swissport worldwide “we go the extra mile!”...dutchport groundhandling vof is a joint venture at...

SWISSPORT WORLDWIDE ■ Dutchport, Swissport’s dynamic joint venture in the Netherlands,

can look back on a highly successful first twelve months

“We go the extra mile!”

International customer journal

12–13Liam E. Collinson FMC’s Airport-Related Divisionand its close linkswith the groundhandling world.

1–5Jürg SchumacherDutchport’s GM ispleased that Swiss-port’s Amsterdamunit has got off tosuch a good start.

8Peter GrafThe Swissport Man-agement Poolshould help meetthe group’s futuremanagement needs.

19Joseph In AlbonWhen it comes to e-commerce inground handling,Swisssport’s wellahead of the game.

Swissport International Ltd.Issue 5

August 2000

It was just over a year ago thatDutchport – Swissport International’sjoint venture with Cargo ServiceCenter (CSC) – became the latestground handling company atAmsterdam’s Schiphol Airport.Swissport’s Dutch daughter cur-rently handles around 20 cus-tomer airlines. The companyscored a breakthrough success thissummer when it won the businessof Air France and its Regional Air-lines subsidiary.

I T WA S O N May 13, 1999, afteran impressively short preparationperiod, that Dutchport first openedits doors. And it was the EU-prompt-ed liberalisation of the ground han-dling market at Amsterdam Airport –the fourth largest in Europe – thathad paved the way for this latestSwissport venture. CSC, a companyalready active in the airfreight han-dling and warehousing sectors, waslooking for a passenger and ramphandling partner with whom it couldtake up the licence it had recentlywon. Swissport fitted the bill. AsDutchport General Manager JürgSchumacher explains, that licence isnow shared, with CSC continuing itscore airfreight and warehousing busi-ness while Dutchport takes care of allthe ground handling such as passen-ger services, ramp handling and oper-ations.

From 0 to 220The new Dutchport company hasgrown in its first year of operation toover 220 personnel. It’s been very suc-

“It had always been my dream to work at an airport.” Customer Service Agent Alda de Jong has all the energy and enthusiasm thatare so typical of the young and dynamic Dutchport company.

and perform their work; that and thefact that anyone can use their initia-tive at any level of the organisationand come up with innovations andideas.”

ISO certification: a prime marketing toolOne of Dutchport’s key priorities inthe early months of its existence hasbeen to achieve a critical mass in itscustomer portfolio.At the same time,however, it has been just as importantto maintain quality in this tricky earlyphase. “We have to keep our qualitysky-high if we want our customers topay a little more for the services weprovide,” explains Paschal Connolly,Station Services Manager. TheDutchport quality philosophy isinstilled into the company’s 220 stafffrom Day One of their initial training.Jan W. Bossenbroek, who can look

back on a 25-year career at Amster-dam Airport, and whose Swissportbrief includes responsibility for qual-ity assurance, is proud of the fact thatDutchport is still the only groundhandler at Schiphol with ISO 9002

cessful, too. “1999 was a difficult yearfor us,” Schumacher recalls.“Many ofthe airlines wanted to see what wecould do before they committedthemselves.So it took us a little longerto acquire our customers than we’d

planned. But the ice has been brokennow – especially since Air Francedecided to make use of our services.”“The big difference between Dutch-port and the other Swissport compa-nies,” he continues, “is that we’vebeen able to build up our firm vir-tually from scratch.Those early monthswere pioneering times: everybodypitched in, and everybody wanted togive 200 per cent right from the start.”Jürg Schumacher still feels that thehigh motivation of his strikinglyyoung team – average age 24 to 25 –and their strong identification withthe company and its products are twoof the trump cards the companyholds.“Everybody’s always willing togo the extra mile,” he enthuses. Whyshould this be? “I think they appreci-ate the freedom we give them to plan

2 Swissreporter – The Swissport customer journal ■ August 2000

F O C U S

“We’ve been ableto build up our

firm virtually fromscratch.”

“We’ve got a fewmore aces up our

sleeve on theproduct develop-

ment front.”

D U T C H P O R T G R O U N D H A N D L I N G

Dutchport Groundhandling vof is a joint venture at Schiphol Airport,Amsterdam between Swissport International of Zurich and Cargo ServiceCenter Netherlands BV. The company, which received its full handlinglicence on May 3, 1999 and went operational just ten days later, currentlyprovides full handling services for Swissair, Crossair,TAP, Sabena,AustrianAirlines,Gandalf Airlines,Air France (from August 2000) and Regional Air-lines (from September 2000). Passenger handling is performed for JapanAirlines, and ramp services are provided for Malev, CSA, LOT and Ice-landair. The company is also involved in the full-freighter business withKLM, Schreiner Airways, China Airlines, Asiana and Iran Air. Dutchportcurrently has some 220 employees and handles – with the new Air Franceand Regional Airlines operations included – around 2500 passengers a day.

“Yes, we’re ready!” The Dutchport logo is already part of the landscape on theAmsterdam Airport apron.

