: By enteringan airway bill number, customerscan obtain instant information oninbound and outbound shipmentsat station level. Access to thisinformation is available to all air-lines, agents and other interestedparties.

■ Flight status page: By entering a flight number, authorised air-lines can obtain detailed informa-tion about the breakdown status oftheir inbound flights or the build-up status of their outbound flights.

■ Inventory reports page:Authorisedairlines and agents can retrieve

warehouse inventory details byentering criteria such as inbound,outbound (or both) and origin ordestination of shipment. Airlinesand agents only have access to theirown shipments, so proprietary in-formation remains secure.

The online nature of the tool alsomeans that, from a supervision andmonitoring point of view, carriers willno longer need to rely on their ownsystems at SCS stations.

Crucially, FreightFinder opens thedoor to a vast resource of useful, real-time information, but without anytrade off in security.

For further information, please visitwww.freightfinder-swissport.com, oremail: [email protected]

Paul [email protected]


I N D U S T RY

Countdown tto VVancouver

T O O L S

Track and trace

Despite the general economic down-turn, continued pressure on han-dling tariffs, tight resources andthe increasing market share of no-frills airlines, Swissport continuesto enforce its quality activities.

Here is a tricky question:Does it real-ly make sense to invest in quality in anenvironment that is increasingly dom-inated by no-frill and low-cost prod-ucts? Absolutely.At Swissport, quali-ty is not just a saying, but a passionand dedication.

Back in 1998, Swissport began to im-plement a Quality Management Sys-tem at various stations and quicklydeveloped the process into a fullyintegrated Management System (seechart below).

As can be seen, all internal processesand external influences, together withtheir interactions, are now defined,described and permanently updated.This enables Swissport managementto obtain a constant overview of allrelevant issues on every level.

Experience and our know-how inbest practice are the basis for settingup targets for the operational perfor-mance and individual objectives foreach station. By adding our custo-mers’ requirements, defined in ser-vice level agreements, the criteria canbe adapted.

Operational performance controlsare key and there are almost daily

checks on passenger wait times atcheck-in, gate attendance, baggageand cargo delivery times and readi-ness of equipment on arrival, to namea few. Every irregularity is recordedin a logbook.

And, on a monthly basis at least, allresults are compiled and any devia-tions to the set targets carefully ana-lysed. Where deviations occur, cor-rective actions are evaluated andimplemented.Similarly,all results, thereason for any deviation and plannedcorrective action are also reported toall management levels.

Crucially, the whole system is underpermanent control. At least twice ayear each station performs internalaudits and also receives regular visitsfrom Swissport International auditors.

In addition, and because Swissport’sManagement System is certified ac-

cording to ISO 9001:2000, regularaudits by the German TÜV Manage-ment Service are also carried out atlocal, regional and country headoffices.

These controls, on station level, areeven complemented by various addi-tional checks, such as:

■ Operational audits by the OPS-Support Group of SwissportInternational

■ Operational audits by customers■ JAR-OPS■ Security audits by authorities and

customers

Today,55 out of the 169 Swissport sta-tions worldwide have implementedthe Management System and are suc-cessfully certified. In 2004, Swissportplans to continue the system imple-mentation at another 11 stations,mainly in the US, with all stations in

the global network certified in thenext few years.

Although ambitious,we feel this is thebest way to guarantee customers thesame level of handling service wher-ever they are in the world.

In order to reach this target, Swiss-port has trained close to 100 localquality managers/coordinators, eachcharged with setting up, implement-ing and maintaining the system.Thesesame people also operate as in-houseconsultants for local managementand coordinate all quality relevantissues with customers.

Our experience has been that all par-ties enjoy significant benefits:

Customer airlines■ Reliable service■ Enhanced communication■ Less station supervision■ Long-term partnership

Swissport stations■ Improved management – a philos-

ophy of ‘if we don’t measure, wecan’t manage’

■ Employees understand what isbeing done and why

Swissport International■ Overview of all processes within a

local station■ Tool for top-down instructions to

reach consistency■ Cost saving

It goes without saying that every sin-gle Swissport station around theworld is committed to this importantcorporate quality system.

Mike [email protected]


I N S I D E

Making quality count

CUSTOMERREQUIREMENTS

INTERNAL PROCESSES

JAR-OPSREGULATIONS

AUTHORITIES

IATARECOMMENDATIONS

SECURITY REGULATIONS

MANAGEMENT

INFORMATIONTECHNOLOGIESOPERATIONS

FINANCE

MARKETING

HUMANRESOURCES

SUPPLYMANAGEMENT

EXTERNAL INFLUENCES

The Setup

The Management System is being rolled out to all 169 Swissport stations worldwide.

The trend among airlines to entrusttheir passenger, baggage and car-go handling to outside companieshas now been extended to includestation management and ticketingduties.

Most airlines still maintain their ownairport office, complete with a ticketsales desk. It is an understandablearrangement, enabling the carrier tomonitor the quality of its handlingand promote its airport ticket sales.

Such airport offices are in many waysan extension of the company’s headoffice and its operations control –monitoring flight safety, maintainingemergency scenarios, providing assis-

tance for crews and dealing withmajor irregularities when they occur.Not surprisingly, the idea of entrust-ing these facilities to an outside part-ner has always been considered a sen-sitive issue and a move that can onlybe made with great care.

