Seitentitel

Any aviation services provider that aims to remain among the best in the business must set course in good time to meet the challenges ahead. it is a requirement that Swissport is all too aware of. And it is one we take very seriously, too – which is why we are making preparations today to secure tomorrow’s success.

The ability to anticipate trends in good time, to sense customer wishes, to provide an effective network and to maintain an appropriate organisation that can meet all these many demands: these are just some of the key factors in ensuring that success. And Swissport has not only been thinking about them, we have been taking action, too.

As a result, the world leader of ground services to the aviation sector has adopted a more dynamic organi-sation since April 1. Our new structure will no longer be based on geographical criteria, but will be centred on our various activities and business lines. Swifter processes, clearer responsibilities, fewer interfaces and more active business development are just a few of the reasons why Swissport is taking this action to further enhance its overall business structure.

Tackling tomorrow today

We are keen to tap new markets and exploit addi-tional opportunities, too. We are already establishing ourselves in Ukraine and, in doing so, are underlin-ing a commitment to expand our service network in such rapidly emerging markets. This is good news for all airlines that seek an optimum blend of profession-alism, expertise, quality and fair prices to fit their ground handling needs.

Last, but not least, we will continue to develop our attractive CUSS facilities – the new self-service de-vices that have the whole industry talking and which now offer travellers the ultra-convenient option of checking in online. We are making great progress here, too, working with SITA to offer further attrac-tive solutions to airlines and their customers.

If you want to stay on top tomorrow, you have to start doing things right today. That is exactly what Swiss-port is doing. And we look forward to continuing to meet our airline clients’ ground service needs to the very best of our abilities.

Stephan Beerli

16April 06

International Customer Journalof Swissport International Ltd.and its Companies and Partners.

editorial Forward thinking

As the air transport industry heads into

another challenging year, iAtA Director

General and CeO, Giovanni Bisignani, be-

lieves that significant changes are needed

if the industry is to solve its woes. [ 9 ]

Global outlook: A case for change

Having recently signed a six-year coope-

ration agreement with low-cost giant

Ryanair, Swissport must now rise to the

challenge of handling more than 54,000

flights per year for the carrier at london

Stansted. [ 12 – 13 ]

low-cost: Meeting expectations

the recent unveiling of a new air cargo

terminal at Singapore Changi underlines

Swissport’s growing position as a key

player at one of Asia’s most important

airports. [ 18 ]

Singapore: Open for business

Ukraine international Airlines has turned to

Swissport to partner its ground service de-

velopment at its main hub. Swissreporter

travelled to Kiev to learn more. [ 22 – 23 ]

network: Kiev calling

� swissreporter TheSwissportcustomerjournal Issue16,April2006

NeTwork

Air Malta signs up

AirMaltahasbecomethelatestairlinetosignacomprehensivegroundservicesagreementwiththeSwissportGroup.TheaccordseesSwissportprovideatailoredservicepackagethatwillbegraduallyextendedtoover20AirMaltastationsaroundtheworldinthecourseof2006.

Country deals, regional and global packages, multi- station accords: whatever name they go by, compre-hensive agreements are coming to dominate the think-ing of the buyers of ground handling services through-out the airline world.

It is not a surprising trend. The possible downsides of such a move – inadequate regard for local conditions, loss of personal contacts, a lack of confidence in the new provider, political repercussions, over dependence on the new partner and similar – are well known.

But the industry’s professionals have learnt their les-sons from the first such accords; and they can confirm with confidence that the benefits far outweigh the

potential drawbacks, and that these new extensive agreements make the whole collaborative process sim-pler and more cost-effective for everyone concerned.

Air Malta followed this strategic path and the carrier has just asked Swissport to provide tailored ground handling solutions at over 20 of its stations. “Our talks with Swissport were long and intensive,” explains Joe Cappello, the carrier’s Chief Executive Officer. “And the longer they went on, the clearer it became that the new arrangement offered several key benefits which would help us retain our competitive edge.”

These included special incentives in view of the size-able volume of business involved, which promise sub-

stantial cost savings; high quality standards and full compliance with Air Malta’s service-level agreements; and direct access to a key account manager at Swiss-port, who will represent the carrier’s interests within the Air Malta network.

“But that’s not all,” continues Cappello. “The new arrangement also provides us with standardised proc-esses for simpler invoicing and less administration, it pays full regard to local conditions and needs and it gives us more involvement in new developments and access to new technologies like web check-in, CUSS and biometric systems. So, for all these reasons, we will be gradually transferring our ground services to Swissport’s responsibility from April on.”

But Air Malta will not only have eyes for Swissport, he adds: “We will continue to work with our other trusted partners at over 45 more of our destinations.”

Swissport is equally excited about the new collabora-tion. “The size of an airline and the number of stations it operates are not the prime criteria in this kind of collaborative approach,” explains Andreas Müller, key account director and one of the negotiating part-ners on the Swissport side.

“What is far more important is having a shared understanding of how to get the most out of the busi-ness involved. We felt from the outset that Air Malta thinks the way we do, and that we all stood to benefit from teaming up.

“But,” he adds, “I am sure the fact that Swissport continues to grow and add new stations to the oper-ating network played a major role in sealing the deal, too.”

Stephan Beerli

Malta Tailoredpackage

The agreement

Stationscovered: 23Flightsperyear: 4,800Businessvolume(pa): overeUr4millionestimatedsavingspotential: Around10%Lengthofnegotiations: Fivemonthsentryintoeffect: April2006Duration: FiveyearsAirMalta’sview: “Demanding,butverycompetentprojectwork.”Swissport’sview: “Agood,professionalsmallairlineandaclassic win-winagreement.”

“We will be gradually transferring our ground

services to Swissport’s responsibility from April on.”

JoeCappello

Air Malta has turned to Swissport at more than 20 of its stations.

Joe Cappello: “Our talks with Swissport

were long and intensive.”

swissreporter � the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

Joseph in Albon President and CEO, Swissport International

Permanent evolution

And the latest product of these endeavours – our new organisational structure – will provide us with a sound foundation from which we can continue to respond swiftly and effectively to whatever future challenges our industry may provide.

New ground is perhaps one of the most exciting chal-lenges of all. And we are pleased to report in this issue not just on Swissport International’s new parent, Spain’s Ferrovial Group, but also our arrival in one of the former Soviet republics: Kiev in Ukraine.

Elsewhere, we have forged a multi-station agreement with Air Malta, enjoyed remarkable start-up success

in Singapore and made further inroads into the low-cost airline sector thanks to substantial cooperation deals with both easyjet and Ryanair.

But, of course, challenges can also come in the form of forward-looking trends of the kind also highlighted in these pages thanks to important contributions from IATA, Airports Council International and the EU.

I hope you enjoy our latest issue and an update on how we at Swissport continue to do everything we can to help you offer your customers tomorrow what they wish for today.

Comment Meeting the challenge

FROM tHe tOP

Swissport’s new parent

Having initially signed an agreement to acquire Swissport from previous owner Candover in August 2005, Spain’s Ferrovial Group finally completed the purchase in October. But who is the new owner of Swissport and what are its plans for the world’s largest aviation ground services company?

Swissport’s new owner, the Spanish construction giant Ferrovial, has vowed to continue the growth strategy of its new charge and is as determined as Swissport itself to maintain the company’s leading position in the international ground handling industry.

Although relatively unfamiliar in aviation circles, Ferrovial is extremely well-known in other sectors: it is one of the largest construction groups in Spain and one of the leading infrastructure groups in Europe, by both profitability and capitalisation. The Group, which is listed on the Madrid stock exchange, saw a turnover of EUR 8.9 billion in 2005 (up 24% on 2004) and delivered an EBIT of EUR 871.3 million.

The acquisition of Swissport is an important develop-ment for a company that has changed much since it was founded as a construction company in 1952. Construc-tion remains a core activity today, but Ferrovial has di-versified greatly and now manages three additional op-erating units: infrastructure, real estate and services.

Overall, the Group has a broad expertise in the de-sign, construction, financing, maintenance and man-agement of a wide range of transport, urban and serv-ices infrastructure.

In recent years, the Group has also followed a strat-egy of geographic expansion, increasing in particular its presence in infrastructure and services – areas of business that are much less cyclical than the compa-ny’s construction and real estate activities.

The acquisition in 2003 of UK support services group, Amey, and Swissport in 2005, represent a key part of the wider strategy to boost revenues from its services business. Following the acquisition, Swissport is now

an important part of Ferrovial Servicios, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Ferrovial Group.

Additional subsidiaries have also made significant strides in investments outside Spain to create a mul-tinational group with a worldwide presence. Largely thanks to CINTRA in the US, Ferrovial now earns some 43% of overall revenue outside its home mar-ket, although now with Swissport’s global operations as part of its portfolio, it is a percentage that is only likely to increase.

Stephan Beerli

Organisation new ownership

intRODUCinG FeRROViAl

Ferrovial fast facts

– Founded in 1952– iPO in 1999– eUR 9 billion market capitalisation– 70,000 staff employed across five continents.

www.ferrovial.es

Swissport continues to strive to deliver optimum value for money while maintaining the highest quality standards. that, of course, means constantly adapting, aligning, evolving and refining our business operations.

� swissreporter the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

CORPORAte PeRSPeCtiVeS

Laying a solid foundation

the Swissport Board of Directors and executive Management made a landmark decision in January when they decided to restructure the Swissport Group. in the fol-lowing interview, Joseph in Albon, President and CeO, Swissport international, explains the key features of the new corporate organisation and the thinking behind it.

Swissreporter: why is Swissport making changes to

its organisation?

Joseph In Albon: Swissport intends to continue its ex-pansion in 2006 and to achieve its strategic growth objectives in all its business areas. We want to give ourselves the best possible structures and foundations for doing so and for further enhancing the effective-ness of our individual business lines. The fact that our business partners tend to be organised along the same broad principles is further proof to us that this new corporate structure offers the optimum means of aligning ourselves to our customers’ processes and addressing and meeting their needs.

Are these changes being made because the old Swiss-

port wasn’t performing well enough or on request of

the new Spanish owner Ferrovial?

This reorganisation is not about how we have per-formed in the past; it is about how we can best equip ourselves for the challenges ahead. Swissport is a suc-cessful company. But we want to ensure that we re-tain our leading position – and even further consoli-date and extend it – in the months and years ahead. A change of owner is always an occasion to ask some fun-

damental questions at the strategic level. But the re-structuring proposal actually came from Swissport In-ternational Executive Management and was approved by the Swissport International Board of Directors.

what benefits do you expect the new structure to

bring?

By focusing more clearly on our various prime busi-ness lines, we can give ourselves clearly demarcated responsibilities and authorities. We can also reduce the interfaces involved and create greater transpar-ency within our organisation. We are convinced, too, that this will help us enhance our processes and shorten our decision-making channels – which are further key success factors in our dynamic business environment. We are well aware that we face a number of challenges ahead in putting the new structure into practice. However, we are confident that, with our carefully considered rollout plan, we can meet and master these.

Regional or global agreements/packages (as well as

multiple business-lines) are becoming more popular.

How do you manage such expectations and how does

it tie in with the business development?

A central coordination is secured, but it will be up to the sales managers in each strategic business unit to maintain close relations with one another and keep each other informed of major commissions of this kind. The lead for conducting the corresponding com-

mercial negotiations and compiling these packages will be determined on a case-by-case basis, depend-ing on the specific needs and circumstances involved. In the new organisational structure, business devel-opment will be conducted by Corporate Develop-ment in close collaboration with the strategic busi-ness units. This will enable us to set, apply and main-tain group-wide business development priorities.

what can Swissport business partners and customers

expect from the new leaders and what is happening

with all other managerial positions?

Knowledge and continuity are two vital assets in our business. The new people we have selected for these tasks can draw on extensive management expertise and experience and we are convinced that they will be able to lead their new strategic business units to medium- and long-term success. We are equally convinced that we have chosen these people with all the character and the charisma that will be needed to motivate their teams for their new duties and help them meet and master the many challenges ahead. And no doubt, the positive impacts and benefits for all Swissport business partners will be seen very soon.

will there be redundancies as the changes filter through

the rest of the organisation?

Swissport basically wants to continue to grow. And to do so, we need professional skills and expertise throughout our day-to-day business. Experience has shown, however, that organisational changes of this kind can result in changes of personnel in some posi-tions. Now that we have appointed the heads of our strategic business units, we will be turning our atten-tion to the second and third management levels within these business units. For certain key positions, the new business line heads will be approaching and appoint-ing people directly; for other positions, we will be in-

viting applications. All of this will happen in the next few weeks.

Finally, when will the new organisation come into ef-

fect and how will the reorganisation now proceed?

Our new corporate structure will be adopted on April 1, 2006. What will follow now, over the next few weeks, is the fine-tuning within the newly defined business lines. In this phase, various groups, each led by their

business unit head, will flesh out the structures within each of the new strategic business units. These groups will also be tackling and settling issues such as inter-

faces, back-office functions, support duties, key account management and operational concerns. You will hear more about some of these topics very soon. For the time being, all business contacts remain un-changed and no customer will feel anything negative in the day-to-day collaboration and front-line en-gagement of our staff. I am convinced that, in making these organisational changes, we are laying a sound and solid foundation for Swissport’s further growth and success, to the ben-efit of all customers and business partners in a sus-tainable manner.

Interview: Stephan Beerli

“Knowledge and

continuity are two vital

assets in our business.”

“This reorganisation is about how we can best equip

ourselves for the challenges ahead.”

“We are laying a sound

and solid foundation for

Swissport’s further

growth and success.”