Mildred HumpelerManager HumanRelations

Jan Willem BossenbroekManager Product Support

Frank de KoningManagerApron Services

Jürg SchumacherGeneral Manager

Camilla MevissenManagerPassenger Services

Paschal C. ConnollyManagerStation Services

Leo HauserFinancial Manager

Léon B. JansenMarketing & ContractManager

Eveline SteenaartOffice Manager

The Dutchport Management Team

The Swissport customer journal ■ August 2000 – Swissreporter 3

F O C U S

certification. “And that piece ofpaper,” adds Léon B. Jansen, who isresponsible for Marketing and Con-tracts, “is a powerful acquisition andmarketing tool!”The liberalisation ofthe Schiphol ground handling markethas ushered in a new era in marketingterms. For years before, ground han-dling prices had been forced down –with the result that service qualitysteadily deteriorated, too. But no air-

line can put up with unreliableground services,departure delays andangry customers for long. “This issomething the airlines have comeincreasingly to appreciate,” Jansencontinues. “So they’ve become a lotmore willing to pay a little bit morefor a product that offers genuine valuefor money. And that, of course, is ourbig chance.”

Reliable, fast, and good to staffIn this age of total customer focus, theDutchport creed may come as some-thing of a surprise.“Our prime duty isto our customer’s passengers, not thecustomer themselves,” is the messageJürg Schumacher drums into his staff.“We want to provide a top-class ser-vice for every single passenger.That’swhy we encourage our people to ‘go

C U S T O M E R V O I C E

“Baggage is a problem.”“KLM is our official handlingagent. But when we introducedour new in-house check-in sys-tem, the home carrier couldn’ttrain its personnel within thetimeframe we envisaged. So KLMoutsourced the passenger han-dling to Dutchport instead. Thegood thing about having Dutch-port as a ground handler is thatthey’re still small and very flexible.They meet all our aircraft, guidethe passengers to the baggageclaim area, and take care ofcheck-in for the outgoing flights.Our ramp services are still withKLM. Dutchport has been han-dling us for a year now,and we’revery happy with their passengerhandling. It’s a different storywith the baggage handling,though, which Dutchport has sub-contracted out. This is an areathat we need to make a consciouseffort to improve. The baggageproblem is a general one atSchiphol, of course. But I do seecertain benefits in havingDutchport as our passenger han-dler. The communciation lines arevery short. And it’s a young com-pany with a lot of well-qualifiedand highly motivated people.They could sometimes do with alittle more experience in handlingpeople, though. Japanese cus-tomers are not always easy. That’swhy we’re currently planning aworkshop for our Dutchportagents, to show them what theyshould pay special attention towith our Japanese guests.”

Reinier Stoltenborg, Passenger TrafficManager, Japan Airlines, AmsterdamAirport

“I can develop my own ideas on how to help our customers’ passengers best.” CustomerService Agent Janet Straus is a former flight attendant who has found a challenging andfulfilling role on the ground.

“With our tremendous flexibility, we can really align our activities to our customers’specific needs.” Léon B. Jansen, Marketing & Contract Manager, wants to show currentand prospective airline customers at Amsterdam just what they can expect from Dutch-port in terms of a fresh, open and quality-driven style.


“They really doall they can!”“Austrian Airlines has three dailydepartures to Vienna usingFokker 70, Airbus A320/A321,MD-83 and MD-87 aircraft.Lufthansa works with anotherground handling company here,which doesn’t make my job anyeasier! But having two handlershas its upside, too. The airlineshere at Schiphol were very muchin favour of opening up the mar-ket, because it’s given us morechoice. Dutchport provides uswith full ground handling: passen-ger services, ramp handling andoperations. My impression afterthree months is a very positiveone, and I’ve had good experi-ences to date. I think one ofDutchport’s strengths is the com-pany’s dynamic approach, andhaving a young and motivatedworkforce with lots of innovativeideas. They certainly respondquickly to any of our wishes orsuggestions. We see and feel thatthey do everything they can togive our passengers a good ser-vice; and they provide a safe andsecure ramp handling product,too.”

Frits Kögeler, Lufthansa Station Man-ager and Representative for AustrianAirlines at Schiphol

“We can do things better!” Martin van der Weide, Loading Supervisor and TrainerApron Services, has 20 years of ground handling experience to pass on to his team,and appreciates the freedom he is given within his job.

F O C U S


H U M A N R E L AT I O N S

“We put our peoplecentrestage.”After 18 years in the business, itwas the challenge of building upDutchport’s Human Relationsunit from scratch that appealed toMildred Humpeler most. In doingso, she says, she was determinedto adopt a state-of-the-art HRphilosophy that makes employeesfeel as comfortable as possible.What exactly does she mean bythat? “An employee who is happyin their job will show much moreinitiative, be much more alert andhave many more ideas,” sheemphasises. “And that meansthey’ll serve our customers better,too. I assume that this is how mostof Dutchport’s personnel want towork; so we need to create aworking environment whichallows that to happen.” Onething’s for sure: with her positiveand dynamic approach, Hum-peler has doubtless made a majorcontribution to the impressiveworking atmosphere at this younghandling company.

Mildred Humpeler,Manager Human Relations

A P R O N S E R V I C E S

“Safety and security areour top priorities.”“Our unit has about 60 people,and we’re growing all the time. Agood spirit, dedication and disci-pline are what’s most importanton the ramp. With our new cus-tomer Air France, we’ll be han-dling about 40 flights a day; andwe’ll have five more in autumnfrom Regional Airlines, the AirFrance subsidiary. That shouldgive us a good spread of workthroughout the day. It’s quite achallenge; but with our motivatedstaff, it’s one we’re happy to takeon. It’s thanks to our motivation,our discipline and the excellenttraining our people receive thatwe can offer our customers aproduct that saves them costs andground times. We also offer aramp services package that’s tai-lored precisely to our customers’requirements. And, of course, allour processes comply fully withISO 9002 norms and specifica-tions, so our clients can have totalconfidence in everything we do.”