Airport ticket desks have their merits,too: many airlines have seen anincrease in their own sales in recentyears. Needless to say, a ticket salesdesk requires well-trained staff andaccess to the carrier’s reservation sys-tem. Generous opening hours are afurther major asset, providing anattractive customer service and high-er sales volumes.

Outsourcing alternativeDespite these considerations, SwissInternational Air Lines decided lastsummer to outsource its station man-agement and sales desks system-wideto Swissport – all within a timescale ofjust 12 months. A milestone wasreached on February 1 when Swiss-port assumed responsibility for all

hub management and associatedfunctions at Swiss’s home base inZürich.

Swissport thus now monitors – on thecarrier’s behalf – all connecting Swisstraffic and takes all the decisionsneeded to ensure that the customer’shub operation is as successful as pos-sible in both quality and commercialterms.

Given that Swissport was originallycreated out of an airline’s ground ser-vices division and our managers andmany of our staff are former airlinestaff we are excellently acquaintedwith our customer’s needs.

As such, we are approaching thesenew duties with all the respect theydeserve. The move also enables us towelcome many more well-trained air-line personnel to the Swissport pay-roll, both within Switzerland and allover the world.

Swiss’s decision to outsource thesefunctions promises sizeable cost sav-ings for the carrier. Needless to say,those savings will also be achievedwithout the slightest decline in han-dling quality or ticket sales volumes.

We believe that cost savings and highservice quality are just two of thebenefits for customers like Swiss.Car-riers will also be satisfied by the factthat:

■ Such duties are entrusted to pro-fessional ex-airline staff

■ Longer ticket desk opening hoursallow for higher sales volumes

■ Buying-in services is a simplerapproach for the airline.

Swissport offers such capabilities atany station around the world wherepassenger services are already offered.Additional airports in the Swiss net-work are also being prepared for sim-ilar arrangements.

We are convinced that our airlineexpertise makes Swissport excellent-ly equipped to provide interested cus-tomers with an airport station man-agement and ticket sales product thatis tailored precisely to their wishesand needs.

We would be delighted to hear fromyou.

Ernst Ackermann [email protected]


P R O D U C T

Realising benefit potential

C O N TA C T

For more information, pleasecontact your Swissport partner orErnst Ackermann, Global StationKey Account Management offi-cer:Phone: +41 43 812 3962Mobile: +41 79 638 [email protected]

Swissport offers such capabilities atany station around the world where

passenger services are already offered.

Swissport has the expertise to take care ofany carrier's ticket desk and airport officefunctions.

Athens’ hosting of the XXVIIIOlympic Games in August meansthat Swissport Lamda Hellas facesprobably its most challengingsummer period ever.

With just three months to go, prepa-rations for the Olympic Games are infull swing at Swissport Lamda Hellas.

Much of the planning focuses onSwissport’s main station in Greece,Athens Eleftherios Venizelos. How-ever, the company’s Thessaloniki andHeraklion outstations are also brac-ing themselves for the expected influxof traffic, not to mention the globalattention that the Olympics will bring.

Although still too early to predict theexact incremental workload, initialindications suggest a 14% increase inaircraft movements for the summermonths. Passenger numbers, on theother hand, are expected to grow bymore than 25%.

Swissport’s preparations have con-centrated on communicating withother parties at the airport. Regularmeetings are held with the airportauthorities and fellow handlers towork on simplifying procedures. Thisincludes developing a centralised dis-patch system, as well as initiativessuch as GSE pooling.

Detailed discussions also continuewith customer airlines and their part-ners about special requirements dur-ing the period. Swissport has alreadyimplemented plans to ease the strainduring this busy time: for instance, incooperation with the airport’s slotcoordination office, ground handlingconfirmation numbers have been pro-vided to all customers.

In addition, Swissport has introduceda variety of activities to upgrade thehandling product on offer. Thisincludes a new Red Carpet project,surface transport arrangements, curb-side check-in, ticketing services andhome delivery of late baggage.

Central to Swissport’s planning hasbeen a detailed examination of re-

source allocation and particularly thatof the company’s greatest asset – itsstaff. As such, Swissport has set inmotion a variety of plans:

■ Prompt renewal of experiencedseasonal personnel

■ Recruitment of new seasonal staffto cover increased trainingrequirements and staff vacationprior to the peak period

■ Intensive training for newrecruits, as well as recurrent train-ing in ramp safety, fire-fighting,security, customer care and otherkey areas

There is no doubt that hosting theOlympics is a special occasion for theaviation community in Athens and allthe people of Greece.

And Swissport’s 30-plus customers inGreece can rest assured that everyeffort will be made to provide thevery best ground services during thisexciting period.

Thanks to consistent work, thoroughplanning, attention to detail, goodcommunication and internal cooper-ation, Swissport will more than meetthe needs of the coming season.

Yannis [email protected]


I N S I D E

Let the games begin

F R E I G H T E X P E C TAT I O N S

Everyone in the Greek air cargo community is looking forward to theexpected increase in freight volume during the Olympics and for the rest ofthe year. Estimates suggest that the Olympic teams will generate in theregion of 800 tonnes of inbound cargo and 500 tonnes of outbound.

The big question is whether the Olympics will mark just a temporary spikein cargo volumes in Greece,or whether it will herald the start of a new boomin airfreight that will last long after the Games have finished.

It is a difficult question to answer.Swissport Lamda Hellas’s approach,how-ever,has been to continue securing as much business as possible in the inter-national and local market.