Organisation Corporate structure

swissreporter � the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

President & CEO Joseph in Albon

Finance luis Pascualexecutive Vice President

HR Agustin Gonzales Hermosillaexecutive Vice President

Marketing & Communication Stephan BeerliVice President

Ground Handling Switzerland & Germany Urs Sieberexecutive Vice President

Basel, Geneva, Germany, SBS (Swissport Baggage Sorting), Zürich

Corporate Development Sara enriquezexecutive Vice President

Legal elena Fernandezexecutive Vice President

Ground Handling Europe/ Asia/Middle East/Africa nigel Danielexecutive Vice President

Algeria, Austria, Cyprus, France, Groundstar UK, Hellas, israel, italy, Kenya, Korea, Philippines, Poland, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sudan, tanzania, Ukraine

Ground Handling Americas Richard van Bruygomexecutive Vice President

Argentina, Brazil, Canada, CFe (Over-night Services), Dominican Republic, Hallmark, Honduras, Peru, Uruguay, USA

Cargo Services

Dr. ludwig Bertschexecutive Vice President

Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Curacao, France, Germany, Hellas, Honduras, Hungary, israel, italy, Kenya, Korea, luxembourg, Mexico, netherlands, Peru, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Switzerland, tanzania, UK, Uruguay, USA, Venezuela, UlD Management (Unitpool)

Emerging Businesses

erich Bodenmannexecutive Vice President

Swissport Aircraft Maintenance, Swissport Aviation Security (Check-port), Swissport executive Aviation, Swissport Fueling Services

NEw TOP LINE CORPORATE STRuCTuRE (eFFeCtiVe APRil 1)

Operations Dirk Jan De RooVice President

� swissreporter the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

netwORK

Getting together in Geneva

A no-frills carrier working with a high-quality ground handler may seem an unlikely match but, as Swissport Geneva and easyJet Switzerland are discovering, it is an arrangement that benefits both parties. the two partners have intensified their collabo-ration – with excellent results.

When Swissport Geneva and easyJet Switzerland announced the successful conclusion of their behind-closed-doors negotiations on September 20, 2005, a tight timetable lay ahead. Under the agreement, Swissport Geneva was to take over easyJet’s local ground personnel and equipment and assume respon-sibility for all the carrier’s ground services at the air-port from December 1.

In a country of high social standards and a region with a strong union presence, the transfer of the staff alone in such a short time would be a major achievement. But, in addition, the partners faced the operational challenge of ensuring that a new-look Swissport Geneva with 20% more staff could be ready to han-dle 40% more movements and up to 75% more pas-sengers than before.

Ernest Hochuli, Managing Director of Swissport Geneva, and his management team set to work imme-diately. Their main task: to convince the local easyJet personnel that their move to Swissport was in every-one’s best interests.

“We were bringing two different cultures together,” explains Pierre Métrailler, Head of Human Resources, Swissport Geneva. “As with any change, there was some scepticism at first. It took a lot of discussions to bring our new people on board.” It worked, though: over 90% of the former easyJet Geneva team switched to Swissport on December 1.

Not that this was the end of the story. Far from it. Things are always a little topsy-turvy in Geneva: apart from the peak summer months, the airport’s passen-ger volumes tend to rise in winter, too, when the ski-ing community – especially from the UK – head for the Swiss and French Alps. “Our UK-Geneva routes are the only ones in our network with an increase during the winter season,” explains Jean-Marc Théve-naz, Managing Director, easyJet Switzerland.

LandmarkWinning the easyJet business is a landmark achieve-ment for Swissport Geneva. Staff numbers have risen from 1,000 to 1,300, passenger numbers have climbed from 4.5 million in 2005 to an estimated 7.5 million for

Q&A

Peter Kuhn, easyJet Key Account Manager, Swissport Geneva

Swissreporter: You were present when the announ-cement was made that more than 200 easyJet employees would transfer to Swissport. How was the news received?Peter Kuhn: On the whole, positively, but it still came as a shock to middle and lower management. they had not been involved in the negotiations, so were faced with something of a fait accompli. But the various information events and personal discussions clarified a lot of issues and the mood soon became positive. we also tried to show the people concerned that they have a lot more career opportunities within Swissport. A ramp agent at easyJet tends to remain a ramp agent, whereas Swissport is involved in many aspects of ground services.

Have you been able to deploy your people as flexibly as you would have liked during the first few weeks?Only to a limited extent. Our existing Swissport peo-ple have had to learn that for some customers, less is more. they have also had to familiarise themselves with the very special standards and procedures of our new no-frills customer. At the same time, we have taken on people who have only known this no-frills approach to ground handling and know very little about the traditional ground services approach. But we started our first courses in December to equip the people from each side to work in the other sector, so we are well on the way.

Station management and daily operations are now fully in Swissport’s hands. what has been the easyJet experience of this so far? easyJet has already conducted its first audit of the new operations. this revealed certain aspects that still need to be improved and we are working on those now. But the day-to-day operations are well under control and i am confident that our new arran-gement will be a success for everyone concerned.

low-cost collaboration Company integration

swissreporter � the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

netwORK

Q&A

Jean-Marc thévenaz, Managing Director, easyJet Switzerland

Swissreporter: You had been self-handling in Geneva for years. why turn to Swissport now?Jean-Marc Thévenaz: times change! if we’d said in the late 1990s that we’d be carrying four million pas-sengers in Switzerland in 2005, people would have laughed. Back then you tended to be low-key in your dealings with low-cost carriers. nobody was sure how sustainable the business could be. But low-cost doesn’t mean cheap: we offer a good product. And even the traditionalists in our industry have conce-ded that working with a low-cost carrier can be a long-term affair. we also did our own handling at first because we wanted to see how we grew. And, by growing as we have, we have now put ourselves in a better position. Have you now grown so much that you can’t do your own handling?it is more that we felt we were devoting too much of our resources to it. in fact, we were losing energy and money. Our core business is flying people from A to B. So, when our ground handling reached these dimensions, we decided to have someone else do it for us. However, we didn’t wait too long; we just waited long enough. Swissport was an obvious choice. we already work with Swissport at stations such as london Stansted, Paris Charles de Gaulle, Hamburg and Basel. we knew our Swissport colleagues in Geneva, too, and we knew what we could expect from them. And they have not disap-pointed us: the results to date are excellent.

there is a tendency today for airlines to conclude glo-bal agreements to obtain all their handling system-wide from the same provider. is that a viable option for easyJet?it would be nice, but i cannot see it happening. we have one daily service to toulouse. if Swissport were prepared to establish a whole operation there just for us, i expect we’d use it. But for Swissport, that would never make business sense. Added to that, there will always be destinations where political con-siderations prevent a new ground handler entering the market. So, however global your agreement may be, there will always be cases where you have to work with other local partners. there is talk in Geneva of establishing a dedicated easyJet terminal?not an easyJet terminal, a low-cost carrier terminal. And, yes, we will be launching this, but other carri-ers will be welcome, too. this is a more general concept, not just for Geneva. we don’t see why we should pay what the traditional airlines do for facili-ties we don’t need. that’s why we want our own ground handling area, tailored to our require-ments.

what we’re talking about here is a general philoso-phy. the low-cost operators have caused a revolu-tion in the airline business that can actually improve a lot of things, especially by bringing down costs. we are constantly challenging our industry; and we are constantly challenging our handling agents to join us in that same revolution. You’ve been doing these things for 50 years. now you need to rise to the challenge and try to think outside the usual box.

2006, movements handled have risen from 70,000 to nearly 90,000, while market share has grown from 60 to 80% – all within ten weeks of signing the contract.

And if that wasn’t enough, Swissport Geneva also handles 40,000 tonnes of cargo for 35 cargo customers and has a total client base of 45 airlines at the airport.

Of course, Swissport Geneva also took on the chal-lenge of meeting the particular needs of a low-cost carrier; and one that accounts for 20% of all the traf-

Facts & figures

EasyJet Switzerland Geneva Basel Total

Number of aircraft 6 4 10

Number of weekly flights 300 130 430

Transported passengers (year) 2.5 million 1 million 3.5 million

Minimum ground time 25 minutes 25 minutes

fic at Geneva Airport – 37 flights per day during the week and up to 53 on Saturdays.

At first glance, that may not look too daunting: a no-frills carrier has few of the service add-ons – printed tickets, mail, frequent flyer programmes – associated with other carriers. So does handling easyJet mean an easy job? Not exactly: to meet its operating and finan-cial targets (themselves linked to an incentive system), Swissport Geneva must make maximum use of the synergies that can be derived from amalgamating the two workforces. But this means that each of these groups will need to come to terms with a new ground product: the traditional airline package in the case of ex-easyJet personnel and the no-frills product for existing Swissport staff.

Swissport has initially tackled the issue by assigning dedicated personnel to its easyJet check-in and gate operations. But workforce flexibility should soon be enhanced through further staff training in both prod-uct areas.

Ramp operations faced a different kind of task. There have been no dedicated teams here, but there has been the challenge of meeting easyJet’s minimum ground time of 30 minutes. “With a 156-seat A319 and a load factor of 85 to 90%, you are talking about deplaning 140 passengers and boarding another 140 in just half an hour,” says Marc Strahm, Head of Air-craft Handling, Swissport Geneva. “Not to mention about four tonnes of baggage – manually, because easyJet doesn’t operate with containers.”

But, despite the challenges, the cutover has been smooth and Swissport Geneva has successfully assim-ilated its new operation. EasyJet Switzerland is pleased with the results, too: “Our people and their futures were at the centre of our concerns right from the start,” stresses Thévenaz. “We are very pleased at what has been a smooth transition.

“The new operation is working very well and the results are excellent. We really have no worries.”

Roland Breitler

� swissreporter the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

MARKet liBeRAliSAtiOn

Since the EU liberalisation directive was first intro-duced, there have been some interesting develop-ments in the European ground handling market. Cur-rently, EU rules still permit airside handling to be re-stricted to two handlers (with one being independent from both the airport and the dominant hub carrier) and two self-handlers. Interestingly, self-handling has

not increased, confirming that dedicated handling by third parties is the preferred choice for most carriers.

Also, the number of airports allowing the minimum of just two ramp suppliers is dwindling, with Milan Malpensa and Rome Fiumicino the two most recent airports to grant unrestricted access. Elsewhere, the major Spanish airports should grant a third ramp licence and organise EU-wide tenders in line with di-rective requirements by the end of 2006. However, German, Belgian, Austrian and Portuguese airports, as well as those in several new EU member states, still stick firmly to two ramp handlers.

Most importantly, there is no evidence that the arrival of increased competition has put safety at risk, al-though there are mixed messages about quality, with trade unions complaining about increased job insta-bility.

What is clear is that handling prices have fallen and traditional customer contracts have become uncer-tain. Fraport is a good example: the airport operator had to accept significant price reductions to maintain a key, long-term handling contract with Lufthansa at

Frankfurt. Elsewhere in Germany, Lufthansa is start-ing to turn away from the airport in favour of inde-pendent handlers.

In general, the market share of airport handlers in Europe has decreased, while independents have gained ground – although airlines still control a

significant share of the total market (see chart). And as long as major carriers continue to self-handle and serve alliance partners at their home bases, the so-called contestable market may remain too small for two or more independent handlers to maintain a viable business. Amsterdam Schiphol – with KLM and three major independent suppliers – is a case in point: ramp access is unrestricted, but independents fight hard for a market share that is just too small given KLM’s captive market.

Airport rightsInterestingly, the EU directive has stripped away tra-ditional airport ‘rights’. First, airports were stopped from charging access fees for handlers unless they were related to costs arising from the actual use of airport installations. The trend is now to charge han-dlers only for individual use of installations, such as

check-in desks and warehouses, but not for commonly used infrastructure such as the tarmac. Airlines accept, in return, an increase in passenger/ landing fees.

Second, it is no longer allowed to impose staff on a new handler gaining a licence or simply taking away customer contracts from the incumbent, as this puts new competitors at a disadvantage (in that they are prevented from freely deciding on their workforce and labour conditions). National laws allowing such labour constraints have been outlawed by the Euro-pean Court, while collective labour agreements ex-tended by government on all present and future han-dlers are likely to be similarly incompatible with the EU handling directive.

Looking ahead, the European Commission is late in proposing further market liberalisation. However, drafts suggest that airports with a minimum of 10 mil-lion passengers should accept at least three ramp han-dlers (including two independents) and those with a minimum of 20 million passengers should accept four handlers (including three independents). It is also foreseen that airport handlers should be set up as sep-arate companies and be subject to the same tender and licence rules as independent and airline handlers.

Fierce resistance by ACI Europe and the European Transport Workers Federation is expected.

But the market trend is evident: a handful of multi-national independent handlers will have more free-dom to share the EU handling market by offering creative forms of global multi-station contracts. Con-solidation and financial injections will strengthen the negotiating power of independents vis-à-vis airlines and their alliances. Such a consolidation trend is now-adays welcome by the EU antitrust authorities as long as abusive practices resulting from dominant po-sitions are prevented.

Bob Schmitz

the 1996 eU directive (law) on access to the european ground handling market was designed to open up this once monopoly-driven environment. But – 10 years on – what has been achieved and what more is there to come? Bob Schmitz explains.

Slowly, but surelyeuropeindustry

The market share of airport handlers in

Europe has decreased, while independents

have gained ground.

Bob Schmitz

Bob Schmitz is an eU Regulatory Affairs Consultant, based in Brussels.

What is clear is that handling prices have

fallen and traditional customer contracts

have become uncertain.