Frank de Koning,Manager Apron Services

S TAT I O N S E R V I C E S

“From tailored solutions tothe full-service package.”“Any airline that works with uscould, if they wanted, just fly toAmsterdam and have no localstaff here at all. Or, if they prefer,they can tell us exactly what theywant to do themselves and we’llput together a package to meetthe rest of their needs. Our unithas two departments: StationManagement and Flight Oper-ations. And our services includeflight plans and running the FlightOperations Center including crewbriefings – services we offer inclose collaboration with Euro-control. We also keep an eye onall gate activities, we cultivatecontacts with the airport authori-ties, and we coordinate all theboarding, cleaning, fuelling, cater-ing and similar operations on ourcustomers’ behalf. One of ourpassenger handling customers –Japan Airlines – has been namedthe airport’s most punctual air-line. And that makes us all prettyproud!”

Paschal C. Connolly, Station Services Manager

O F F I C E M A N A G E M E N T

“We worked very hard,but we had a lot of fun.”To call Eveline Steenaart Dutch-port’s ‘hub’ would be no exaggera-tion. The company’s Office Man-ager presented herself to GeneralManager Jürg Schumacher, whowas then totally new to the Nether-lands, with zero airport or airlineexperience but a strong desire tohelp him develop the new groundhandling company. “The first time Icame into the office,” she recalls, “Ihad to go out and buy some furni-ture! They were pioneering times,but they were great ones, too.” Thecompany swiftly grew, of course:new people joined the ranks almostdaily, new units were created, andthe improvisations gradually gaveway to firmer structures and proce-dures. And today? “I know a lot ofthe business from my own first-handexperience. But as to what my pre-cise function is: that’s rather hard tosay! ‘Assisting the management’ isprobably about the closest – helpingJürg Schumacher wherever heneeds help most!”

Eveline Steenaart,Office Manager

“Twenty-three more flights and over a thousand more passengers a day!” Taking on the ground handling for Air France and Regional Airlines is a great step forward forDutchport and its people.

F O C U S

the extra mile’ whenever they havethe chance to make a customer trulyhappy. Because if the passengers arehappy, the customer just has to behappy, too – they have no choice!” Sowhat are the main arguments in per-suading a carrier to turn to Dutchportfor its ground handling needs? “Reli-ability, speed, and the way we treatand train our staff,” Schumacherreplies without hesitation. “There’sanother reason, too,” he adds. “We’renot as set in our ground handlingways. So we have lots of new ideas inalmost every area of our operations.”Those ‘new ideas’ include plans toprovide new ‘lounges with a differ-ence’ offering better internet connec-tions, direct access to the stock mar-

kets and online duty-free sales.“There is so much we want to do,”Schumacher continues, “but we dodepend on the approval of the airportauthorities and the space they canmake available.” Kerbside check-in,porter services and ‘fast track’ chan-nels are just three of the services thecompany would like to introduce butcannot,either because the airport willnot allow them or because there issimply too little space.“Still,we’ve gota few more aces up our sleeve on theproduct development front,” he addswith a smile.And Schumacher is gen-erally upbeat about Dutchport’sfuture prospects. The blend of Swissattention to detail and quality to-gether with the creativity andresourcefulness of the Dutch is prov-ing a winning combination for thisyoung Swiss boss and his team.

Local structure, global viewGround handling will, by definition,always be a local activity. Yet Dutch-port’s allegiance to the global Swiss-port International group is important,too. “Take the Plus10 marketing pro-gramme that Swissport introduced atthe beginning of this year,” Léon B.Jansen explains. “Global marketingprogrammes like this are becomingmore and more important. Becausehowever local the operation may be,the decision on what ground handlerto use at a particular location willalmost invariably be taken at the air-line’s head office.” Many of theground services available in Amster-dam today are bought-in by the vari-ous airline alliances – a process that is

much further advanced here than atother European airports. The collab-oration with Air France, which wasdue to begin in August, is a goodexample. With both the QualiflyerGroup and (now) the Air France/Delta Air Lines ‘SkyTeam’ alliance inits portfolio, Dutchport now handlestwo of the four major airline group-ings. The nine new daily Air Franceflights and – from autumn – five moreRegional Airlines services will mean asizable increase in Dutchport’s totalproduction volume.And that’s not all:


S C H I P H O L A I R P O R T FA C T S & F I G U R E S

Schiphol offered direct European and intercontinentalconnections to 217 cities in 89 countries last year.With 36.8 million travellers, the airport ranked fourth amongEurope’s hubs in passenger traffic terms.Total takeoffs and landings 409 999Total passenger movements 36 millionTotal cargo volume (October 1999) 1 180 717 tonnesTotal employees 51 093

P O R T R A I T

Amsterdam Manpointment as Vice President Corpo-rate Development. But by then hehad had enough of the theory: “Iwanted to go out into the line andsee if I had what it takes to be amanager,” he explains. SwissportInternational CEO Joseph In Albongave him just one night to decidewhether to take on the challenge ofbuilding up Dutchport as thegroup’s Netherlands operation. Hecame back the next day with a ‘yes’;and by lunchtime he was sitting in anAmsterdam-bound aircraft en routeto his first meeting. It’s a pace heseems to have kept up for the rest ofthat first year. A passionate sailor,Schumacher has made full use of hisnew Amsterdam base to spendmany a weekend on the North Sea.He also makes a point of attendingat least two ocean-going regattas ayear. In the rest of his free time,he has been exploring the city ofAmsterdam. Making friends and ac-quaintances has never been a prob-lem, and his Dutch is already good,too. And for the future? “I’d like tohave a family one day; and I want todo a big sailing trip some time, too.”A second glance at the watch revealsthat our hour is up. And beforewe’ve taken our last picture of thered bike and yellow clogs in hisoffice, he’s left for the adjoiningmeeting room and his next appoint-ment.