Swissport has negotiated preferential contracts with the Olympics’ threeaccredited shipping agents; developed specific cargo flight handling con-tracts; created an experienced temporary labour ‘supply tank’; and reservedextra cargo handling equipment in order to fulfil as many contracts as pos-sible, before, during and after the Olympics.

Whatever the eventual increase in air cargo, the Games represent a terrificopportunity to demonstrate the strength of the air cargo market in Greece.And Swissport plans to be very much part of that strength.

Alex Panokis

O LY M P I C G A M E S FA S T FA C T S

■ 28 sports will be represented in 38 venues

■ 10,500 athletes and 5,500 team officials from 201 National OlympicCommittees will participate

■ 21,500 members of the media are expected to cover the Games

■ The Olympic Village will house 16,000 athletes and team officialsduring the Games

■ 45,000 security personnel will work at the Games

The US Transportation SecurityAdministration continues to imple-ment what it describes as a sophis-ticated ‘system of systems’ as itseeks to improve levels of aviationsecurity around the nation.

The events of September 11 2001 pre-cipitated a fundamental shake-up ofhow the US approaches aviation se-curity. In response, the federal gov-ernment created a new, cabinet-levelDepartment of Homeland Security(DHS) charged with overseeing thenation’s security planning.

The task is far from easy: the USshares 9,000 miles of border withCanada and Mexico; has 95,000 milesof coastline; more than 400 airports,180 land border crossings and 360seaports.

Of all the agencies within the DHS, itis the Transportation Security Admin-istration (TSA) that remains most vis-ible to the air transport industry. TheTSA has adopted a multi-layeredapproach that has focused on improv-ing intelligence gathering efforts, therecruitment and training of thousandsof screening staff and heavy invest-ment in new security technology.

As such, US airports are now equip-ped with Explosive Detection Systems(EDS) that automatically scan holdbaggage,while TSA screeners employsophisticated trace detection systemswhen examining carry-on items.

A further innovation has been theintroduction of advanced metaldetectors that are significantly moresensitive than pre-9/11 technology.

Overseas carriers may disapprove,but the agency has also introduced

federal air marshals on hundreds offlights per day and trained thousandsof armed pilots as federal flight deckofficers.

But perhaps the TSA’s greatest chal-lenge is how to improve securitywhile also safeguarding passengerprivacy. Sensitive to the issue, theagency recently launched a weeklongprivacy education programme as thestart of an ongoing commitment toprivacy education for all employees.

The issue of privacy is also central tothe development of a new tool that isconsidered an essential element in theTSA’s security planning – a secondgeneration Computer Assisted Pas-senger Pre-screening System (CAPPSII).

According to a recent testimony byTSA Acting Administrator DavidStone in the House of Representa-tives, the current airline-managed

CAPPS provides insufficient infor-mation about the 1.8 million passen-gers who require screening at US air-ports every day.

CAPPS II, on the other hand, isdesigned to take the burden of oper-

ation away from airlines and insteadcentralise all commercial verificationand government data sharing withWashington.

The TSA believes the enhanced sys-tem will increase its ability to ensure

people are designated for secondaryscreening using best practice identityauthentication procedures combinedwith a risk assessment.

Unlike the existing system, CAPPS IIwill also have built-in auditing capa-bilities and privacy protections,including a redress mechanism forpassengers who believe they havebeen incorrectly singled out.

That the development of the system isnot yet complete is due to the contin-ued reluctance of carriers, particular-ly from Europe, to provide the TSAwith what it considers critical passen-ger name record data.

However, the TSA argues that con-tinued threats against airlines demon-strate the need for a collective solu-tion.

“The cancellation of certain flights isone method of handling these threats,”noted Stone during his testimony.“More effective pre-screening of pas-sengers is another, far less costly,way.”

But the implementation of CAPPS IIis just one of several priorities for the TSA. The continued training of its screener workforce and furtherresearch into new technologies willboth feature heavily in the monthsahead.

Other programmes include the im-plementation of a TransportationWorker Identification Credential thatis designed to strengthen access securityand a further $55 million investmentin new air cargo detection capabili-ties.

Richard Rowe


I N D U S T RY

Defending the homeland

S Y S T E M O F S Y S T E M S

The air transport industry can expect more US security initiatives in 2004,including:

■ Air Cargo Security Plan – although at proposal rather than implemen-tation stage, this wide-ranging plan will adopt a variety of measures tosecure air cargo travelling on passenger and freighter aircraft.

■ US-VISIT – launched in January, the programme uses biometric tech-nology to expedite the processing of legitimate travellers entering andexiting the US.

■ Posting of inspectors at overseas airports – an idea modelled on the Con-tainer Security Initiative, a programme that posts inspectors in foreignseaports and which established the precedent of extending US sover-eignty overseas in its fight against terrorism.

CAPPS II is designed to evaluateall passengers before they board an

aircraft.

photo: Jeff Greenberg, NYC & Co.


O U T L O O K

B O B S C H M I T Z

Bob Schmitz is the EU RegulatoryAffairs Counsel, based in Brussels.

Much has happened in Europesince the 1996 European Union(EU) Directive on the liberalisationof ground handling. However,there is still work to be done to cre-ate a genuinely level playing fieldin Europe.

package deals in which handling isbut one element.

Meanwhile, Airports Council Inter-national insists that subsidisationbetween all commercial activitiesshould be allowed. In the recentRyanair /Charleroi state aid case,however,the EU Commission stressedthat an airport subject to handlingcompetition could not use surplusesfrom other purely commercial activi-ties to cover its deficit on the groundhandling side.