0

20

40

60

80

100%

1999 2002 2005

Europe’s ground handling market structure

Airline self-handling

Airport handlers

independent ground handlers

swissreporter � the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

Governments, too, must change the way that they view the industry. They are far too involved in restrict-ing basic commercial freedoms with the 60-year-old

bilateral system. We have seen micro-management in the European Union resulting in bad consumer pro-tection, such as the compensation for denied board-

ing, long delays and cancellations. At the same time, governments have failed to agree to an approach to security that is harmonised across borders.

The agenda for a successful airline industry is not complicated. But it is three dimensional including air-lines, partners and governments. If these three dimen-sions are balanced correctly the chances of a safer, more secure, environmentally friendly and profitable industry are good.

Giovanni Bisignani

Air transport is responsible for almost US$3 trillion in global economic activity and 29 million jobs. But the airline sector is in crisis – losing $6 billion in 2005 on top of cumulative losses of $36 billion between 2001 and 2004. Change is critical if industry health is to be restored. Efficiency is the mantra and this must be achieved across the value chain.

Airlines have made great progress. Non-fuel unit costs are down 14% since 2001, while labour productivity has improved by 32%. And the break-even price for crude went from $22 per barrel in 2003 to $48 in 2005.

For our part, IATA is Simplifying the Business (StB) to deliver even greater efficiencies. Launched in 2004,

StB involves five projects that will revolutionise the way we travel and ship, while delivering $6.5 billion in annual cost savings. We are using technology to de-liver convenience with:

100% e-ticketing by the end of 2007 E-freight by 2010 Bar-coded boarding passes Radio frequency identification for baggage management Common use of self-service kiosks (CUSS) for check-in.

We are pleased that Swissport is among our first part-ners in delivering the benefits of CUSS – although fu-ture change must also include our other partners in the value chain. Airports and air navigation service providers are a $42 billion annual cost burden to air-lines and their customers. Many airports are good partners delivering value-for-money. But many oth-ers are lost in another age – taking advantage of mo-nopoly situations.

Put simply, airlines are not prepared to pay ever-in-creasing bills. Airports spending and airlines paying is not the basis for a successful partnership. IATA is shouting politely to bring greater efficiency to our in-frastructure suppliers.

GlOBAl OUtlOOK

A case for change

Delivering efficiencyindustry

As the air transport industry heads into yet another challenging year, iAtA Director General and CeO, Giovanni Bisignani, believes that significant changes – in attitudes and processes – are needed if the industry is to truly solve its woes. Here, he outlines just what needs to be done to effect that change.

Airports spending

and airlines paying

is not the basis

for a successful

partnership.

Efficiency is the

mantra and this

must be achieved

across the value

chain.

Giovanni Bisignani

Giovanni Bisignani has served as iAtA Director General & CeO since June 2002. experienced in the airline and transport industry, Mr Bisignani has brought extensive business expertise to the position. Prior to joining iAtA, Mr Bisignani launched and directed Opodo – the first euro-pean airline-owned online travel agency. His airline experience includes five years at the helm of Alitalia as CeO and Managing Director, during which time he also served on the iAtA execu-tive Committee and was Chairman of the Association of european Airlines.

10 swissreporter the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

innOVAtiOn

Time to CUSS

Readers may recall an article in the July 2005 issue of Swissreporter that provided an update on Swissport’s self-service device (SSD) and common use self-service system (CUSS) technologies. the subsequent months have seen phenomenal developments, with new applications trialed and introduced. we sent our reporters to find out the very latest.

With almost permanent testing under way, Swissport’s SSD and CUSS applications have been tailored even more closely to passenger needs in recent months. Thanks to the professional support of Swissport staff that have alerted travellers to the kiosk check-in op-tion we have seen a substantial increase in the pro-portion of passengers using these new technologies.

Initially, the facilities were used mainly by frequent flyers and business travellers, but vacationers and other travellers are now also making use of the ele-gant CUSS machines. At Zürich, for example, 17 to 22% of all travellers (depending on the month) now use these convenient facilities. By doing so, passen-gers enjoy time savings of up to 50% on the tradi-tional desk check-in process.

One crucial development since our last report has been the coming together of Swissport and SITA to develop a new option that permits travellers to check-in online. The solution allows passengers to check-in and print out their boarding card before they even leave home. And if passengers are travelling with reg-istered baggage, all they need to do on arrival at the airport is hand the baggage in at a designated drop-off point.

“Our new web check-in option transfers more respon-sibility to the passenger,” explains Bruno Riesen,

Swissport Chief Information Officer. “And they are welcoming the opportunity to arrive at the airport even more relaxed, with everything settled in ad-vance.”

Web check-in has so far been restricted to SWISS International Air Lines passengers and is currently available for flights to and from Zürich, Basel, Geneva or Lugano. It will, however, be extended to further SWISS destinations over the coming months. Starting in March, web check-in is now possible for a further 14 European and 1 Canadian SWISS destination.

Additional solutionsBut it is not just the availability of web check-in that will increase in the near future: online check-in and the CUSS application should also be made accessi-ble to other axsControl customers. Swissport has joined forces with SITA on this project, too, with the partners particularly keen to extend the facilities to regional client airlines.

“We want to help our customers optimise their costs and simultaneously provide them with innovative solutions,” explains Bruno Frentzel of SITA.

Significant progress has also been made on the secu-rity front (see also page 21). Swissport International’s Checkport subsidiary has been in the security busi-

Applications efficiency gains

Swissport’s new CUSS kiosks at Basel were used live for the first time in February.

Find out more

why not come and talk to us – and see live presenta-tions – at the following events:

– disCUSS Cuss Forum, las Vegas, May 30–June 1

– international Ground Handling Conference (iGHC), istanbul, May 31–June 2

what’s next?

Swissport-owned CuSS– the first live check-in at a new Basel CUSS kiosk

took place on February 16

– Further installation of CUSS infrastructure (kiosks) at new York JFK (terminal 4) in March

web check-in– Compatible solution to be offered to Swissport

axsControl customers, while further locations are simultaneously evaluated (second and third quarters of 2006)

– Joint development with SitA on a drop-off point solution (fourth quarter 2006)

swissreporter 11 the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

innOVAtiOn

As the chart highlights, the process begins when a passenger books a ticket, pro-vides the required Advance Passenger information (APi) and receives an e-ticket (Pre-travel).

On the day of travel, the passenger checks in at a CUSS or self-service kiosk using a machine-readable or e-passport. Real-time provisional ‘Right to Board’ notifica-tion (iAPi) is received from outbound and inbound immigration authorities. the passenger authenticates his identity with a biometric identifier and receives a boar-ding token that could be a boarding pass with mag-stripe or 2-D barcode. Passen-ger bags, meanwhile, are RFiD tagged at the airport or offsite.

At the boarding gate itself, a boarding token and biometric authentication confirms that the passenger has the Right to Board and that any passenger who has checked a bag has reported to the boarding gate.

Upon arrival at the final destination, the passenger disembarks and authenticates his identity at an automated arrivals gate by means of a biometric identifier (which

also confirms right of entry). notification of arrival has already been sent to the control authorities to enable immigration, customs, bio-security or health autho-rity intervention on the basis of a passenger’s APi and bio-security/customs data. the passenger then collects his baggage and exits the restricted area unless there is a border control authority intervention.

Finally, if applicable, the passenger proceeds to the car rental or hotel desk, where notification of his arrival has already been sent by the arrival gate and any pre- booked transactions can be expedited.

the SPt interest group is now exploring trials that would test the concepts of this ideal flow for feasibility, practicality and interoperability – all of which are key to the fulfilment of the SPt vision.

For more information about the SPt programme and membership, please visit www.simplifying-travel.org or contact SPt Management at: info@simplifying-travel.org

Departure passenger flow – the optimum solution

ness for many years and has a wealth of experience at its disposal. One of the main developments in this area involves inserting biometric data (already extensively used by security services) onto a credit card-like device with which the traveller can smoothly negotiate the various airport formalities.

As Rico Barandun, Project Manager Aviation Security, explains: “Swissport and Checkport are constantly working on new process flows to minimise the cost of additional security requirements.”

Looking ahead, Swissport has long aligned its over-all strategy to the needs of its existing and potential customers. This means that the process optimisations and cost economies that are presently under way are just the latest steps in this ongoing endeavour.

And as an active Simplified Passenger Travel (SPT) member, Swissport is also firmly committed to turn-ing the many promising developments and trials into reality as soon as possible – for the benefit of airports, airlines and travellers alike.

“Swissport is proud to play a leading part and be the only ground handling company in the SPT Pro-gramme,” sums up Michael Kilchherr, Commercial Project Manager, Swissport.

Michael KilchherrMelanie Wymann

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Board aircraft

– Outbound emigration– inbound board/no board– Passenger profile to security

Security screening & capture biosecu-rity/customs data

Risk assess and stream passengers according

to threat data

APi/ iAPi (where required)

Biosecurity/customs data for pre-arrival risk assessment

(where required)

Confirm pay-ment received

issue/activate e-token

issue RFiD tagBaggage

reconciliation

Send APi manifest

(where required)

Check-in

Right to fly

Right to Board (iAPi)

Pax Profile

Access to restricted zone

Authenticate iD

Receive e-token

Drop bagAuthenticate

iDBook e-ticket &

provide APiAuthenticate

iDSecurity

screening

Securityall clear

Boarding

Michael Kilchherr Commercial Project Manager, Swissport Phone: +41 43 812 7764 Fax: +41 43 321 2874 michael.kilchherr@swissport.com

Speedy and efficient: Check-in made easy thanks to Swissport’s new online solutions.

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low-cost extensionAirlines

Gearing up with Ryanair

Swissport has concluded a six-year cooperation agreement with low-cost giant Ryanair – an extension of an existing contract that now sees Swissport handle more than 150 flights per day at Ryanair’s london Stansted hub. it is a considerable challenge, as Swissreporter discovers.

It is a measure of the importance of the Ryanair operation – not to mention the military precision required – that 600 of Swissport’s 1,100 staff at London Stansted are dedicated solely to serv-ing the Irish low-cost carrier.

Having eclipsed most full-service rivals with consistent year-on-year growth, Ryanair is now the dominant player at Stansted, the largest of its 15 European bases. Although considered something of a white elephant when it first opened, Stansted now sees more than 21 mil-lion passengers per year – thanks in large part to Ryanair’s low-cost revo-lution.

Today, Swissport has an 85% share of the Stansted market, handling not just Ryanair but also the likes of easyJet – again with a large, dedicated station team – Thomas Cook, Cyprus Airlines, Monarch and Transavia. However, it is the Ryanair operation that gives Stan-sted the distinction of being Swissport’s busiest UK station, both in terms of turnarounds and passengers handled.

The two companies have a strong his-tory of working together, with Ryanair

having been served by Swissport’s UK-based Groundstar subsidiary since March 2002. In signing the latest coop-eration – two years ahead of time – Ry-anair has extended an existing accord through to March 2012. It means that Swissport now provides full passenger, ramp and ticketing services for all Ry-anair flights at the airport – and some 54,000 flights per year.

“We have always had a good relation-ship with Swissport and are looking

forward to extending that with the new contract,” says Paula McCallion, Ryanair Base Manager at Stansted. “We work in close partnership to maintain our in-dustry-leading position on punctuality.”

Consistent growthSue Baldwin, Swissport General Man-ager at Stansted, and Nic Warren,

Swissport Station Manager, have a long experience of working with Ryanair at Stansted. Both began serving the car-rier when working for a rival handler, before moving to Groundstar when the contract changed hands and now Swissport following the acquisition of Groundstar in 2004.

“During that time, Ryanair’s Stansted operation has grown from 18 first wave aircraft to 38 today,” reflects Warren. “This will increase to 41 with

the start of summer operations in April.”

The carrier has also recently upgraded its fleet: the last of its B737-200s was retired in December 2005 and replaced with -800 versions. “This means we now handle up to 189 passengers per flight rather than 130,” says Baldwin.

As part of the extended agreement, Swissport is also now responsible for five aircraft previously handled by Stansted Ground Operations (SGO) – a small company established in 2003 specifically to serve Ryanair.

The accord sees the transfer of 133 former SGO employees to Swissport, with both Baldwin and Warren eager to make the transition as smooth as possible for all involved. “It is poten-tially daunting for the SGO staff to

move from a small ‘family’ group deal-ing with 21 flights per day, to a much larger organisation that handles 150 flights per day,” admits Baldwin.

As such, Swissport managers are now busy meeting with individuals and answering questions, while the former SGO staff are also being inducted into the Swissport way of doing business. “They already know what is required by Ryanair, but not from a Swissport point of view,” explains Warren.

From the Ryanair side, it is better to have the entire operation in the hands of one entity, says McCallion: “We like to keep things simple and it helps to have everything in the hands of one en-tity – particularly one that is large enough to grow with us.”

Precision planning The size of the Ryanair operation is best appreciated first thing in the morn-ing when the first wave of flights head off at 6.10am. “With our business model it is crucial to get that first wave off on time, otherwise there is a knock on ef-fect,” explains McCallion.

“In the first two hours of the day, we handle 32 aircraft,” says Warren. Sub-sequent waves see the aircraft return and depart again at lunchtime and mid-

“We like to keep things simple… it helps to

have everything in the hands of one entity.”

Paula McCallion, Ryanair Base Manager

Ryanair operations at London Stansted.

swissreporter 1� the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

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afternoon, before the final inbound flights return between 10pm and mid-night. “Everything has to be incredibly structured,” he adds.

Teams and shift patterns are carefully managed, with Swissport staff split into three teams of 200 per shift. Each team works a pattern of two early shifts and two ‘lates’ followed by two days off.