Christian P. Somogyi

Spend any time talking to Jürg Schu-macher, Dutchport’s General Man-ager,who has just celebrated his 31stbirthday, and you’ll see why there’s

such a young and dynamic feel to hiscompany. Relaxed, informal andcasting the odd question or instruc-tion (in Dutch) in various directions,he welcomes us into his corneroffice. Schumacher describes him-self as a fairly nervous and impatienttype. His glance at his watch andinsistence that he only has an hourto spare seem to underline the point.His SAirGroup career so far hasbeen led to a 21/ 2-year rhythm: aftercompleting his studies alongside hisregular employment, he worked as apart-time controller for ICS (fore-runner to Gate Gourmet) and thenas a consultant at Icarus Consulting.That was followed by a spell as astrategic controller with SAirLogis-tics, which culminated in his ap-

P R O D U C T S U P P O R T

“We can be station managers, too.”In addition to his other wide-ranging responsibilities, Jan W.Bossenbroek recently becameCrossair’s official representativeat Amsterdam Airport. “This isthe first time a handling agent hasofficially represented an airlinehere,” he points out with pride.“It’s a new experience for all ofus, in fact, and I’m having to feelmy own way a bit, too. I’m wear-ing two hats now, and I need tokeep them in very separate cup-boards. But we aim to take a clos-er look at this extra dimension toour services, because it could be apowerful selling point withprospective customers. And it’sanother opportunity for us toshow that we take our range ofservices further than anybodyelse.”

Jan W. Bossenbroek, Manager Product Support

as Léon B. Jansen knows all too well,talks are currently under way with afurther 16 potential customers. Sohow many clients is Dutchport likelyto have four years from now? “Well,we have a pretty aggressive growthstrategy,” Jansen explains. “So wehope to be handling 16 million pas-sengers by the end of 2004!”

Christian P. SomogyiPhotos: August Kehl

“It’s a terrific job!” Loading Supervisor Jaap Goossens, responsible with his crew for ensuring that customers’ aircraft are loaded andunloaded correctly, discusses the next assignment.

Jürg Schumacher, General Manager

S A D FQ U A L I T Y M A N A G E M E N T

What’s the difference between ISO9002 and AHS 1000? And whyhas Swissport decided to seek ISO9002 certification for all its sta-tions worldwide?

QUAL I TY IS A trump card intoday’s tough ground handling mar-ket. And quality is best confirmed byan official certification.Both the mostcommon certification systems cur-rently used – AHS 1000 and ISO 9002– are designed to improve efficiencyand increase performance; but thereare differences between the two sys-tems, too.

AHS 1000: simple and quickAHS 1000 is a powerful quality con-trol system that has been specificallydesigned for the airline industry andcan be implemented in a very shorttime. Put simply, the AHS approachconsists of three clear steps:

The handling agent and the partici-pating carriers agree which activi-ties are to be measured and setstandards and targets to beachieved.The handling agent implements anaccurate quality measurement andcontrol system.The handling agent provides thecarriers with the results measuredwithin an agreed timescale.

Swift and efficientThe AHS 1000 implementation pro-cess is quite straightforward. Basedon a series of interface meetingscoached by AHS 1000 consultants, itcan be completed in five days. Duringthis process a lot of emphasis is put onthe active involvement of the staffconcerned in order to ensure their fullcommitment and support for the pro-gramme.The actual measurements areperformed by the supervisors in each

ISO 9002/AHS 1000 ■ What’s the difference?

Much more than a number

area of activity. The results are thenreviewed together with the carriersand – if required – improvements aremade or corrective actions taken.Thisapproach ensures short-term consis-tency along with continuous improve-ments in the medium and longerterm. After implementation, the con-sultants will determine if all the goalsset can be met by the handling com-pany. If so, the handling agent willreceive AHS 1000 accreditation. Thehandling company is then checkedevery year; and only if it continues tomeet its objectives will that accredita-tion be extended.

ISO 9002: a broader approach A means of accurately measuringquality and performance is also a cor-nerstone of the ISO 9002 quality sys-tem. But this is only part of the story.ISO 9002 also includes many otherareas of activity, such as

management responsibilitycontractingpurchasingsystematic evaluation of non-con-formities in work processescorrective and preventive actioncustomer satisfactionquality auditstraining.

A crucial roleGaining certification – from themoment a station decides to imple-ment a quality system to the momentcertification is achieved – takes anaverage of some eight months. A vastrange of activities take place at alllevels of the organisation during thistime.These include choosing and train-ing a quality manager, preparing qual-ity system documentation, trainingmanagement and staff, carrying outinternal audits and more. The qualitymanager plays a key role in all of this,

spreading the quality message station-wide.The quality manager also workswith local management to establish animplementation schedule covering:

the selection of process owners forall processes repetitive training sessions formanagement and staffanalysing all work processes andestablishing quality system docu-mentation (quality manual,descrip-tion of work processes, detailedworking instructions)internal audits to monitor prepara-tion progress anda certification audit by the externalcertification authority.