Logically, therefore, the revised direc-tive should specify that the airporthandling activity should not be sub-sidised by management /regulatoryincome (such as landing and passen-ger fees), or by other airport-related(monopoly) commercial income.

Airports have also suffered a recentset back on the issue of access fees.Prior to a EU court decision in Octo-ber 2003, airports believed they couldcharge ground handlers a non-costrelated royalty for granting a businessopportunity on their premises.

The court, however, confirmed thatthe market access derives from the1996 EU Directive and that airportsmay only charge fees for the use ofairport installations or services byindividual handlers.

It appears more difficult to spread thecost of commonly used installations.Some airports wish to charge not onlydirect operational costs (such as clean-ing and maintenance), but also anyphysical movement by handlers with-in the whole airport, such as a truckdriving on the apron.

This interpretation was defeated onMarch 16 by the Frankfurt court inthe Hanover Airport/Lufthansa caseon which the EU court gave its guid-ance.The revised EU Directive shouldclarify the boundaries of cost-relatedcharging for the use of airport instal-lations by handlers, including cen-tralised infrastructure.

Clearer harmonised rules on key pro-visions should also limit the need forcompetition law litigation.

Bob [email protected]

believe that carriers are simplyangling to better control their ownexisting handling business.

Today, self-handling is strictly limit-ed, but airlines request that the han-dling of alliance, franchise and code-share partners also be defined as self-handling – thus ensuring that third-party handlers compete for evenfewer customers.As it stands, the EUinstitutions are unlikely to give air-lines a free hand for self-handling,butcannot prevent joint buying of groundhandling by airline alliances.

To send a new message, the EU Com-mission is likely to propose a mini-mum of two to three independenthandlers at major airports.Ultimately,the traffic threshold is likely to be apolitical decision, although a mini-mum number of 10 million passen-gers per year has been discussed. Asever, the main challenge is to gener-ate a sustainable market for increasedcompetition between independentoperators.

Interestingly, few EU regulatorsquestion openly the rationale of air-ports as ground handlers. Fraport,which operates Frankfurt Airport,still defines ground handling as a keyelement of its business. Many otherssay they would not mind stepping outof handling, although labour con-tracts and trade union relations makethis difficult.

The EU Commission wishes to pavethe way by obliging airports to set upseparate legal entities for handlers.This move has been welcomed by air-lines and independent handlers alike.Both parties argue that airport han-dlers should be fully accountable andnot distort competition by offering

First, the background: under pressurefrom carriers, the EU used new liber-alisation laws to force airports withmore than two million passengers peryear, or 50,000 tonnes of freight, toaccommodate at least two airsideground service providers. One had tobe independent from the airport ordominant carrier. Landside handling,in the meantime, had to be fullyopened to competition.

This minimum level of competitionshould have applied as of January 1,1999, but major airports such asMilan, Lisbon and Oporto have stillnot organised public tenders to allowmarket access. The 10 new EU Mem-ber States joining in May must alsotake the necessary measures,althoughmost remain under the liberalisationthresholds.

This year, the EU Commission is ex-pected to propose further liberalisationto ensure a more level playing fieldbetween independent handlers andthe airline and airport handlers that

continue to hold large captive mar-kets. This new policy initiative will bewatched with great interest outsideEurope, since the EU promotes itsmodel within the General Agreementon Trade in Services (GATS).

The issue of captive markets remainsa bone of contention.Airlines now wishto have two or three independenthandlers operating at major airports.

The International Aviation Handlers’Association, however, re-mains scep-tical arguing that a further opening ofmarkets will only exacerbate thestruggle between independent han-dlers already suffering from thin mar-gins. As such, independent handlers

The issue of captive markets remainsa major bone of contention.

EU handling competition

■ S W I T Z E R L A N D

Swissport Basel landseasyJet

Swissport Basel has welcomed easy-Jet to its roster of customers at theairport following a successful bid forthe low cost carrier’s handling busi-ness. The UK carrier began services

to Basel on March 28, with dailyflights from Liverpool and LondonStansted airports operating B737-300aircraft.

Later, in May, these initial flights willbe followed by a daily evening flightto Berlin Schoenefeld,as well as a dai-ly morning flight in June. The Berlinroutes will be flown using the carrier’snew flagship A319 aircraft.

Overall, easyJet’s plans call for sixdaily departures from Basel by thesummer of 2005, 12 daily departuresby the summer of 2006 and 18 dailyflights by the end of 2007.

The Swissport Basel team hopes thatthis important success will pave theway for many more contracts witheasyJet throughout the Swissportfamily in Europe.

Martin Brügger

■ S W I S S P O R T C A R G OS E R V I C E S

Cargo 2000 membershipSwissport Cargo Services has joinedCargo 2000, the IATA interest groupand quality management system forthe international air cargo industry.Cargo 2000 brings together airlines,freight forwarders and their supplierswith the goal of implementing a newquality management system.

Swissport is one of only a handful ofground handling organisations tohave been accepted into the groupfollowing a decision by the Cargo2000 board to open up membership toground handling agents.

Through its active participation inCargo 2000, Swissport will not onlyensure that its own systems andprocesses are fully compatible withindustry agreed standards, but alsothat these agreed targets are achiev-able and feasible.

David Harman

■ U L D M A N A G E M E N T

Russians opt for UnitpoolAirBridge Cargo, the new scheduledall-cargo airline launched by the Vol-ga-Dnepr Group, has signed a long-term contract with Unitpool, theSwissport-owned ULD managementcontrol and pooling company.