At check-in, the passenger interface has to be swift, but thorough: checking passenger flight reference numbers and valid visas where appropriate, as well as dealing with excess baggage charges and any passengers that miss the check-

in closure time (a strict 40 minutes be-fore each flight).

It is a similar picture on the ramp where a 25-minute turnaround time must be adhered to whether handling a busi-ness-oriented flight to Glasgow Prest-wick or the bulky baggage involved with a winter ski destination such as Salzburg.

But is handling Ryanair really any different to any other low-cost carrier? Most definitely, says Warren. “Ryanair has extremely strict rules and a very clear-cut process. This is something we try to put across to staff: it is their

Ryanair check-in: Time pressure graph

the clock starts ticking two hours prior to each departure.

Ryanair: Shaping low-fare travel

Ryanair is renowned for its aggressive stance on cutting costs – an effort that con-tinues with the imminent introduction of several new initiatives. From March 16: – All Ryanair fees will be reduced by 9% (£2.50/eUR3.50)

– Baggage allowance for each passenger will increase from the current 25kgs (15kgs checked, 10kgs carry on) to 30kgs (20kgs checked, 10kgs carry on)

– All passengers travelling with checked baggage will pay a fee of £2.50 (eUR3.50) per bag per flight (if booked in advance online), or £5.00 (eUR7.00) per bag per flight if presented unbooked at the airport

– All passengers with eU passports and travelling with just carry-on baggage will be able to check-in online – with those doing so given priority boarding.

Ryanair says the changes will be ‘revenue neutral’: that is, while it will lose reve-nue from the reduction in ticket prices and excess baggage fees, it will gain a roughly equal amount by charging for checked baggage. More importantly, says Ryanair, the lower fares will stimulate further traffic growth. it also forecasts that up to 50% of passengers will use web check-in (with priority boarding) and take advantage of the increased carry-on baggage allowance.

turnaround, but I must say they are very good at managing their own flights.”

The early extension of the contract suggests that Swissport is on the right track. “We are constantly meas-ured for quality and on-time perform-ance and we do a good job for Rya-nair,” says Baldwin. “We have felt for a long time that we deserved to have the full running of what happens here.”

In addition to the visible face of Swiss-port staff in their blue Ryanair uni-forms and the airside ramp teams, an

army of behind-the-scenes personnel work to ensure that the operation runs smoothly.

“A lot of effort has gone into putting the structure in place locally and this includes a huge network of administra-tive staff,” says Warren. “Everyone con-tributes.”

Richard Rowe

Check-in opens

Half-waypoint forCheck-in

Check-incloses

Figures checked and passed

Gate closed

Details of missing pax passed from

120

110

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0

tim

e (m

ins)

Action

Swissport Team Leader Simon Cole keeps a close eye on the time.

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locations served by Swissport

AfricaAbuja ABV S Algiers AlG G C Cape town CPt G C E S MDar es Salaam DAR G C E SDouala DlA S Durban DUR G C E MJohannesburg JnB G C E S Khartoum KRt G C Kilimanjaro JRO G C E lagos lOS S Malabo SSG S nairobi nBO G C E S Port elizabeth PlZ C Port Harcourt PHC S Yaounde nSi S

AsiaManila Mnl G C E MSeoul incheon intl. Airport iCn G C Singapore Sin G C S M

Central America & CaribbeanAruba AUA C Cancun CUn G C Cozumel CZM G Curaçao CUR C Guadalajara GDl Cla Romana lRM G EMexico MeX CPuerto Plata POP G EPunta Cana PUJ G E SSan Pedro Sula SAP C Santo Domingo SDQ G E Stegucigalpa tGU C

europeAmsterdam AMS G CAntwerp AnR CAthens AtH G C EBarcelona BCn GBasel BSl G C E SBerlin – Schönefeld SXF G EBerlin – tegel tXl G C E S

Birmingham BHX GBrussels BRU G CBudapest BUD CCologne CGn G ECorfu CFU G EDresden DRS CDusseldorf DUS G C E SFlorence FlR CFrankfurt FRA G CGeneva GVA G C E SGlasgow GlA G F MHamburg HAM G C SHanover HAJ G C EHeraklion HeR G C EKiev KBP Glarnaca lCA G Eleipzig leJ Cliège lGG Clille lil Clondon – Gatwick lGw Glondon – Heathrow lHR Clondon – london City Airport lCY Glondon – Stansted Stn Gluxembourg lUX Clyon lYS CMadrid MAD G

Malaga AGP G EManchester MAn G CMilano – Malpensa MXP G CMilano – Segrate SwK CMulhouse MlH CMunich MUC G C Enantes nte Cnewcastle nCl G Fnice nCe C Enuremberg nUe CPalma de Mallorca PMi GPaphos PFO GParis – Charles de Gaulle CDG G CRhodes RHO G ERome – Fiumicino FCO GRouen URO CSt. Petersburg leD CStrasbourg SXB CStuttgart StR Cthessaloniki SKG G C EVienna Vie Gwarsaw wAw GZürich ZRH G E S M

Middle easttel Aviv tlV G C F E M

G Ground Handling ServicesC Cargo ServicesF Fueling ServicesE executive AviationS Aviation SecurityM Maintenance Services

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Key figures for 2005

South AmericaAracaju AJU G CBariloche BRC G EBrasilia BSB G C EBuenos Aires – Aeroparque AeP EBuenos Aires – intl. Airport ezeiza eZe G ECaracas CCS CCordoba COR G ECuritiba CwB G C E Florianópolis Fln G C EFortaleza FOR G C Elima liM G C EManaus MAO G C EMendoza MDZ GMontevideo MVD G C Enatal nAt G C EPetrolina PnZ G CPorto Alegre POA G C EPunta del este PDP G C ERecife ReC G C ERio de Janeiro – Galeao GiG G C ERio de Janeiro – S. Dumont SDU G C ERosario ROS G ESalto StY G C ESalvador SSA G C ESan Fernando (Buenos Aires) FDO ESao Paulo – Congonhas CGH G C ESao Paulo – Guarulhos GRU G C ESao Paulo –Viracopos/Campinas VCP G C Eteresina tHe G CUshuaia USH G E

north AmericaAnchorage AnC G C E MAtlanta Atl G C MAustin AUS CBoston BOS G C F MCharlotte Clt C Chicago ORD G C MDallas DFw GDaytona Beach DAB MDenver Den Cel Paso elP CFort lauderdale Fll G CFort Myers RSw FHarlingen HRl CHonolulu Hnl G C F MHouston iAH G Mislip – long island, nY iSP FKansas City MCi Claredo lRD Clas Vegas lAS G Flos Angeles lAX G C E MMemphis MeM MMiami MiA G C E MMiddletown MDt CMontreal – Dorval YUl G Cnashville BnA Cnew Orleans MSY Gnew York – John F. Kennedy JFK G C E Mnew York – laGuardia lGA G C M

newark ewR G C Mnewburgh, nY SwF COakland OAK G FOklahoma City OKC FOrlando – Orlando intl. Airp. MCO MOrlando – Sanford intl. Airp. SFB G C F MPeoria PiA CPhiladelphia PHl CPhoenix PHX C FPortland PDX CRaleigh Durham RDU CReno RnO FRockford RFD CSalt lake City SlC CSan Antonio SAt GSan Diego SAn G CSan Francisco SFO G C MSan Jose SJC G C MSarasota SRQ G CSeattle SeA G C F E MSt. louis Stl MStockton SCK Ctoronto – Pearson intl. YYZ G CVancouver YVR G Cwashington – Dulles intl. Airp. iAD G C F Mwashington – Ronald Reagan national Airport DCA Mwichita iCt Cworcester ORH F E

Revenue (2005) US$ 1.2 billion Personnel over 21,000 Passengers handled 70 million Flights handled over 2 million Cargo ton handled over 3 million Airports served 175 Countries served 41 Customer airlines over 650

1� swissreporter the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

the air transport industry is talking excitedly about how biometrics can facilitate more secure and efficient air travel, but is there common ground between the various players when it comes to the future application of such technology? Airports Council interna-tional (ACi) outlined its view on the use of biometrics at airports in a recently released position paper. Swissreporter spoke with thomas Romig, ACi’s Manager, it, Safety and Cargo, to learn more.

Biometrics: The future is here

and that are equally reliable; however, it is important to ensure interoperabil-ity through standardisation.

industry publications are full of articles

discussing various biometric trials and

the concept of simplified travel. the im-

pression is that many players are ‘cook-

ing their own menus’ with no overall

harmonisation or streamlining.

Simplified travel is a hot topic in the aviation industry; there is a great push to make the travel process more effi-cient and easier for the passenger while still making it more secure. The fact that there are many different systems being implemented worldwide to facil-

itate passenger travel, as well as in-creased security, can lead to a lack of harmonisation amongst all the systems

which could in turn cause incompati-bilities.

Fortunately, ICAO has developed standards for biometrically enabled Machine Readable Travel Documents (MRTDs). These standards very clearly lay out the biometrics to be used (iris, face and fingerprint) as well as the technologies to support them. Al-though the standards primarily apply to border control and passenger facili-tation uses, they may also be used by airports for access control systems.

In an effort to ensure standardisation of biometric systems, there are a

number of working groups or interest groups that have developed guidelines and recommendations for their use.

inDUStRY

About Airports Council International

ACi is the only worldwide professional association of airport operators. it is a non-profit organisation whose prime purpose is to advance the interests of airports, to promote professi-onal excellence in airport management and operations and to cooperate with other aviation organisations and stakehol-ders. ACi represents the airport industry’s interests at iCAO and through such cooperation, aims to contribute signifi-cantly towards achieving an air transport system that is safe, secure, efficient and compatible with the environment.

the organisation’s offices include ACi world Headquarters located in Geneva, the ACi iCAO bureau in Montreal and six regional offices located in Africa, Asia, europe, latin America / Caribbean, north America and Pacific, which handle the specific regional issues and needs. ACi has 569 members who operate over 1,640 airports in 177 countries and terri-tories. in 2004, ACi members handled 3.9 billion passengers, 78.7 million tonnes of freight and 69.4 million aircraft movements. For more information, visit: www.aci.aero

“It is important to use a

single standard so that

interoperability of systems

can be achieved.”Swissreporter: Biometrics is an overall

description for a range of technologies,

but what are the main products and

ideas behind it?

Thomas Romig: Biometrics is indeed the term used as an overall description for the technology needed to biomet-rically identify an individual. In fact, bio-metrics is a generic term used to refer to a physiological or behavioural char-acteristic that can be measured to verify the identity of an individual. A biometric system, which includes the technological aspect, will be based on a specific type of biometric such as the iris, facial structure, fingerprints and even some less conventional character-istics like body odour. In simple terms, the technology is used to establish a match between the biometric being presented by the individual and the bio-metric on record for that individual.

In the recent ACI Position Paper on the Application of Biometrics at Air-ports, the association recommends that all airports use one of the three ICAO standard biometrics: iris, face and fin-gerprint. There are, in fact, many other types of biometrics that can be used

Biometrics Future thinking

Frankfurt Airport has a biometrics project in place for use in passport control

(all photos: ACI).

swissreporter 1� the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

The Simplifying Passenger Travel In-terest Group, of which ACI is a board member, has developed a process flow that fully integrates biometrics with passenger processing. This interest group is working to set up multilateral test projects between multiple coun-tries, airports, airlines and border con-trol agencies that will involve biomet-rics throughout the system and there-fore ensure compatibility and harmo-nisation of systems.

Biometric systems are clearly an impor-

tant tool for the future, but can the in-

dustry really afford them given the costs

involved?

The cost of a biometric system can be a prohibitive factor in the development of a new project; however, the improve-ments in security are far greater, there-fore balancing out the equation. More and more governments are requiring biometrics to be included in travel doc-uments and getting border control agencies to use biometrics to verify the identity of arriving and departing pas-sengers. In the long run, this will surely drive the cost down as the technology moves from a rarity to a common air-port system.

After September 11, the whole world

became alerted to and highly sensitive

about security issues, with biometric

projects perhaps benefiting from such

newfound impetus. Could it be that the

situation has now calmed down and

most of us have lost that initial sense of

urgency?

The use of biometrics for identification has become better known and more common since 9/11 and is therefore not in the news as much. It is impor-tant to understand that biometric sys-tems are not just being implemented to react to terrorist activities, but as a secure and reliable method of identifi-cation for passengers and airport per-sonnel.

would you say that ACi is the main

driver of the whole development and, if

so, what kind of achievements have you

realised to date?

ICAO is the organisation in the driv-ing seat when it comes to the develop-ment of biometric standards, as this is a matter for the legislators and in- dividual states. ACI is working to en-sure that the best available guidance and recommendations are available to its members especially with the re-

inDUStRY

In the aviation industry, the develop-ment of a biometric project has to be done in collaboration with a variety of stakeholders. As previously noted, it is important to use a single standard so that interoperability of systems can be achieved. For this reason, biometrics cannot be primarily an airport topic, but rather an industry wide develop-ment.

looking into your crystal ball, where do

you think the air transport industry will

be with biometrics by, say, 2015?

It is hard to say, but, by 2015, the usage of biometrics in travel documents will surely be standardised. Passengers will be able to use their travel documents in any airport, in any country and with any airline without any hassle and, in this case, passenger travel will truly be simplified. The technologies that are currently on the market will be replaced by more advanced systems that will be able to read biometrics in an even more

cent publication of its position paper. ACI realises the importance of a sin-gle standard and for this reason very strongly backs and promotes the

ICAO standard biometrics to its mem-bers.