While earning an ISO 9002 certificateis a highlight for any station, it’s real-ly only the start. It takes continuoushard work to not only keep to the per-formance levels achieved but strivefor continuous improvement, too.That goal is achieved by various activ-ities and initiatives, such as constantmonitoring of quality performance(as with AHS 1000) and regularmonthly measurements that are com-municated to head office, where areport is compiled for the whole net-work. Any shortcomings must beanalysed and corrective action takenimmediately if required. Continuouslogging of deficiencies, with an analy-sis of logbook entries and appropriatecorrective action, is equally crucial toa quality system’s success, as is sys-tematically recording customer com-plaints, establishing corrective actionand closely monitoring the effective-ness of the same. Internal audits arecarried out twice a year to detect anyshortcomings and ensure that the prin-ciples of the quality system are imple-mented and respected. It is vital, too,that management commits itself toevaluating the quality system once a

year through an annual quality review,and that a quality audit is performed bythe Swissport International QualityManager at least once a year. In addi-tion to these internal activities, theexternal certification authority willperform a follow-up audit on a yearlybasis, and the certificate must be con-firmed by a re-audit every three years.

ISO gets the Swissport voteBoth the AHS and the ISO system aimto improve efficiency and increase per-formance levels, and both have theirundisputed values. The final choice ofsystem will usually be determined bythe company’s own philosophy. If itaims to install a powerful and cost-effi-cient performance measurement sys-tem with which quantifiable results canbe obtained in a very short time, AHS1000 is a very good solution. In adopt-ing ISO 9002, Swissport opted for amore comprehensive quality systemcovering the whole spectrum of itsactivities. Some 20 Swissport stationshave been ISO 9002-certified so far.More will follow – 18 of them by theend of this year. Needless to say, theseefforts demand substantial financialand human resources. But experienceto date has been positive in theextreme;and the company is convincedthat, in the longer term, ISO 9002 cer-tification is an invaluable businessinvestment.

Josef Fritsche


C O N TA C T

Josef FritscheQuality ManagerSwissport International Ltd.CH-8058 Zurich AirportPhone +41 1 812 85 18Fax +41 1 812 10 55E-mail: [email protected]


S A D F


I N F O R M AT I O N T E C H N O L O G Y

The globalisation of Swissport’sbusiness activities knows nobounds. The organisation which,just a few years ago, comprisedonly three operations all inSwitzerland, has evolved into an“empire” of more than 115 air-port operations on which the suntruly never sets. But the sheerscope of Swissport’s present opera-tions creates its own expectations,too – like the desire to make max-imum use of internet and e-com-merce channels.

WHETHER IT’S Honolulu, Khabar-ovsk or Johannesburg, Salt Lake City,Rio de Janeiro or Jeddah: someone isworking at some Swissport station toprovide top ground handling servicesany time of the day or night. Swiss-port’s global presence is matched byits worldwide (and still-growing) cus-tomer portfolio. The scale and scopeof Swissport International’s currentoperations offer the best possiblebasis for developing new e-commercesolutions. The aims of these endeav-ours: to promote an ongoing dialoguebetween Swissport and prospectivecustomers around the world, and tosimplify the communication process –with all its distances and time differ-ences – as effectively as can be.“Easy-Contact” is the name of the Swissportsolution. In addition to various other

benefits, any customer using Easy-Contact will be offered instant accessto a contact person at Swissport orone of its subsidiary operations. ButSwissport also has high hopes forEasyContact in the e-commerce field.To be precise, the group wants to bethe first ground handler anywhere tooffer its services over the internet. It’swell on the way: since June 1, Swiss-port and its partner companies havebeen giving current and prospectivecustomers the chance to find outabout any Swissport service via Easy-Contact and have an offer drawn upthat corresponds exactly to theirneeds. EasyContact can be accessedvia the official Swissport website. Itcan also be called up under the www.swissport.com/easycontact address.The page is simple to complete, andfull instructions are provided. Once

they have completed all the details,the visitor receives a personal confirma-tion showing all the data they havegiven and the name and address oftheir new contact at Swissport or itspartner company. The informationprovided can also be used to draw upa provisional offer,which can then serveas the basis of further negotiations.

Many benefitsThe EasyContact system offers awide range of benefits to Swissportcustomers all over the world. First ofall, it is available 24 hours a day –acknowledging the fact that Swiss-port’s customers are often globally

active themselves, around the worldand around the clock. With its stan-dardised template displays,EasyCon-tact is also easy to complete for thecustomer and easy to process forSwissport, ensuring that the informa-tion gets straight to the best Swissportperson and a provisional offer can bedevised in no time at all. Needless tosay, inquiries can be dealt with fasterand more directly, too. Swissport cur-rently aims to respond to any cus-tomer inquiry within 48 hours. Thenew e-commerce system brings a raftof benefits for Swissport as well. First,it ensures that all the informationneeded is available from the start

EASYCONTACT ■ E-commerce arrives at Swissport

From looking to bookingof the negotiating process. And itse-mail communications ensure thatall the data concerned are passed onto the right unit or units within Swiss-port as quickly as can be. With itsdirect contact and excellent accessi-bility, EasyContact also allows thecompany to reach new customers effi-ciently and effectively. And last butnot least, judging by the experience ofe-commerce elsewhere, the new sys-tem will enable Swissport to serve itscustomers around the world even bet-ter, faster, more professionally andmore comprehensively than before.