The new carrier, which launchedoperations on April 2, markets sched-uled airfreight services that link China

with Europe via Russia using B747freighter aircraft.

The AirBridge Cargo contract fol-lows hot on the heels of a frameworkagreement signed with the Arab AirCarriers Organisation in Decemberand a five-year ULD control andpooling agreement signed with Swissalso at the end of the year.

Philip Hill

■ Q U A L I T Y

System upgrade It was back in 1998 that SwissportZürich decided to introduce a qualitysystem based on ISO9002: 1994 andthe subsequent success in securingISO certification was a milestone onthe journey towards Total QualityManagement.

Over the years, however, practiceshowed that, for all its merits, the ma-nagement system had certain short-comings: it was too complex and rigidin some areas, and too vague in others.

With this in mind, Swissport Zürichhas rebuilt its management system inline with ISO9001: 2000 standards.The new management system pro-vides a more comprehensive, moreprocess oriented and flexible IT-based tool.

Swissport Zürich has also decided toimprove its reporting to customers. Inaddition to the regularly distributedquestionnaires, the unit will now alsopresent its monthly results individu-ally and in more detail in a new qual-ity scorecard.

The scorecard will feature not onlythe quality results achieved,but also a

summary of Swissport’s overall per-formance, and of events and actionstaken to further enhance the serviceprovided.

Roland Breitler

■ G E N E VA

Integrating Cargologic

When Swissport completed the acqui-sition of Cargologic Geneva at thestart of the year, it not only becamethe largest cargo handler at Geneva,but also took its staff count from 900to around 1,000 personnel.

Cargologic is a proven airfreight han-dling specialist and was previouslyresponsible for 73% of all cargo han-dled at Geneva. However, the Cargo-logic name has now disappeared withSwissport Cargo taking its place.

Cargologic – formerly the SwissairGroup’s cargo handling subsidiary –was acquired by the Rhenus AlpinaGroup, one of Europe’s leading logis-tics providers, after the collapse ofSwissair. Its Geneva operation han-dles some 40 000 tonnes of cargo ayear for almost 30 permanent clientsand ten further ad-hoc customers.Theunit generates revenues of CHF10-15million a year.


S W I S S P O R T W O R L D W I D E

Swissport welcomes easyJet to Basel.

Cargologic was a dominant player atGeneva Airport.

Network News and ViewsNetwork News and Views

Swissport’s assimilation of the Cargo-logic Geneva organisation has beenimplemented smoothly thanks inlarge part to the action plan drawn upwhen the parties agreed the amalga-mation in November 2003.

All former Cargologic personnelhave transferred to Swissport, ensur-ing that their skills, professionalismand extensive experience have beenretained. In addition to acquiring ahighly qualified workforce, Swissporthas also assumed responsibility for allCargologic’s existing agreementswith its airfreight customers.

The amalgamation was agreed afterCargologic failed to have its cargohandling licence for Geneva Airport

renewed. “It was felt that integratingCargologic into Swissport was thebest solution for all our customersand staff,” explains Ernest Hochuli,CEO of Swissport Geneva.

Ernest Hochuli

■ I S R A E L

QAS secures lounge dealSwissport partner company Q.A.S.Israel will begin operating VIPlounges at Tel Aviv Ben Gurion Inter-national’s new Terminal 3 when thefacility opens in June.

Q.A.S. Israel – also a partner companyof Arkia Israeli Airlines – has made astrategic decision to participate in air-port related tenders. Together withthe Dan Hotels Chain, Q.A.S. will beresponsible for the management andoperation of two lounges for six years,with an option for an additional threeyears.

Q.A.S. will operate the lounges situ-ated in the ‘B’ and ‘C’ areas of thenew terminal. National carrier, El Al,will operate a third lounge, in the ‘D’area. The lounges are for use by firstand business class travellers as well

as members of frequent flyer pro-grammes. Economy class passengerswill be able to use the lounges for afee.

Yossi Raviv

■ S O U T H A F R I C A

Seeking Swiss precisionIn January, Swissport South Africatook over ramp handling operationson behalf of Singapore Airlines atJohannesburg and Cape Town inter-national airports. Swissport alreadyprovides passenger handling servicesfor the carrier at both airports.

A desire to reduce the number of ser-vice suppliers was a key factor behindthe move, according to Bryan Koh,Singapore Airlines’ Station Managerfor Johannesburg.

In many ways, Bryan is the perfectcustomer station manager: he meetswith all Swissport personnel on amonthly basis and always suggestsimprovements and refinements interms of service delivery.

Fernand Staufer


S W I S S P O R T W O R L D W I D E

News Ticker✈

✈ B U S I N E S S D E V E L O P M E N T U R U G U AYOn November 19, Swissport handled low-cost carrier UAir’s inau-

gural flight from Montevideo to Curitiba. This followed the conclusion ofan exclusivity agreement that sees Swissport Latin America provide fullhandling services across the start-up carrier’s entire network (Argentina,Brazil and Uruguay).

K E N YAJeroen de Clerq has replaced the departing Olav Everts as CEO of

Swissport Nairobi.

S O U T H A F R I C ASwissport South Africa has signed a ten-year lease agreement

enabling the construction of an impressive new cargo warehouse at Johan-nesburg International Airport. Construction began in January 2004 and isdue for completion by October.