Are biometric technologies primarily a

topic for airports, or would you wish for

more active participation from other

sectors of the industry to realise a break-

through?

secure, easier and efficient manner potentially through non-mechanical means. Interview: Stephan Beerli

Contactthomas Romig

Manager, it, Safety, Cargo, ACi world

Headquarters

Phone: +41 22 717 8764

email: tromig@aci.aero

ACI believes that standardised biometric technologies will soon be in place at many of the world’s major airports.

“By 2015, the usage of

biometrics in travel

documentation will surely

be standardised.”

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Open for businessin February, Swissport opened its new air cargo terminal at Singapore Changi. it is a facility that not only greatly increases the airport’s cargo handling capacity, but also underlines Swissport’s position as a key player at one of Asia’s most important airports.

Inside the Air Freight Terminal

with carriers such as Swiss International Air Lines, Australian Airlines and Tiger Airways.

Launch customers in the new warehouse include Swiss WorldCargo, Adam Air and Thai Air Asia, while many more airlines have indicated strong interest in using the facility. Currently, Swissport is in advanced negotiations with several prospective customer car-riers, with some contracts already agreed in principle. It looks like 2006 will be a very good year for Swiss-port Singapore.

The official opening ceremony for the Swissport Air Freight Terminal was held on March 15 in Singa-pore.

Peter Kohl

On February 1, Swissport’s brand new cargo ware-house opened for business at Singapore Changi Air-port. The impressive 17,600-sqm Air Freight Termi-nal took 18 months to complete and will increase Changi’s cargo handling capacity to three million tonnes per year.

The inauguration of the warehouse marks a milestone for Swissport in terms of becoming a significant player in Singapore’s growing cargo market. With an initial capacity of a quarter of a million tonnes, the facility is the largest of its kind in Swissport’s global network. As such, it will play a vital part in future plans to grow the ground handling business in Singapore, as well as the wider region.

“We are delighted to announce the opening of the Swissport warehouse, which will strengthen our foot-hold in Singapore, as well as in Asia,” comments Dr Ludwig Bertsch, Executive Vice President Cargo, Swissport International. “Just one year after com-mencing operations, Swissport has earned itself a firm place among ground handlers at Changi Airport with excellent prospects for growth.”

Major investmentThe facility was constructed at a cost of approxi-mately US$11 million by the Civil Aviation Author-ity of Singapore. Swissport invested an additional $10 million in a fully automated material handling system and additional infrastructure to guarantee the safe and high-speed processing of all types of air cargo – from general goods to specialist items such as perish-ables and live animals.

The opening of the Air Freight Terminal marks Swiss-port’s emergence as a fully-fledged ground handling company at Changi Airport. Swissport had com-menced passenger and ramp handling operations at Changi in March 2005 and quickly secured contracts

Singapore expanding presence

Swissport’s new cargo facility will greatly enhance its position at Singapore Changi.

Peter Kohl Board Director, Swissport Singapore Phone: +65 6542 3342 email: peter.kohl@swissport.com

At the heart of Swissport Singapore’s new Air Freight terminal is a fully automated UlD storage and hand-ling system equipped with the latest information tech-nology. in its final stage, the UlD system will have 250 UlD (10-foot) storage positions, located on a 15-metre high, four-tier steel rack and serviced by two fully automated elevating transfer vehicles. A maxi-mum of seven 10-foot and one 20-foot scissor lift workstations are connected to – and are an integral part of – the UlD system.

Meanwhile, two double by-pass lanes allow the weighing, manifesting and transfer of UlDs direct to airside trailers, by-passing the entire UlD storage system for maximum speed. Apart from two integra-ted cold room positions within the UlD storage system, there are also additional cold and special rooms for perishables, dangerous goods, valuables, human remains and live animals – allowing Swissport to handle every possible type of air cargo.

elsewhere, on the it-controlled warehouse floor, slave pallet movers and forklifts are used by build-up and breakdown crews. Based on an open-workspace con-cept, the warehouse floor is clustered into a logistics grid in which handheld RF terminals keep track of all movements, be it individual airway bills or entire UlDs. On the landside, the truck ramp features 16 truck docks, each equipped with a dock leveller. identifica-tion and weighing on the built-in floor scales of each shipment is performed prior to the shipment entering the inside of the warehouse.

For the direct delivery and dispatch of pre-build UlDs, a 20-foot scissor lift roller-deck truck dock has been integrated into the truck ramp area complete with weighing and data entry capability. Also conveniently located on the truck ramp itself is a One-Stop Docu-mentation Centre, where export and import docu-ments are processed.

swissreporter 1� the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

In recent years, it has become clear that there is an increasing need for a more structured approach to cargo screening. In mid-2005, the US Transportation Secu-rity Administration (TSA) changed its re-quirements relating to cargo screening, with the previous ‘10%’ screening rule of non-exempt cargo increased to 30%.

Furthermore, US lawmakers have been rather vocal about the perceived need to screen 100% of US air cargo – although that requirement remains very much part of a regular debate in Congress.

As might be expected, Swissport Cargo Services (SCS) has watched these de-velopments very closely and undertook a more in-depth analysis of its own in 2005. The, then, current manual screen-ing methodologies were weighed against a more sophisticated approach. Feedback from our airline customers was solicited and, in some cases, carri-ers stressed their belief that SCS should migrate towards a better approach.

Earlier, in 2004, SCS had deployed its first X-ray machine at New York JFK.

This was undertaken for a variety of reasons, not least to test the screening capabilities and real life experience of deploying such technology at one of the world’s busiest airports. The test proved successful: SCS was able to cost effectively – and non-intrusively – in-spect a greater volume of cargo and in

having to compromise the seals of par-ticular boxes and so avoid the poten-tial of increased liability risks.

Board approvalGiven the successful trial and subse-quent customer feedback, the Swiss-port board approved the purchase and

Securing the supply chainSwissport Cargo Services has taken a leading role as it works to meet the air cargo security requirements of airline customers and government regulators in the US. it is an effort that has included a major investment in X-ray screening technology.

Screening equipmentinvestment

The market place has been extremely positive about the action taken: our air-line customers viewed the deployment as a positive step, while local TSA en-forcement agents have also applauded the investment. So far, our experience has been very positive and we expect this to continue.

Similarly, we also continue to watch with great interest just what US law-makers are discussing in this area and the entire SCS team is committed to playing its part in making air transpor-tation as safe as possible. Chris Powers

ContactChris Powers

VP Swissport Cargo Services

Division, Americas

Phone: +1 305 869 9477

email: chris.powers@swissport.com

Photo: NWA Cargo

One of the cargo screening units deployed by SCS (photo: Rapiscan).

a more efficient manner than was pre-viously possible with the old manual approach.

Just as importantly, the use of such technology also ensured the integrity of the shipment and contents by not

installation of X-ray machines for all major SCS stations in USA. By the time the busy holiday season ap-proached in 2005, all of the X-ray ma-chines were up and running, with SCS the first US cargo handler to deploy such technology system-wide.

SeCURitY

�0 swissreporter the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

Business development executive aviation

SEA increases country network

Swissport executive Aviation has enjoyed a busy start to 2006 with the opening of new bases in Malaga and larnaca on January 15. Both operations represent SeA’s first entry into Spain and Cyprus – two countries with promising executive aviation markets.

In Spain, Swissport Executive Aviation (SEA) is now operating at Malaga International Airport’s general aviation terminal – a facility with an interesting history. The building started life years ago as a restaurant, but such has been the growth at Malaga that the facility soon became part of the airport and was reinvented as a general aviation terminal. Today, the terminal includes two VIP lounges, X-ray screen-ing equipment, plus Customs and Immigration. Many months of exhaustive planning preceded the opening of the SEA base, including the identification of new battery powered ground support equipment, a luxury

bus, the installation of VHF radio equipment and many other small but important items.

Meanwhile, the Larnaca station is part of the Swissport and G.A.P. Vassilopoulos Group partnership that was formed in September 2005. Having an executive aviation handling capability adds considerably to the intention of the partnership to become the preferred ground handling provider in Cyprus.

There are several drivers behind the growing executive aviation market in Cyprus. First, there is an attraction for the rich and famous to purchase villas and moor

their boats in the marina at Larnaca. Even more impor-tantly, Cyprus is handily placed between Europe and the Middle East, creating an important fuel stop mar-ket for executive aircraft. And the fact that fuel prices are low compared with elsewhere in Europe only adds to the attraction – with SEA committed to providing fuel at a very competitive rate.

SEA has comprehensive and strict operating proce-dures to ensure a globally consistent standard of quality – with Malaga and Larnaca no different. All employees at both new bases have attended the

company’s operations standards and customer care education programme and are looking forward to demonstrating their new expertise.

SEA welcomes customers to sample the quality of our service throughout a network that, with Malaga and Larnaca, now stands at 56 stations worldwide. We understand what is required in executive aviation and care deeply about our customer support. For further details, visit: www.swissport-executive.com

Alan Georgealan.george@swissport.com

Malaga ContactYolanda Avalos

executive Operations team

Phone: +34 95 204 86 68

Fax: +34 95 204 81 88

email: agp.executive@swissportspain.com

Larnaca ContactPambos nicolaides

executive Operations team

Phone: +357 24 828 900

Fax: +357 24 828 903

email: lca.operations@swissport.com

PRODUCt

SEA has strict operating procedures to ensure

a globally consistent standard of quality.

SEA’s new home in Malaga. Larnaca represents an exciting step for SEA in Cyprus.

swissreporter �1 the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

Optimising passenger flow

the iAtA Simplifying Passenger travel (SPt) pro-gramme has developed the following ideal Process Flow (Version 1.0) that describes the optimal way of completing the steps involved in air passenger travel from the moment a passenger books a flight to the completion of arrivals formalities upon arrival at the final destination. C

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Business development Passenger processing

Technology points the way

Checkport is meeting the needs of passengers and regulators with the introduction of advanced passenger information solutions, as well as trials of the very latest biometric technology. Swissreporter finds out more.

Since October 2005, all passengers travelling to the US have been required to provide address details for the first night of their stay. This adds a great deal of time to the check-in process, with many airports and airlines experiencing difficulties in maintaining high levels of service for passengers.

To help the industry cope with these requirements, Checkport has introduced a process solution in coop-eration with Rochford Thompson technology. The main part of the solution is a handwriting recognition system that is able to process handwritten forms showing passenger addresses and insert the data into the respective airline DCS. The technology is embed-ded into the existing process to obtain as much ben-efit as possible. Meanwhile, additional enhancements of the process, including integrated document checks, give the pas-senger a much more comfortable journey. It is also possible to integrate the whole system to offer web solutions, such as collection of the API-data via a web interface, or integrating the solution into Swissport’s web check-in or CUSS solution. This new process is now running live for SWISS International Airlines at Zürich Airport.

Biometrics trialIn other news, Swissport Johannesburg and Check-port have begun a three-month trial of vein biomet-ric technology – a new solution that scans the vein pattern of the back of the hand. Passengers will be asked to biometrically enrol themselves, which will

allow a biometric template to be printed on each boarding pass in a 2d-barcode. The barcode then enables passengers to be authenticated at the depar-ture gate without having to undergo a secondary doc-ument check.

This process will not only increase passenger comfort by reducing waiting time at the boarding point, but will also improve overall security by eliminating the possibility of boarding card swap. Of course, airlines will also benefit, as they will avoid incurring costly fines imposed by immigration authorities.

Rico Barandun

ContactRico Barundun

Manager Business Development Aviation Security

Phone: +41 43 812 24 87

email: rico.barandun@checkport.info

■ input data only■ interactive data exchange■ no activity

PRODUCt

netwORK

Partnership mandate Ukraine

Kiev calling

Ukraine has come to far greater global attention since its ‘Orange Revolution’ in 2004. the same can also be said for the country’s modern air carrier, Ukraine international Airlines, which recently turned to Swissport to partner its ground service development at its main hub. Swissreporter travelled to Kiev to learn more.

It is cold as the Ukraine International Airlines B737 touches down at Kiev’s Borispol International Airport: the whole country has been in the grip of a cold snap for several weeks now. The journey from the airport to downtown Kiev leads past hoardings advertising prod-ucts, banks and services, while Julia Tymoshenko – Ukraine’s former First Lady – looks down urging vot-ers to choose her ‘Block’ in the upcoming elections.

The construction sites that dot the landscape high-light the breakneck pace of growth not just in Kiev, but also the wider country as Ukraine prepares for possible membership of the European Union. Like-wise, Ukraine International Airlines (UIA), the coun-try’s most advanced air carrier, is also growing as it strives to meet a rising demand for mobility.

UIA first took off in 1992 with an initial fleet of two new B737 aircraft and a mandate to become a qual-ity, western-oriented airline. Its fleet has since grown to nine narrow-body aircraft, with another three B737s coming on stream by mid-March 2006.

“The market here offers phenomenal potential,” be-lieves Richard Creagh, Deputy President of UIA.

In brief: ukraine International Airlines

– More than 13,500 flights in 2005 (up 17% on 2004) and 870,000 passengers (up 37%)

– Operating revenue in 2005 reached US$158 million (up 30% on 2004)

– Owned by the State Property Fund of Ukraine (61.6%), Austrian Airlines (22.5%), AerCap (6%) and the european Bank for Reconstruction and Deve-lopment (9.9%).

ukraine: Fast facts

– with 603,700 sq km, Ukraine is europe’s second lar-gest country (after Russia)

– Ukraine is bordered by Poland, Belarus, Russia, Ro-mania, Moldova, Hungary and Slovakia

– the country has a population of 48 million, of which 2.6 million live in the capital, Kiev

– natural features include the Carpathian Mountains to the west and more than 1,000km of Black Sea coastline

– A republic, Ukraine’s President, Viktor Yushchenko, was elected for a five-year period on December 26, 2004. new parliamentary elections took place on March 26, 2006.