Peter Beutler

C O N TA C T

Peter BeutlerManager Pricing + ContractingSwissport International Ltd.CH-8058 Zurich AirportPhone +41 1 812 84 40Fax +41 1 811 10 55E-mail: [email protected]

24 hours at your service: www.swissport.com/easycontact

With operations in 23 countries,Swissport International has posi-tioned itself as a leading player inthe world ground handlingmarket. This rapid expansion hasplaced great demands on the com-pany’s supplies of skilled andqualified management staff.

A S I N ANY company whose per-sonnel primarily provide a complexand demanding service for others,human resources are a vital compo-nent in Swissport International’sactivities. “And in a company likeours, which has established opera-tions all over the world yet is stillgrowing into its new global role, those

MANAGEMENT POOL ■ Human Resources looks ahead

Providing tomorrow’sleaders today

HR functions have a particularly vitalrole to play, integrating the variouscomponents into a composite whole,”says Peter Graf, head of HR at Swiss-port International since December1999.“HR is a vital worktool in help-ing our group develop its own corpo-rate culture,” Graf continues. “Thatmeans ensuring an effective exchangeof skills and expertise, helping eachother win new customers, and adopt-ing best-practice procedures through-out our network. I see myself as acontact and a conduit – the bridgebetween our Zurich head office andour companies around the world.”Peter Graf also offers HR assistanceand advice to any Swissport companythat needs them. Assessments, selec-tions, contractual issues, salary sys-tems, bonus schemes, inductions, ITmatters,duty travel and expenses reg-ulations, visa matters, residence andwork permits – these are just some ofthe areas in which Swissport Interna-tional and its HR team offer theirexpertise and experience to Swissportoperations worldwide. “Not that wewant to impose some standardisedHR strategy on all our companies,”Graf emphasises. “We want each ofour units to develop the best HRorganisation for themselves, based on

their own experiences and their ownlocal needs.”

A vital toolAny company that has grown as fastas Swissport International has willhave an enormous requirement forskilled management personnel. It isto address this need that Swissporthas developed its worldwide Man-agement Pool for interested prospec-tive managers.The Management Poolis a list of persons who have expressedan interest in serving as Swissportmanagers at destinations around theworld. The Pool includes candidateswho have already completed a ‘groupassessment’ and are currently waitingto be assigned to a posting abroad;but it also includes candidates whohave only indicated their interest in alater deployment. The ManagementPool is open to managers within Swiss-port and within the broader SAir-Group (of which Swissport is a part),but also to individuals from outsidecompanies, to suitably-skilled con-sultants willing to spend two or threemonths in a management positionabroad,and to people who have takenearly retirement but still retain thequalifications and the energy andenthusiasm that the job requires.

CONTACT

How do you apply to become aGeneral Manager or OperationsManager? Just contact Peter Grafand ask for a detailed job descrip-tion.Peter GrafHuman ResourcesSwissport International Ltd.CH-8058 Zurich AirportPhone +41 1 812 87 27Fax +41 1 811 10 01E-mail: [email protected]


P E T E R G R A F

Peter Graf, former HR Manager atSR Technics, took on a new chal-lenge last December 1 when hemoved to become head of the new-ly established HR unit at SwissportInternational. In addition to hisday-to-day business, Graf is busyplanning and implementing over-all HR strategies, policies and pro-cedures for the Swissport Interna-tional group.

Peter Graf, Head of Human Resourcesat Swissport International

Swissport currently has more than 30top managers in its network aroundthe world; and the Swissport Manage-ment Pool presently has over 200internal and external candidates on itsbooks. All these candidates areinformed by e-mail of any manage-ment vacancy that comes up inside theSwissport International organisation,and can then apply for the post if theywish. “Our job is to arouse interest inthese demanding posts among peopleall over the world,” Graf concludes.“And I hope this article in Swissre-porter will help us do so!”

Christian P. Somogyi

I N S I D E

offersevery step of the

way as part of an am-bitious overall Ac-count Plan. This pro-fessional deploymentof CRM is backed upby Swissport’s Um-brella Incentive Programme orUIP. The UIP offers regular cus-

tomers a number of incentives,including turnover-based rebates and

special bonuses for new businesssecured. Swissport’s endeavours

to offer customers even moreattentive service than beforeare already showing success.The company aims to developthem further, too. The launchof the new EasyContact web

quoting system (see separatearticle) should also help provide

the kind of business-to-businessmarketing that the airline sector

has long wanted to see.

A lot of goodwillSwissport’s efforts to focus as clearlyas possible on its customers extend totheir passengers, too – the ‘end-users’ of many ground handling ser-vices. A lot of these endeavours arecurrently incorporated in thePlus10 programme, a rangeof actions and activitiesdesigned to offer added valueto Swissport products and ser-vices. To take just one example, thePlus10 ‘Goodwill’ initiative is de-

CRM is one of the latest terms tocome out of the marketing world.The letters stand for “CustomerRelationship Management” – aninnovative means of offering evencloser customer care. Swissporthas already adopted the CRMphilosophy, making it part of anextensive new customer care pro-gramme.