✈ AWA R D SU S ASwissport Orlando Sanford has been presented with the Best Glob-

al Long Haul Ground Handling Award for 2003 by Thomas Cook Airlines.Earlier, Swissport Sanford also received a similar award from Britanniaand Air 2000 for 2003.

The Federal Aviation Agency has given its Certificate of Excellence Dia-mond Award 2003 to eight Swissport stations in the US:Anchorage, Seattle,San Francisco, Los Angeles, Honolulu,Washington Dulles, New York JFKand Sanford. In addition, and for the first time, the Swissport AircraftMaintenance Training has received the FAA Certificate of Excellence Dia-mond Award for its technical training programme.

M E X I C OSwissport Cancun has won the First Choice Airways handling

award for the month of January 2004 – the third such award in the last 12months.

G E R M A N YTogether with Hamburg Airport, Swissport Hamburg has received

the Handling Agent Award 2003 for Best Baggage Handling from SN Brus-sels Airlines. Some 96.96% of all baggage was delivered correctly.

S PA I NSwissport Barcelona’s airport ticket office, established in March

2002, has been chosen as the Best Airport Ticketing Office Making theBiggest Revenue Within the SN Brussels Airlines Network by SN BrusselsAirlines.

✈ C E R T I F I C AT I O N SAircraft Maintenance foreign CAA certification: Swissport USA is

now certified by the South Korean Civil Aviation Safety Authority to per-form and sign-off line maintenance on Korean registered aircraft inAnchorage and San Francisco.

ISO 9002/1: Munich has successfully passed the external ISO 9001 certifi-cation audited by TÜV.

■ FeedbackEditor’s note:We are always delighted to highlight positive feedback and include in this issuecomments from two happy customers starting with a note received by the Unit-ed Airlines/Swissport cargo handling transition team at Washington Dulles.

Dear Mr Schneider, I wanted to take this opportunity to express our appreciation for the excel-lent export handling at your location in IAD. The cooperation betweenSwissport handling and our operations has been tremendous. With thechange in handling arrangements, our turnover and confidence have beenon the upswing. It takes a team effort and the handling operation at IAD hasmade your team much stronger.

Best regards

Stewart Nell, IAD BM, Kuehne & Nagel Inc.

This second note was sent by an unnamed passenger to Daniel Weder, SwissExecutive VP Product and Services, following the take over of the carrier’shandling services in South Africa by Swissport.

Dear Mr Weder, I would like to draw your attention to truly extraordinary service providedby Peter Frame, the Swiss Johannesburg station manager. As my wife Mar-ijana commenced travel from Vienna to Johannesburg on February 19, shelearned that, due to a mix-up when we collected our tickets from Swiss inBangkok, she needed to secure a visa before arriving in South Africa.

By good fortune, I – although in Mozambique at the time – managed to reachMr Frame, whom I had never spoken to before, and he: arranged with SwissZürich to allow my wife to board the Johannesburg flight; arranged with theimmigration authorities for Marijana to be specially-issued a visa on arrival;came in on his day off to meet Marijana and guide her through a difficultprocess with Immigration; and was also later on hand to ensure we had asmooth departure.

Mr Frame’s quick action saved our holiday and showed the kind of dedicationto customer service that is really extraordinary and should be rewarded.

Thank you for your attention.

Tel Aviv’s Ben Gurion International will un-veil its new Terminal 3 in June.


S A D F

H E A D O F F I C ESwissport International Ltd., Joseph In Albon,President & CEO, P.O. Box, CH-8058 Zürich-Airport, [email protected],tel. +41 43 812 2779, fax +41 1 811 1001

Swissport International Ltd., Andreas Bühlmann,EVP & Chief Financial Officer,P.O. Box, CH-8058 Zürich-Airport,[email protected],tel. +41 43 812 4255, fax +41 1 811 1001

Swissport International Ltd., Simon Lehmann, EVP Commercial (Sales), Cargo City Süd, Geb. 558 E, DE-60549 [email protected]. +41 43 812 20 20, fax +41 1 811 10 01(effective mid May)

A S I A / M I D D L E E A S T /A F R I C ASwissport International Ltd., Dr. Ludwig Bertsch, EVP Asia, Middle East, Africa & Head Cargo Ser-vices, P.O. Box, CH-8058 Zürich-Airport,[email protected],tel. +41 43 812 2694, fax +41 1 811 1001

I S R A E LQ.A.S. – Quality Airport Services, Yossi Raviv,President & CEO, P.O. Box 136,Ben Gurion International Airport 70100, Israel,[email protected],tel. +972 3 972 7777, fax +972 3 972 7772

K E N YASwissport Kenya, Jeroen De Clercq, CEO,Jomo Kenyatta Intl. Airport/Unit 2,P.O. Box 19177, Nairobi, Kenya,[email protected],tel. +254 20 823 328, fax +254 20 824 754

T H E P H I L I P P I N E SMiascor, Juan C. Paraiso III, President & CEO,Citadel Holdings, Inc., 4/F, SGV II Bldg. 6758Ayala Avenue, Makati City,The Philippines, [email protected],tel. +63 2 851 9647, fax +63 2 851 9680

S O U T H A F R I C ASwissport South Africa (Pty) Ltd.,Fernand Stauffer, President & CEO,P.O. Box 5511, Johannesburg Intl. Airport 1620,South Africa, [email protected],tel. +27 11 928 8527, fax +27 11 928 8541