Kiev awakens to another bustling day.

�� swissreporter the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

swissreporter �� the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

Concluding the deal: (from left to right) Urs Sieber, EVP Europe and Switzerland, Swissport; Yuri

Miroshnikov, President, UIA; Mac Warner, Shareholder, ABH.

Q&A

Richard CreaghDeputy President, Ukraine international Airlines

Swissreporter: Ukraine international Airlines has grown by 25% each year since 2000, with similar growth expected for the future. that’s an impressive track record…Richard Creagh: well, don’t forget that we have a lot of catching up to do! we have four million passen-gers today; and we have a population of 48 million people. if we were like France, which has about twice as many air travellers as it has inhabitants, we would have a potential 100 million passengers. we fully intend to tap at least part of that.

And you have started promoting inbound traffic, too.Yes, we founded Panorama tours in January to pro-mote incoming tourism. City breaks to places like Budapest, Prague and Vienna are common, but Kiev stands comparison with any of these destinations. it is a fascinating city, but we need to raise its profile abroad. we have started inbound efforts in london and will gradually be expanding them throughout europe. we also intend to offer incoming packages that go beyond Kiev and out into the country.

the recent political developments in Ukraine must be a help in promoting the country abroad…Absolutely. the Orange Revolution raised the country’s profile all over the world. now, at last, people have stopped seeing us as just part of the for-mer Soviet Union. the time is right and the market is ready, and we want to be the leaders in developing tourism into Ukraine. we should also be helped by the fact that last year the government abolished the visa requirement for many countries. this removed one of the main obstacles to the kind of last-minute city breaks that we have in mind.

that should create even further growth, which is where Swissport fits in, presumably? Precisely. we have been performing our own passen-ger handling since 1993 and last year established our interavia subsidiary to provide ground handling services at Borispol. we also handle over half of the foreign carriers at the airport, including competitors. in teaming up with Swissport, we have not just found the biggest and the best, we have also found a neutral partner that will help us manage and master our growth. And we are confident that our new partner-ship will provide a valuable inflow of expertise into Ukraine, too.

So far, UiA has restricted its ground handling to pas-senger services. what is the ramp situation?in Kiev, that is currently handled totally by the airport, but we would like to have our own ramp services soon. that may take a little time and it will certainly require the approval of the authorities. But this is ano-ther area where we will be looking for Swissport’s support.

“And it is not just governments, embassies and busi-ness people who are demanding more and more mo-bility to and from the country; with the boom we are seeing in the local economy, more private individuals are also travelling by air.”

Kiev, too, is encouraging the trend, marketing itself as ‘A Pearl of the East’ and striving to join Prague and Budapest as a leading Eastern European city break destination.

Decisive stepAnd as part of its continuing effort to accommodate rapid growth, UIA has taken a landmark decision: the carrier has agreed to sell a majority shareholding in Interavia Ltd – the handling subsidiary it co-founded in 2005 together with partner Airline Business Han-dling – to Swissport International.

One of two large ground service providers at Kiev Airport, Interavia’s customer portfolio includes Brit-ish Airways, Alitalia and Air France/KLM. The com-pany handled more than 1.7 million passengers in 2005 and expects its business volume to grow a fur-ther 21% in 2006.

“We are very happy that, in Swissport, we have found such a strong, experienced and neutral partner,” says a delighted Creagh. “Too much of our management time has been devoted to our own handling opera-tions. With our ground services now safely in Swiss-port’s hands, we can really focus on our own growth and core flight operations.”

However, the partnership between Swissport and UIA is nothing new: Swissport has provided ground services for the carrier at various airports for several years. The innovation comes in the fact that Swissport will now offer services at the airline’s Kiev hub and tread new ground in one of Eastern Europe’s major emerging markets.

“Our goal will be to accommodate all the growth for UIA while still offering top-quality products and serv-ices,” says Mark Skinner, Vice President Business De-

velopment at Swissport International and Swissport’s point man on the deal. “We will also be contributing all our experience and expertise to the company.”

Currently, UIA operates more than 200 scheduled services per week, plus mainly summer charter oper-ations to holiday destinations such as Turkey, Egypt and Spain. The winter season, meanwhile, sees the carrier’s aircraft put through heavy maintenance – performed by its own high-quality technical division. UIA was the first officially-registered operator in the CIS to successfully complete the special IATA Op-erational Safety Audit (IOSA).

ExpansionBut with the UIA fleet now set to expand by a third, the carrier can expect another sizeable increase in passenger numbers. “On the one hand, we plan to ex-pand our network to serve new destinations like Mi-lan,” explains Creagh, “but we also aim to intensify our service to places like Vienna, Amsterdam and Berlin.”

And with four other cities aside from Kiev with more than one million inhabitants, UIA does not intend to neglect its domestic network, either. In Soviet times, flying – which was heavily subsidised – was as much a part of the transport network as trains, trams and buses in this vast country. “With the collapse of the Soviet Union and the loss of the sizeable state subsi-dies that came with it, domestic air traffic slumped to about 10% of its previous volume,” explains Creagh. “But we need these domestic services – not least to feed our international flights.”

Likewise, Swissport is doing its utmost to ensure that its arrival in one of Eastern Europe’s most exciting emerging markets will be an exemplary affair.

Roland Breitler

netwORK

■ SinGAPORe

Tiger Airways agreementTiger Airways, the rapidly expanding southeast Asian budget carrier, has en-trusted Swissport with its entire ground handling operation at Singapore Air-port for the next five years. The deal is a major breakthrough for Swissport, particularly given that the Singapore market has been in the hands of two other ground service providers for such a long time. Although no precise value was men-tioned, the revenue from the new busi-ness will be substantial. Tiger Airways will be the inaugural tenant at Asia’s first dedicated low-cost terminal – launched its first flight from this excit-ing new facility on March 26.

The current Tiger Airways fleet of four A320s is set to expand to six aircraft over the coming months and with fur-ther growth expected in 2007. The car-rier is expected to greatly expand a net-work that already includes destinations such as Bangkok, Chiang Mai, Hanoi, Macau and Darwin.

“We are in the midst of very dynamic growth right now,” explains Tony Davis,

CEO of Tiger Airways. “In phases like this, it is vital to have your ground serv-ices run professionally and at a com-petitive price. Swissport has impressed us with its knowledge of the low-cost carrier sector and its flexible and cus-tomer-minded approach.”

Peter Kohl

■ RUSSiA

ABC collaborationSwissport Cargo Services has signed a three-year global collaboration agree-ment with AirBridge Cargo (ABC), the

scheduled cargo arm of outsize freight specialist Volga-Dnepr.

As part of the agreement, Swissport, ABC and KrasAir have concluded a joint-venture arrangement under which the three entities will co-establish and run a major airfreight operation at Krasnoyarsk in Siberia, developing the airport into a prime cargo hub on the Asia-Europe-US logistics route.

David Harman

■ tAnZAniA

Computers for schoolsWith the advancement of information technology, many schools in Tanzania are struggling to meet their basic IT needs, let alone equip students with the critical tool: computers.

Swissport Tanzania takes its corporate social responsibility seriously and cares deeply about the communities in which it lives and works: as such, we made a request to Joseph in Albon, Swissport International President and CEO, for our parent company to send some com-puters from the head office.

The computers received from Swiss-port headquarters were donated to

two schools: St Joseph Millennium Schools, based in Dar es Salaam, and Southern Highlands secondary school, based in Iringa.

Initially, all of the computers were meant for the St Joseph Millennium Schools – on whose board of governors Swissport Tanzania CEO, Gaudence Temu, sits on a voluntary basis – but it was decided to also donate some of the computers to the Southern Highlands secondary school.

Established in May 2002 by the Arch-dioceses of Dar es Salaam, the St Joseph Millennium Schools aim to provide quality education and instil moral values to school age children without any form of discrimination.

This year, the schools enrolled about 90 form one students in a recently established secondary school wing. The primary wing has around 345 pu-pils.

The schools teach computer lessons to students in class three onwards – some-thing that is unique in Tanzania. Mean-while, plans are also underway to bridge the gap between the teaching of computers as a subject and the use of IT for the teaching of other subjects.

The board of governors of St Joseph Millennium Schools thanks Joseph In Albon and Swissport International for this generous donation, which has gone a long way towards helping students acquaint themselves with IT from an early age.

Gaudence Temu

■ MAintenAnCe SeRViCeS

Maintenance milestoneIn mid-January, Swissport received Maintenance Organisation Approval

Tiger time: the carrier will be the first tenant at Changi’s low-cost terminal.

Swissport Cargo Services has struck an important partnership with ABC.

Network News and Views

�� swissreporter the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

swissreporter �� the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

to repair and maintain Unit Load Devices (ULDs) from both the Swiss Federal Office for Civil Aviation (FOCA) and the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). This impor-tant recognition marks a further mile-stone in Swissport’s ongoing effort to provide the most comprehensive ground service possible for its airline customers.

The awarding of these approvals – the first Swissport has received for any air-craft-related maintenance activity – fol-lowed a year of detailed preparations.

Swissport is already involved in repair-ing ULDs through its ULD Manage-ment subsidiary, Unitpool. These activ-ities have been performed for the past year as part of a close cooperation be-tween Swissport and SWISS Interna-tional Airlines.

However, the new Swissport EASA Part-145 approval is valid all over the world and opens the door to line main-tenance and other aircraft maintenance activities.

It should also provide a sound foun-dation for acquiring new customers for ULD and pallet repair services be-yond Unitpool’s current customer base.

Mark Salathé

■ SeYCHelleS

Air Seychelles selects unitpoolAir Seychelles has become the latest carrier to outsource ULD control oper-ations to Swissport subsidiary, Unitpool, following the recent signing of a five-year contract. Unitpool’s growing ULD pool now has 30 airline members. “As with all our airline clients, this con-tract with Air Seychelles covers all as-pects of ULD control,” explains Philip Hill, Unitpool CEO. “It means that Air Seychelles will no longer need to invest in ULD assets and we have taken over the current ULD assets as part of the contract. Our obligation is to make an agreed quantity of ULDs available glo-bally to Air Seychelles throughout its network.” Trevor Fox, General Manager of Ground Services at Air Seychelles, sees this as a wise move for the carrier. “We have considered outsourcing our ULD control for some time and made a number of investigations into possible partners,” he says. “As Air Seychelles continues to develop its global prod-ucts, we were keen to focus our activi-ties on passenger and cargo services and leave non-core activities in the hands of experts in their field, such as Unitpool.”

Philip Hill

■ tHe netHeRlAnDS

Swift progress at SchipholHaving prepared the operation from scratch, a team of enthusiastic people launched a new Swissport Cargo Serv-ices station at Amsterdam Schiphol in spring 2005. Little did the team know what highs and lows lay ahead.

“We literally started with nothing ex-cept the brand name of Swissport, which is highly valued in the industry,” explains Jan van Anrooy, current General Man-ager of the company in The Netherlands. “This brand name and the professional organisation behind it have contributed to the fact that we now successfully han-dle nine airline customers.”

After the first months of operations, it became clear just how thin the line

between success and failure can be with the disappointment of having a confirmed launch customer withdraw its commitment. This disappointment, however, was compensated by the start-up by AirBridgeCargo (ABC) at Schiphol and the subsequent signing of a handling agreement with the carrier.

“What we have learnt is that continued efforts and a positive attitude eventu-ally lead to the desired result,” says Jos Roeven, Manager Operations for SCS at Schiphol. “We did not lean back af-ter the disappointment, but kept push-ing quotes.”

Together with Herman van Beijnum, Manager Finance, the SCS Schiphol team completed the manuals for HR, Security and Operations, trained the

NEwS TICKER

BuSINESS DEVELOPMENT

tURKeY

in november 2005, Swissport sold its 40% minority shareholding in Havas to turkey’s Ciner Group. the sale came as part of a broader streamlining of the Swissport holdings portfolio and underlines the future strategy of focusing on sub-sidiaries in which Swissport holds majority equity stakes. Swissport’s collabora-tion with Havas dates back to 1998 and covered the provision of a full range of services at 13 airports throughout turkey.

SOUtH AFRiCA

Swissport has received excellent news from British Airways in South Africa: a Swissport contract proposal was successful for ramp and passenger services in Johannesburg, as well as ramp services in Cape town. this major five-year ag-reement will start in March and June respectively and will see an annual volume of flights that will rise from 750 in 2005 to 1,300 from 2007. As part of the agree-ment, Swissport Johannesburg will take over 35 British Airways staff. Congratu-lations to everyone involved in this great achievement.

GeRMAnY

SCS Germany has secured a series of important contracts with high-profile custo-mers at key stations. Following the acquisition of SAS as a customer in Frankfurt in September, Stuttgart also managed to win the airline’s business from January 1. elsewhere, SCS Germany now provides trucking services for icelandair between Frankfurt and other SCS stations; full cargo handling services for Qatar Airways’ daily flights to Berlin tegel; and begun trucked cargo services for etihad Airways and US Airways at Frankfurt via contract partner Airtech. Finally, various SCS Ger-many stations have also taken on the handling of trucked and flown cargo for Pe-gasus following a contract that began in February.

Swissport has concluded a major partnership agreement with easyJet at Munich. Under the terms of the new accord, Swissport Germany will handle more than 730 easyJet flights per year at Munich’s Franz-Josef-Strauss Airport. the agreement, which commences in April, further extends Swissport’s position in the German ground services market.