I N FA C T, Swissport has alreadyput CRM into practice, through itsPlus10 initiative and its Global KeyAccount Management activities.As aresult, some 15 000 of the group’semployees are putting CRM into dailyuse all over the world. After all,encouraging personnel to offer aservice that’s as proactive and inno-vative as possible is a cornerstone ofthe Swissport philosophy. It’s easy tosee why. In today’s tough markets, it’smore vital than ever that a companycultivates the ‘right’ relations be-tween itself and its clients. If customerrelationships of the past were basedon products and resources, it’s thequality of customer relations that nowtakes centrestage. No company todaycan afford to just maximise itsturnover and sales. Customer rela-tions and communications have towork, too, if the partnership is toenjoy sustainable success. With its15 000 personnel and its network ofground handling companies allover the globe, Swissport has opt-ed to focus on two key implemen-tations of the CRM approach:global key account managementand its Plus10 campaign.

Extensive and proactiveOffering top customers themost comprehensive servicepossible has never been asimportant as it is today.Not just because moreand more airlines arescaling up their purchas-ing activities to a glob-al perspective, butalso because Swiss-port has extend-ed its own net-work to 115operations


S A D FI N S I D E

signed to sensitise all Swissport per-sonnel to the importance of CRM andits implementation all over the world.Attitude, look, skills, convictions,commitment and loyalty – these arethe assets that staff are asked to bearconstantly in mind.Any employee whoputs in an outstanding performance inany of these areas receives a specialaward and bonus. The campaignshould encourage exemplary cus-tomer service and a consistent CRMapproach. And that in turn shouldhelp further enhance Swissport’sreputation as the world’s number-oneground handler.

Stephan Beerli

around the world, enabling it tooffer airline customers a truly globalground services product. To ensurethat it maintains optimum contactwith all its key customers’ top deci-sion-makers,Swissport has appointed15 fully-trained Global Key AccountCoordinators who are actively culti-vating relations with current andpotential key-account customers.The Coordinators serve as a ‘port ofentry’ for clients’ wishes and needs.They also keep customers fullyinformed of the latest developmentsat Swissport; and they pro-cess and track ten-der

CRM ■ Customer relationship management

15 000 people all pullingtogether

Manaus

Anchorage

Honolulu

SpokaneSeattlePasco

Reno

Portland

Salt Lake City

Denver

Wichita

Kansas City

San FranciscoSan Jose

Oakland

Lima

São PauloViracopos Rio de Janeiro

Salvador

Recife

San Juan

MiamiSanford

Worcester

Boston

WrightstownWashington

Newark

MiddletownNew York

ArlingtonRichmond

NorfolkCharlotte

Raleigh Durham

Columbia

RochesterChicago

Des Moines

Peoria

Tulsa NashvilleGreenville

St. Louis

GrandRapids

TampaHouston

AustinBirmingham

San Antonio

Fort MyersBrownsvilleLaredo

El PasoDallas

Jackson

Oklahoma City

Phoenix

Las Vegas

San DiegoLos Angeles

Fortaleza

Newburgh

Brasilia

Natal

MexicoCancun

Santo Domingo

Puerto Plata Punta Cana

Buenos Aires


N E T W O R K

Some of the more than 400 customers served by Swissport International around the world

Adria AirwaysAer LingusAeroflot Russian InternationalAirlinesAerolineas ArgentinasAerovias de MexicoAir 2000Air AlfaAir AlgérieAir CanadaAir ChinaAir EuropeAir FranceAir IndiaAir JamaicaAir LibertéAir LittoralAir MaltaAir MauritiusAJT Air InternationalAlitaliaAll Nippon AirwaysALM Antillean AirlinesAmerican AirlinesAnatoliaAOMArkiaAsiana AirlinesAustrian AirlinesAviancaAvioimpexBalair /CTABalkan Bulgarian AirlinesBritannia AirwaysBritish AirwaysCathay Pacific AirwaysChina AirlinesChina Eastern AirlinesContinental Airlines

Continental MicronesiaCOPA PanamaCroatia AirlinesCrossairCSA – Czech AirlinesCyprus AirwaysDelta Air LinesDHL Worldwide ExpressEgyptairEL AL Israel AirlinesEmery Worldwide AirlinesEmiratesEthiopian AirlinesEurowingsEva Airways CorporationFederal ExpressFinnairFlying Colours AirlinesGandalf AirlinesGemini Air CargoGhana AirwaysGulf AirHapag-LloydIberiaIcelandairIran AirJapan AirlinesJAT Jugoslav AirlinesKLM Royal Dutch AirlinesKorean AirKuwait AirwaysLacsaLAN ChileLauda AirLOT – Polish AirlinesLTULufthansaLuxairMalaysian Airline System

MALEV – Hungarian AirlinesMEA – Middle East AirlinesMexicanaMonarch AirlinesNorth American AirlinesOlympic AirwaysPakistan International AirlinesPolar Air CargoQantas AirwaysRoyal Air MarocRoyal JordanianSabenaSaudi Arabian AirlinesScandinavian Airlines SystemSingapore AirlinesSouth African AirwaysSpanairSriLankan AirlinesSun ExpressSwissairTACA International AirlinesTAM – Transportes Aereos MeridionaisTAP – Air PortugalTAROMThai Airways InternationalTrans World AirlinesTransbrasil Linhas AereasTunisairTurkish AirlinesTyrolean AirwaysUS AirwaysVarig – Brazilian AirlinesVASP – Brazilian AirwaysVirgin Atlantic AirwaysVirgin ExpressVolare AirlinesWorld Airways