TA N Z A N I ADAHACO, Gaudence K. Temu, GeneralManager, P.O. Box 18043, Dar es Salaam Intl.Airport, Tanzania, [email protected],tel. +255 22 284 4610/14, fax +255 22 284 4343

EUROPE & SWITZERLANDSwissport International Ltd., Urs Sieber, EVPDivision Europe & Switzerland, P.O. Box,CH-8058 Zürich-Airport, [email protected],tel. +41 43 812 20 20, fax +41 1 811 10 01(effective mid May)

S W I T Z E R L A N DBaselSwissport Basel AG, Stefan Resele,President & CEO, P.O. Box, CH-4030 Basel-Airport, [email protected],tel. +41 61 3252300, fax +41 61 325 23 07

GenevaSwissport Genève SA, Ernest Hochuli, President& CEO, P.O. Box 776, CH-1215 Geneva-Airport, [email protected],tel. +41 2279930 10, fax +41 22 799 31 67

ZürichSwissport Zürich AG, Marcel Hungerbühler,President & CEO, P.O. Box, CH-8058 Zürich-Airport, [email protected],tel. +41 43 812 6170, fax +41 43 812 9195

A U S T R I ASwissport Austria GmbH, Renate Mackay,General Manager, World Trade Center TOP112, 1300 Vienna, Austria,[email protected],tel. +43 1 7007 35521, fax +43 1 7007 35523

B E L G I U MSwissport Cargo Services Belgium, Patrick Minsart, General Manager, BrucargoBuilding 721, 1931 Zaventem, Belgium,[email protected],tel. +32 2 753 0510, fax +32 2 753 0519

F R A N C ESwissport France, Jean-Didier Savioz,President & CEO, Immeuble Communica,455, Promenade des Anglais, 06299 NiceCedex 3, France, [email protected],tel. +33 4 9229 4452, fax +33 4 9229 4451

G E R M A N YSwissport Deutschland GmbH, Hans-Rudolf Moser, GM Passenger Services,Cargo City Süd, Geb. 558 E, 60549 Frankfurt, Germany, [email protected],tel. +49 211 43 71 3110, fax +49 211 43 71 3111

Swissport Cargo Services Deutschland GmbH,Heath White, General Manager Cargo Services,Cargo City South, Building 558B,60549 Frankfurt, Germany,[email protected],tel. +49 69 219 7970, fax +49 69 219 79799

S.Stuttgart Ground Services GmbH, Klaus Knöpfle, General Manager, Flughafen Stuttgart, P.O. Box 230411, 70624Stuttgart, Germany, [email protected],tel. +49 711 948 2900, fax +49 711 948 2901

G R E E C ESwissport Hellas S.A., Phil McGrane,General Manager, Athens International Airport“Eleftherios Venizelos”, 19019 Spata, Greece,[email protected],tel. +30 210 353 7256, fax +30 210 353 7821

Swissport Hellas Cargo, Alex Panokis, Opera-tions Manager, Athens International Airport“Eleftherios Venizelos”, Cargo 3–4, Bldg 15A,19019 Spata, Greece, [email protected],tel. +30 210 354 3099, fax +30 210 354 3170

Swissport Hellas Sud, Georges Peter, GeneralManager, National Airport of Heraklion-Crete“Nikos Kazantzakis”, 71601 Heraklion, Crete,[email protected],tel. +30 8 133 6970, fax +30 8 133 6971

I TA LYSwissport Cargo Services Italy, Sergio Squeri,General Manager, Via R. Morandi 76, 20090Segrate, Italy, [email protected],tel. +39 02 2692 0271, fax +39 02 2692 0257

L U X E M B O U R GSwissport Cargo Services Luxembourg,Guy Ghysels, Managing Director, LuxembourgAirport, Cargo Center West/Findel Airport,2889 Luxembourg, Luxembourg,[email protected],tel. +352 26 426 2700, fax +352 26 426 2702

R U S S I ASwissport Cargo Services Russia, NataliaFeodorova, General Manager, Pilotov 32A,Aviagorrodok, St. Petersburg, Russia,[email protected], tel. +7 812 118 7591,fax +7 812 118 7591

S PA I NSwissport Spain S.A., Daniel Gut,President & CEO, C/Gran Via, 71-3a dcha.,28013 Madrid, Spain, [email protected],tel. +34 91 548 7631/32, fax +34 91 541 5955

T U R K E YHavas, Gürol Yüksel, General ManagerNurettin Oektem Sk. No. 2, 80260 Sisli-Istanbul,Turkey, [email protected], tel. +90 212 2242422/111, fax +90 212 224 49 25

U N I T E D K I N G D O MSwissport UK Ltd., Nigel Daniel, CEOGroundstar House, Freight VillageNewcastle upon Tyne, NE13 [email protected]. +44 191 214 8121, fax +44 191 214 8014

Swissport Cargo Services, Paul Arnold, General Manager Cargo ServicesBedfont Road, London Heathrow Airport, Staines,Middlesex, TW197NL, United Kingdom,[email protected],tel. +44 1784 266 660, fax +44 1784 266 262

A M E R I C A SSwissport Americas,Erich Bodenmann, EVP Division Americas,45025 Aviation Drive, Dulles, VA 20166, USA,[email protected],tel. +1 703 742 4301, fax +1 703 742 4321

C O N TA C T S

I M P R E S S U M

Published by:Corporate Communications,Swissport International Ltd.