AwARDS

PHiliPPineS

Following his station’s success in gaining the Fedex international Ramp Circle of excellence Award, Alex Brandes, Fedex express Manila Airport Operations, con-gratulated the Swissport ramp team – led by Juanito Bagasala and Vil Delas-Alas – for their outstanding performance. “thank you for being such a dedicated Swissport team,” he said. “we would not have won this award without your sup-port and commitment to our operations. Bravo Zulu to you and your team. it is the Fedex way of saying ‘job well done’.”

USA

Swissport’s San Francisco station recently won Cathay Pacific’s 2005 Ground Hand-ler of the Year award for passenger service. in addition, the station also picked up awards for: Best On-time Performance, Best Asian Miles Recruitment, Best Custo-mer Check-in and the number two station in the entire Cathay system.

Celebrating approval: (from left to right) Michael Lindgren, Technical Manager,

Swissport Maintenance Services; Philippe Bachmann, Shop Manager, Swissport

Zurich; and Mark Salathé, General Manager, Swissport Maintenance Services.

SwiSSPORt wORDwiDe

Philip Hill (left) and Air Seychelles’ Trevor Fox celebrate the signing.

SwiSSPORt wORDwiDe

SwISSPORT’S RECENT CONTRACT SuCCESSES

Station Customer

Amsterdam Air France Anchorage Air Canada, Air China, northwest, Singapore Athens Athens Aviation Atlanta Air France, northwest Barcelona Alitalia, Denim Air Basel Belair, City Airline, Pakistan Cargo, Polet Cargo, Royal Jordanian,

SkyeuropeBerlin/tXl Air France, Corendon, Qatar, transavia Birmingham Aerosvit, BritishJet, Flybe Boston northwest, Virgin Atlantic Buenos Aires/eZe Continental Cancun Air luxor, Austrian, lan Chile, transmeridian, US Airways Cape town interlink, Malaysian Chicago Aeromexico, Asiana, KlM, northwest Cologne Air lithuania, Skyeurope Cozumel US Airways Dusseldorf Air France, Alitalia, Delta Airlines, interairlines, Ukraine Frankfurt Air France, Corendon Geneva Dubrovnik, easyJet, norwegian Air Shuttle Guadalajara Air France Hamburg Air France, Air transat, Corendon, easyJet, Pegasus Hanover Corendon Honolulu Aloha Air, northwest, westjet Houston northwest Johannesburg DHl, British Airways, emirates, Gulf Air, interlink, Malaysian,

Singapore, Virgin Atlantic laredo DHl las Vegas US Airways london/Stn Pegasus, Ryanair london/lGw Alexandair, BritishJet, Monarch, Pegasus, Virgin los Angeles Aerounion, Delta Airlines, northwest, transmile Madrid Alitalia Manaus Rico Airlines Manchester BritishJet, emirates, Pegasus Memphis northwest Mexico Cielos del Peru Miami Air France, Alitalia, Delta Airlines, Falcon, UPS, Virgin Atlantic Montevideo GOlMontreal Mexicana Munich Air France, Blu-express, Corendon, easyJet nairobi Air Mauritius, AirPlus Comet, Saudia, UnO nashville DHl new York/ewR Air France, northwest new York/JFK Air tahiti, Azteca, eurofly, lufthansa, northwest, Polar,

Royal Jordanian, South African, thai, Virgin new York/lGA northwest newcastle excel, Jet2, Pegasus nice Air France Orlando US Airways, Virgin Atlantic Paris/CDG Aegean, Air Berlin, Air Scotland, Alexandair, Corendon,

Dubrovnik, eurocypria, Helios, Jet2, nouvelair, transwede, worldfocus

Phoenix US Air Recife embraer, Star AirlinesRom/FCO Sn Brussels, Virgin express Saint louis northwest Salvador Air europa, Condor, edelweissSan Diego northwest San Francisco icelandair Sao Paulo/VCP tampa Airlines Seatle Korean Air, northwest Singapore Adamair, Asia link Cargo, Australian, Cardig Air, thai Air Asia,

tiger Airways thessaloniki Athens Aviation toronto etihad Airways, Mexicana, Sunwing, westjet Vancouver Air Pacific, westjet Vienna Pegasus washington/iAD Air France, BwiA, ethiopian, northwest, South African, tACA,

US Air, Virgin Atlantic washington/DCA northwest Zürich Air Adriatic, Air Bosna, Air France, Cirrus, City Airline, Flybaboo,

Sky Airlines, worldfocus

staff and commenced operation with its launch customers Asiana Cargo and Portugalia on June 1, 2005.

And business has progressed steadily ever since: SCS now employs a total of 45 staff and handles around 35,000 tonnes of cargo both in the warehouse and on the ramp side – not bad in just 10 months.

In addition to the two launch custom-ers and ABC, SCS Schiphol also han-dles, Aer Lingus, Air Astana, Air China Cargo, Swiss WorldCargo, Lithuanian

Airlines and Time Matters (the ex-press product from Lufthansa Cargo). This already strong list of valued cus-tomers will be joined by Air France and Air France Cargo from March on-wards.

Jan van Anrooy

■ CAnADA

Vancouver launchSwissport Handling Vancouver enjoyed a successful start to operations on

Westjet airport operations.

November 1, 2005, with Canadian low-cost carrier Westjet as launch cus-tomer.

Westjet has grown tremendously in recent years and now holds around 30% of the Canadian domestic market. Since day one, Swissport has provided ramp handling for the carrier’s 35 flights per day at Vancouver Interna-tional Airport, consistently meeting all customer service levels.

It has been a great performance by the whole team and one that will hopefully soon open the door to other new cus-tomers in Vancouver.

Jörg Sutter

■ PeOPle

New Singapore GMMarc-Antoine Chariatte has been ap-pointed as General Manager for Swiss-port Singapore, taking up his new role on March 1. He will be responsible for all activities for Swissport in Singapore, including passenger, ramp and cargo operations. With his background in the ground handling and aviation industry, Marc-Antoine will develop the com-pany further and build a strong cus-tomer base at Singapore Changi.

After the successful start-up of the Sin-gapore operation, his predecessor, Pe-ter Kohl, will assume new responsibil-ities as part of Swissport’s business de-velopment activities, with many more opportunities waiting to be uncovered and realised.

Dr Ludwig Bertsch

CEO change in South AfricaJeroen de Clercq has been appointed President and CEO for Swissport South Africa, taking up his post on February 1. A Dutch citizen, Jeroen has vast experience in the aviation indus-try both on the airline and ground han-dling sides of the business. Following a successful career at KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, with various postings abroad and in Amsterdam, Jeroen first joined

the Swissport Group in 2003 as Presi-dent and CEO of Swissport Kenya, based in Nairobi.

Dr Ludwig Bertsch

Fresh face in FranceArto Hanliyan has joined Swissport France as Manager, Marketing and Sales, replacing Lionel Bossy. Arto has a solid background in the aviation in-dustry following previous employment with Lufthansa and Globeground France.

In other news from France, Guy Ghy-sels – the former GM for SCS Luxem-bourg – has taken up the position of GM France ad interim. This moves comes as part of a wider internal reor-ganisation of the management struc-ture at SCS France and the decision by former GM Rainer Kunkel to seek a new challenge within Swissport Inter-national. The search for a new GM has already begun.

Jean-Didier Savioz

Brazilian reshuffle As a result of continued reorganisation within the Brazilian operations and wider LATAM division, Juvenal Tavares is no longer with Swissport. Based on the changes that will occur within the global organisation, his former position as Director of Sales for Brazil and Sales Coordinator for LATAM will, for the time being, re-main vacant.

Lician Mello will now take on the re-sponsibility of sales and commercial matters within Brazil, while each indi-vidual CEO within the LATAM divi-sion will continue to handle those ac-tivities as they have done for the past year in their respective markets.

Frank Mena

At strategically important stations through-out Europe, easyJet has a strong workingrelationship with Swissport. It has grownfrom our confidence in Swissport’s ability tolive up to our expectations in the opera-tional and customer experience domains.The world’s No. 1 ground handler under-stands our passion for reducing costs anddelivers – with welcome extras. CatherineLynn, Head of Airport Development,easyJet Airline, Stansted

At all of our 175 stations around the world,Swissport offers customers a lean productwith optimized processes,short turnaroundtimes,and cost-effective handling.As a dynamic,growth-oriented company,easyJet appreciates our ability to workquickly,dependably,and intelligently – keycapabilities we’ve demonstrated longbefore the era of budget airlines began.Nigel Daniel,EVP Ground HandlingEurope / Asia / Middle East / Africa,Swissport International Ltd.,Zurich

www.swissport.com

Swissport International Ltd.Ground Handling Services, Cargo Services, Maintenance Services, Fueling Services,

Executive Aviation Services, Security Services, ULD Services

No frills = no compromise.

spi_easyjet_def 21.02.2006 17:25 Uhr Seite 1

�� swissreporter the Swissport customer journal issue 16, April 2006

At strategically important stations through-out Europe, easyJet has a strong workingrelationship with Swissport. It has grownfrom our confidence in Swissport’s ability tolive up to our expectations in the opera-tional and customer experience domains.The world’s No. 1 ground handler under-stands our passion for reducing costs anddelivers – with welcome extras. CatherineLynn, Head of Airport Development,easyJet Airline, Stansted

At all of our 175 stations around the world,Swissport offers customers a lean productwith optimized processes,short turnaroundtimes,and cost-effective handling.As a dynamic,growth-oriented company,easyJet appreciates our ability to workquickly,dependably,and intelligently – keycapabilities we’ve demonstrated longbefore the era of budget airlines began.Nigel Daniel,EVP Ground HandlingEurope / Asia / Middle East / Africa,Swissport International Ltd.,Zurich

www.swissport.com

Swissport International Ltd.Ground Handling Services, Cargo Services, Maintenance Services, Fueling Services,

Executive Aviation Services, Security Services, ULD Services

No frills = no compromise.

spi_easyjet_def 21.02.2006 17:25 Uhr Seite 1

COntACtS

TOP mANAGEmENTSwissport International Ltd., Joseph In Albon, President & CEO, P.O. Box, CH-8058 Zurich-Airport, joseph.inalbon@swissport.com,tel. +41 43 812 2779, fax +41 43 321 2901

Swissport International Ltd., Luis Pascual,Group CFO, P.O. Box, CH-8058 Zurich-Airport, luis.pascual@swissport.com,tel. +41 43 812 9413, fax +41 43 321 2901

Swissport International Ltd., Dr. Ludwig Bertsch, EVP Global Cargo Services, P.O. Box, CH-8058 Zurich-Airport, ludwig.bertsch@swissport.com,tel. +41 43 812 2694, fax +41 43 321 2901

Swissport International Ltd., Erich Boden-mann, EVP Emerging Businesses, 45025 Avia-tion Drive, Suite 350, Dulles, VA 20166-7557, USA, erich.bodenmann@swissport.com, tel. +1 703 742 4301, fax +1 703 742 4311

Swissport International Ltd., Nigel Daniel, EVP Ground Handling Europe, Asia, Middle East, Africa, P.O. Box, CH-8058 Zurich-Airport, nigel.daniel@swissport.comtel. +41 43 812 2314, fax +41 43 321 2875

Swissport International Ltd., Urs Sieber, EVP Ground Handling Switzerland and Germany, P.O. Box, CH-8058 Zurich-Airport, urs.sieber@swissport.com, tel. +41 43 812 2310, fax +41 43 321 2875

Swissport Americas, Richard van Bruygom, EVP Ground Handling Americas, 45025 Aviation Drive, Suite 350, Dulles, VA 20166-7557, USA, richard.vanbruygom@swissport.com, tel. +1 703 742 4302, fax +1 703 742 4321

COUNTRy CONTACTSALGERiASwissport Algérie, Claude Badan, General Manager, Algerian Business Center, Pins Maritimes/Mohammadia, Alger, claude.badan@swissport.com,tel. +213 21 89 10 10, fax +213 21 89 10 22

ARGENTiNASwissport Argentina S.A., Hugo Schreier, CEO, Intl. Airport Ezeiza, Suite 314 Ministro Pis-tarini, 1802 Ezeiza, Buenos Aires, Argentina, hugo.schreier@swissportargentina.com.ar, tel. +54 11 5480 4433, fax +54 11 5480 4431

ARUBASwissport Cargo Services – Aerocargo N.V.Rudy Rodriguez, Station Manager, Reina Beatrix Airport, Cargo Building A, Aruba, rudy.rodriguez@swissport.comtel. +297 582 2470 ext 102, fax +297 583 0622

AUSTRiASwissport Austria GmbH, Renate Mackay,General Manager, Building 645, 1300 Vienna-Airport, Austria, renate.mackay@swissport.com,tel. +43 1 7007 35521, fax +43 1 7007 35523

BELGiUmSwissport Cargo Services Belgium, Patrick Minsart, General Manager, Brucargo Building 721, 1931 Zaventem, Belgium,patrick.minsart@swissport.com,tel. +32 2 753 0510, fax +32 2 753 0519

BRAziLSwissport Brasil Ltda., Lician de Mello, CEO, Av. Vinte de Janeiro s /nr, Terminal 1-Setor Azul, Sala 1651A, RJ Pista CER 21941-970,Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, lician.mello@swissport.com, tel. +55 21 3398 5934, fax +55 21 3398 5932

Swissport Cargo Services Brazil Ltd., Reinaldo Góes, General Manager, Aeroporto Velho do Galeão, Terminal – Swissport Cargo Services, CEP 21941-520 Rio de Janeiro, RJ/Brazilreinaldo.goes@swissport.com.br,tel: +55 21 3398 7196, fax +55 21 3398 7031

CANAdASwissport Canada Handling Inc., Richard van Bruygom, 6500 Silver Dart Drive, Core G, Mississauga, Ontario L5P 1A2, Canada, richard.vanbruygom@swissport.com,tel. +1 703 742 4302, fax +1 703 742 4321