Publisher:Stephan Beerli, Vice PresidentMarketing & Communications,Swissport International [email protected]

Editor:Richard [email protected]. +44 (0) 131 476 8052

Swissport coordinator:Andrea [email protected]. +41 43 812 49 54fax. +41 1 811 10 01

Contributors to this issue:E. Ackermann, J. In Albon,S. Beerli, Dr L. Bertsch,D. Besonnet, R. Breitler,M. Brügger, J. de Clercq,A. George, D. Harman, P. Hill,E. Hochuli, A. Ivey, M. Mackay,P. Marsman, M. Matter,A. Panokis, Y. Raviv, R. Rowe,B. Schmitz, L. Seliner, F. Staufer,M. Thuersam, Y. Zermas

Translations:Paul Day

Layout and printing:DAZ, Druckerei AlbisriedenZürich

Subscriptions:For a free subscription, pleasesend your full name and addressto the Swissreporter InformationDesk.

Changes of address:Please send details of any changeof address (by returning yourmailing label with the changesclearly indicated) and any othercorrespondence regarding sub-scriptions to the SwissreporterInformation Desk.

Printed in SwitzerlandCirculation 17,000

© 2004 Swissport InternationalLtd., Zürich-Airport, Switzerland

www.swissport.com

A R G E N T I N ASwissport Argentina S.A.,Hugo Schreier, CEO, Intl. Airport Ezeiza,Ministro Pistarini, 1802 Ezeiza, Buenos Aires,Argentina, [email protected],tel. +54 11 5480 4433, fax +54 11 5480 4431

B R A Z I LSwissport Brasil Ltda., Lician de Mello,CEO, Av. Vinte de Janeiro s/n, 1º andar-Pista,Sala 1651A, Ilha do Governador, RJ 21941-970,Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, [email protected],tel. +55 21 3398 5933, fax +55 21 3398 5932

C A N A D ASwissport Cargo Services Canada, Erich Boden-mann, President, P.O. Box 86,Toronto AMF Ontario, CA L5P 1A2,[email protected],tel. +1 703 742 4301, fax +1 703 742 4321

D O M I N I C A N R E P U B L I CSwissport Dominicana, Omar J. Azar, CEO,Avenida Independencia 1811, Santo Domingo,Dominican Republic, [email protected],tel. +1 809 508 2230, fax +1 809 508 3233

H O N D U R A SSwissport GBH Honduras, Luis Calderon Curo,General Manager, Nueva Terminal de CargaOf. 301, Apto. Internacional “Ramón VilledaMorales”, San Pedro Sula, Honduras,[email protected],tel. +504 668 8880, fax +504 668 8884

M E X I C OSwissport de México S.A. de C.V., NorbertBielderman, President & CEO, Antiguo Caminoa Texcoco s/n, Col. Peñon de los Baños, C.P.15520, Deleg. Venustiano Carranza, MexicoD.F., [email protected],tel. +52 55 5786 9500, fax: +52 55 2599 0326

N E T H E R L A N D A N T I L L E SSwissport Cargo Services Curaçao/Aruba,Gerhard Goselink, General Manager, Reina,Beatrix Airport, Cargo Building, Aruba,[email protected],tel. +599 9868 2244, fax +599 9562 9079

P E R USwissport GBH Peru, Alfonso Garcia-Miro,Executive Director, Av. Elmer Faucett 4800Callao, Lima, Peru,[email protected],tel. +511 411 6800, fax +511 411 6820

U R U G U AYSwissport Uruguay, Eduardo Carneglia, CEOCarrasco International AirportUY-Montevideo, [email protected]. +59 89 2600 9254

U S ASwissport Fueling, Thomas F. Comeau,President, 45025 Aviation Drive, Suite 350,Dulles, VA 20166-7557, USA,[email protected],tel. +1 703 742 4392, fax +1 703 742 4388

Swissport Cargo Services, L.P., Erich Bodenmann,President, 45025 Aviation Drive, Dulles, VA20166, USA, [email protected],tel. +1 703 742 4301, fax +1 703 742 4321

Swissport CFE, Fred Campbell,President (ad interim), 4560 South Boulevard,Suite 202, Virginia Beach, VA 23452, USA,[email protected],tel. +1 757 490 2465, fax +1 757 490 2543

Hallmark Aviation Services, Philipp Huber,President, 5757 W. Century Blvd., Suite 860,Los Angeles, CA 90045, USA,[email protected],tel. +1 310 215 0701, fax +1 310 410 5362

V E N E Z U E L ASwissport Cargo Services Venezuela,Oscar Lehmann, General Manager, Ed. PascalTorre B Local 4B, Planta Baja, Av. RomuloGallegos, Santa Eduvigis Caracas, Venezuela,[email protected], tel. +58 212 285 4060,fax +58 212 285 8491

AV I AT I O N S E C U R I T YCheckport, Louis Seliner, CEO,P.O. Box 2422, 8058 Zürich-Airport, Switzerland,[email protected],tel. +41 43 816 6702, fax +41 43 816 6758,(Contact for Switzerland, CPT, DLA, JNB, LOS,SSG, YAO)

U L D M A N A G E M E N TUnitpool AG, Philip Hill, ManagingDirector, Steinackerstrasse 2,8302 Kloten, Switzerland, [email protected],tel. +41 43 255 4141, fax +41 43 255 4142

S W I S S P O R T E X E C U T I V EAV I AT I O NSwissport International Ltd., Alan George,VP Executive Aviation, P.O. Box, 8058 Zürich-Airport, Switzerland,[email protected],tel. +41 43 812 20 20, fax +41 1 811 10 01

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