ChiNASwissport International Ltd., Shanghai Repre-sentative Office, Daniel Jettel, China Chief Representative, 2509 Zhao Feng World Trade Building, No. 369 Jiangsu Road, Shanghai 200050, China, daniel.jettel@swissport.com, tel: +86 21 5237 5150, fax +86 21 5237 5153

CyPRUSSwissport Cyprus, George VassilopoulosExecutive President GAP Vassilopoulos Group20 Strovolos Ave., 2011 Nicosia, Cyprusgeorge.vassilopoulos@gapgroup.comtel: +357 2271 0000, fax +357 2251 4096

dOmiNiCAN REPUBLiCSwissport Dominicana, Omar J. Azar, CEO, Avenida Independencia 1811, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, omar@swissport.com.do,tel. +1 809 508 2277, fax +1 809 508 6543

FRANCESwissport France, Jean-Didier Savioz, President & CEO, 383 rue de la Belle Etoile 3 Allée du Ponant, Parc des Nations, Paris Nord II BP 51441, 95944 Roissy CDG Cedex, Francejean-didier.savioz@swissport.com,tel: +33 1 4989 0831, fax +33 1 4989 0848

Swissport Cargo Services France, Guy Ghysels,General Manager, 14 rue de la Belle BorneB.P. 10666, 95725 Roissy CDG Cedex,guy.ghysels@swissport.com,tel: +33 1 4938 9524, fax +33 1 4938 9528

GERmANySwissport Deutschland GmbH, Hans-Rudolf Moser, GM Ground Handling, Germany, hans-rudolf.moser@swissport.com,Wanheimerstr. 45, 40472 Düsseldorf, Germanytel. +49 211 43 71 3110, fax +49 211 43 71 3111

Swissport Cargo Services Deutschland GmbH, Toralf Sonntag, General Manager Cargo Services, Cargo City Süd, Building 558C, 60549 Frankfurt, Germany, toralf.sonntag@swissport.com,tel. +49 69 219 79710, fax +49 69 219 79799

GREECESwissport Hellas S.A./Swissport Hellas Cargo, Georges Peter, General Manager, Athens International Airport “Eleftherios Venizelos”, 19019 Spata, Greece, georges.peter@swissport.com, tel. +30 210 3537 086, fax +30 210 3537 821,

Swissport Hellas Sud, Agamemnon KikerakisGeneral Manager, Nikos Kazantzakis Airport, 71601 Heraklion, Crete, akikerakis@swissport.gr, tel: +30 2810 33 6968, fax +30 2810 300 827(also for Corfu and Rhodes)

hONdURASSwissport GBH Honduras, Alfonso Garcia-Miró, President & CEO, Nueva Terminal de Carga Of. 301, Apto. Internacional “Ramón Villeda Morales”, San Pedro Sula, Honduras, alfonso.garciamiro@swissport.com.pe,tel. +51 1 411 6800, fax +51 1 411 6820

hUNGARySwissport Cargo Services Magyarorszàg kft., Balàzs Enyedi, Station Manager, Airport Business Park, Lôrinci ùt 59.C3, 2220 Vecsès, Hungary, balazs.enyedi@swissport.com, tel. +36 2955 4950, fax +36 2955 4944

iSRAELQ.A.S. – Quality Airport Services, Yossi Raviv, President & CEO, P.O. Box 136, Ben Gurion International Airport 70100, Israel, yraviv@qasisrael.co.il,tel. +972 3 975 1333, fax +972 3 975 1332

iTALySwissport Italy S.r.l., Simon Widmer, General Manager, P.O. Box, CH-8058 Zurich-Airport, simon.widmer@swissport.com, tel: +41 43 812 3458, fax +41 43 321 2874

Swissport Cargo Services Italy, Sergio Squeri, General Manager, Via G. di Vittorio 2, 20060 Liscate, (MI), Italy, sergio.squeri@swissport.com,tel. +39 02 9500 0343, fax +39 02 9500 0244

KENyASwissport Kenya Airside Ltd., Jeroen de Clercq, (ad interim) CEO, Jomo Kenyatta Intl. Airport/Nairobi Cargo Center, P.O. Box 19177, 00501 Embakasi Nairobi, Kenya, jeroen.de-clercq@swissport.com,tel. +254 20 823 328, fax +254 20 824 754

Swissport Cargo Services Kenya, Dave McKelvie, General Manager, Jomo Kenyatta International Aiprort, Nairobi Cargo VillageP.O.Box 19225, 00501 Embakasi Nairobi, Kenya, dave.mckelvie@swissportkenya.co.ketel: +254 20 827 700, fax +254 20 822 157

KOREASwissport Korea Ltd., J.W. Kim, President & CEO, Room 302 Cargo Terminal B, Incheon International Airport, 2165-160 Woonseo-dongJung-gu, Incheon, Korea 400-717,jw.kim@swissport.co.kr,tel: +82 32 743 2521, fax +82 32 743 2536

LUxEmBOURGSwissport Cargo Services Luxembourg, Patrick Minsart, General Manager, Cargo Center West, Findel Airport, 2889 Luxembourg, Luxembourg, patrick.minsart@swissport.com,Tel: +32 2 753 0510, Fax +32 2 753 0519

mExiCOSwissport de Mexico S.A. de C.V./Cargo Service Center de Mexico S.A. de C.V., Antonio Ferrer Bernat, President & CEO, Antiguo Camino a Texcoco s /n, Col. Penon de los Banos, C.P. 15520, Deleg. Venustiano Car-ranza, Mexico D.F., aferrer@swissport.com.mx, tel. +52 55 5784 8240, fax +52 55 5786 8211

NEThERLANdSSwissport Ground Handling, Wouter R. van Ginkel, Station Manager, Havenmeesterweg 55, 1118 CB Schiphol, The Netherlands, wouter.vanginkel@swissport.com, tel. +31 20 316 3004, fax 31 20 316 3005

Swissport Cargo Services, The Netherlands B.V.,Jan van Anrooy, General Manager, Uiverweg 2–6, 1118 DS Schiphol Airport, The Netherlands, jan.vananrooy@swissport.com, tel. +31 20 316 3731, fax +31 20 316 3733

NEThERLANd ANTiLLESSwissport Cargo Services – Aerocargo N.V. Gerhard Goselink, General Manager, Swissport Cargo Building, Curaçao Int. Airport, Curaçao, Neth. Antilles, gerhard.goselink@swissport.com tel. +599 9868 2244 ext 200, fax +599 9869 5890

PERUSwissport GBH Peru, Alfonso Garcia-MiróPresident & CEO, Calle 5, n° 170 Callao – Lima, Peru, alfonso.garciamiro@swissport.com.pe,tel. +511 411 6800, fax +511 411 6820

PhiLiPPiNESSwissport Philippines, Inc., Juan C. Paraiso III, President & CEO, Ninoy Aquino International Airport (NAIA), Pasay City, The Philippines, juan.paraiso@swissport.com.ph, tel. +63 2 852 9397, fax +63 2 852 9397

POLANdSwissport Poland, Witold Michalowski, General Manager, Ul. Zwirki i Wiguri 1, 02-143 Warsaw, Poland, w.michalowski@swissport.com, tel. +48 22 650 4527, fax +48 22 650 3599

RUSSiASwissport Cargo Services Russia, Natalia Fedorova, General Manager, Pilotov 32A, Aviagorodok, 196210 St. Petersburg, Russia,cscled@sovintel.ru,tel: +7 812 718 75 91, fax: +7 812 718 75 91

SiNGAPORESwissport Singapore Pte. Ltd., Marc-Antoine Chariatte, President & CEO, 121, Airport Cargo Road, #03-01, Singapore 819480m.chariatte@swissport.comtel: +65 63 899 100, fax +65 67 863 208

SOUTh AFRiCASwissport South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Jeroen de Clercq, President & CEO, P.O. Box 5511, Johannesburg Intl. Airport 1627, South Africa, jeroen.de-clercq@swissport.co.za, tel. +27 11 928 8527, fax +27 11 928 8541

SPAiNSwissport Handling S.A., Daniel Gut,President & CEO, C/Gran Via, 71-3a dcha., 28013 Madrid, Spain, daniel.gut@swissport.com,tel. +34 91 548 7631/32, fax +34 91 541 5955

SUdANSwissport Sudan, Adil Ali Mofti, CEO, Baladiya Street, Tadamon Tower, Flat No 708, P.O. Box 13051, Khartoum, Sudan, massjet@hotmail.com,tel. +249 183 769713/772954, fax +249 183 769712

SwiTzERLANdZurichSwissport International Ltd., Station Zurich, Marcel Hungerbühler, Senior Vice President, P.O. Box, CH-8058 Zurich-Airport, marcel.hungerbuehler@swissport.com, tel. +41 43 812 6170, fax +41 43 812 9195

BaselSwissport International Ltd., Station Basel, Stefan Resele, Senior Vice President, P.O. Box, CH-4030 Basel-Airport, stefan.resele@swissport.com,tel. +41 61 325 2300, fax +41 61 325 2307

GenevaSwissport International Ltd., Station Geneva, Ernest Hochuli, Senior Vice President, P.O. Box 776, CH-1215 Geneva-Airport,ernest.hochuli@swissport.com,tel. +41 22 799 3010, fax +41 22 799 3167

TANzANiASwissport Tanzania Ltd., Gaudence K. Temu, Vice President, P.O. Box 18043, Dar es Salaam Intl. Airport, Tanzania, gaudence.temu@swissport.co.tz,tel. +255 22 284 3397, fax +255 22 284 4343

UKRAiNEInteravia/Swissport Ukraine, Mark Skinner, Swissport International, P.O. Box, CH-8058 Zurich-Airport, mark.skinner@swissport.com,tel. +41 43 812 24 59, fax +41 43 321 28 74

UNiTEd KiNGdOmSwissport UK Ltd., Tina Barbour, CEO, Ground-star House, Freight Village, Newcastle upon Tyne, NE13 8BH, tina.barbour@groundstar.comtel. +44 191 214 8121, fax +44 191 214 8014

Swissport Cargo Services, Paul Arnold, Manag-ing Director, Bedfont Road, London Heathrow Airport, Staines, Middlesex, TW197NL, United Kingdom, paul.arnold@swissport.com, tel. +44 1784 266 660, fax +44 1784 266 262

URUGUAySwissport Uruguay, Eduardo Carneglia, CEOCarrasco International AirportUY-Montevideo, ecarneglia@swissport.com.uytel. +59 82 600 9784, fax +59 82 600 9254

USASwissport USA, Richard van Bruygom(see under Top Management; EVP Ground Handling Americas)

Swissport Cargo Services, L.P., Jerry Finn (ad interim), Cargo Building 151, JFK Int. Airport, Jamaica, NY 11430, USA, jerry.finn@swissport.com,tel. +1 703 661 0844, fax +1 703 661 0848

Swissport CFE, Fred Campbell, President, 4560 South Boulevard, Suite 202, Virginia Beach, VA 23452, USA, fred.campbell@swissport.com,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,philipphuber@hallmark-aviation.com,tel. +1 310 215 7213, fax +1 310 410 5362

VENEzUELASwissport Cargo Services Venezuela, Oscar Lehmann, General Manager, Ed. Pascal Torre B Local 4B, Planta Baja, Av. Romulo Gallegos, Santa Eduvigis Caracas, Venezuela, cscccsol@cantv.net, tel. +58 212 285 4060, fax +58 212 285 8491

AViATiON SECURiTySwissport (Checkport), Louis Seliner, Vice President, P.O.Box, CH-8058 Zurich-Airport, Switzerland, louis.seliner@swissport.comtel: +41 43 812 2467, fax +41 43 321 2865

ULd mANAGEmENTUnitpool AG, Philip Hill, Managing Director, Steinackerstrasse 2, CH-8302 Kloten, Switzerland, phill@unitpool.com,tel. +41 43 255 4144, fax +41 43 255 4142

SwiSSPORT ExECUTiVE AViATiONSwissport International Ltd., Alan George,Vice President, P.O. Box, CH-8058 Zurich- Airport, Switzerland, alan.george@swissport.com,tel. +41 43 812 3980, fax +41 43 321 2874

SwiSSPORT FUELiNGThomas F. Comeau, President, 45025 Aviation Drive, Suite 350, Dulles, VA 20166-7557, USA, tom.comeau@swissport.com, tel. +1 703 742 4392, fax +1 703 742 4388

IMPRESSuM

Published by:Corporate Communications, Swissport international ltd.

Publisher:Stephan Beerli, Vice PresidentMarketing & Communications, Swissport international ltd.stephan.beerli@swissport.com

Editor:Richard Rowerichardrowe@blueyonder.co.uk tel +44 (0) 131 620 1174

Swissport coordinator:Melanie wymannmelanie.wymann@swissport.comtel. +41 43 812 4954, fax +41 43 321 2875

Contributors to this issue:Joseph in Albon, Jan van Anrooy, Rico Barandun Stephan Beerli, Dr ludwig Bertsch, Giovanni Bisignani, Roland Breitler, Alan George, David Harman, Michael Kilchherr, Peter Kohl, Cathy lim, Mahmoudi Mandana, Jerry McCauley, Frank Mena, Sonja Muller, Chris Powers, Richard Rowe, Mark Salathé, Jean-Didier Savioz, Bob Schmitz, Jörg Sutter, Gaudence temu, Melanie wymann

Translations:Paul Day

Layout and printing:DAZ, Druckerei Albisrieden AG, Zürich

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Printed in SwitzerlandCirculation 15,000

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