Nairobi

Manila

Cebu

Davao

Laoag

Khabarovsk

Johannesburg

Cape Town

Durban

Tel Aviv

LondonAmsterdam

HamburgBerlin

Düsseldorf

MontpellierToulouse

Marseille Nice

FrankfurtStuttgart

MunichZurich

BaselLyon Geneva

Cagliari

Trabzon

Adana

Ankara

CorluIstanbul

Izmir

BodrumDalaman

Antalya

Madrid

MalagaPalma de Mallorca

Barcelona

Athens

Paris

Jeddah

Dar es Salaam

Kilimanjaro

Riyadh

Dammam


N E T W O R K

K E Y F I G U R E S

Number of customers over 400Number of employees over 15 000Number of stations over 115Revenue USD 625 000 000Passengers handled per year 53 000 000Aircraft handled per year 1 300 000

The FMC Corporation is one of theworld’s leading producers of chemi-cals and machinery for industrialand agricultural applications. Withits Airport-Related Division, whichis headquartered in Orlando, Flori-da, USA, the company also focuseson ground handling supportequipment and services, and isone of the leading manufacturersin this field. We spoke to DivisionPresident Liam E. Collins.

Swissreporter: Mr. Collins, how im-portant is the Airport-Related Divi-sion within FMC?

Liam E. Collins: Our Division con-sists of a group of businesses focusedon ground support products and ser-vices. We currently have around 400employees and generate sales of overUSD 300 million a year.So I’d say ourdivision is an important part of theFMC Corporation. And we’re totallydedicated to our business sector,where we still see excellent opportu-nities for further profitability andgrowth.

Could you tell us something aboutFMC’s range of ground handlingproducts?

FMC probably has one of the broad-est product and service offerings inthe industry. We produce a range ofproducts from cargo loaders, de-icersand aircraft tractors to passengersteps, boarding bridges, and precon-ditioned air and 400Hz power sys-tems.

What impact is the global growth inthe airports sector having on manu-

facturers of ground handling equip-ment?

Well, part of FMC’s commitment tothe industry is based on the health ofthe aviation sector.The way we see it,


G R O U N D H A N D L I N G E Q U I P M E N T

aviation industry. Fortunately, ourcustomer base is fairly diverse, andthat helps us weather any downturnsin the business cycle. At the sametime, our business has grown signifi-cantly as a result of the industry’srebound, not only in sales of our tra-ditional product lines, but also interms of sustainable growth that’sbeen generated by investing in newproduct lines, technologies and ser-vices.

Can you be more concrete here?

We’re developing new technologiessuch as forced-air de-icing, advancedcargo transfer systems, logistics con-trols, software solutions and e-busi-ness products. With over 100 engi-neers on our staff, we’re uniquelypositioned to respond to changingmarket conditions like the develop-ment of a new generation of super-large aircraft.

What developments can we expect interms of diagnostic aids? Are welikely to see wider use of onlinecomputer diagnosis, internet appli-cations and so on?

Computer diagnostic aids are grow-ing in popularity, sophistication andreliability. I’m sure we’ll continue tosee enhanced capabilities in this area;and FMC is making some significantinvestments in new technology.

What would you say are the biggestchallenges currently faced by theground handling sector as a wholeand the manufacturers of groundhandling equipment in particular?

The ground handling industry is fac-ing unprecedented consolidation.Companies like Swissport, GlobeGround and Servisair are providingformidable challenges to their com-petitors on a worldwide basis.

And what does this developmentmean for FMC?

With their increased purchasing power,these ground handling ‘majors’ arechallenging us to continually reducecosts. But I also see this as an oppor-tunity! I believe that companies likeFMC that offer a full range of prod-ucts and services will be better posi-tioned to respond to the needs of

aviation infrastructure will have tocontinue to develop to keep up withpassenger growth. This is certainlyevident in Asia and particularly inChina. So business should stay buoy-ant for ground handling equipmentmanufacturers. Having said that, it’sthe global players that can adapt theirproducts to a variety of regional mar-kets who’ll be in the strongest posi-tion of all.

The global air transport sector is justgetting back into the black after someyears of recession. How much of this

recovery are you feeling yourselves,and what impact is it having on yourproduct lines?

Our own business profitability is cer-tainly linked to the fortunes of the

T H E F M C C O R P O R AT I O N

FMC employs over 15 000 people at more than 90 manufacturing facilitiesand mines in some 25 countries.The company divides its businesses into fivemajor segments: Energy Systems, Food and Transportation Systems, Agri-cultural Products, Specialty Chemicals and Industrial Chemicals. Annualturnover is around USD 4 billion.

INTERVIEW ■ With Liam E. Collins, President of FMC’s Airport-Related Division

“As our customers become morwe aim to be at their side.”

Liam E. Collins: “We’re uniquely positioned to respond to changing market conditions.”


G R O U N D H A N D L I N G E Q U I P M E N T

companies like Swissport Interna-tional.

How do the manufacturers of groundhandling equipment intend to rise tothe new requirements that are likelyto result from the general growth ofthe airline business and the liberali-sation of the ground handling mar-ket? Will we see much higher demandfor ground handling equipment,quicker response times, shorter deliv-ery deadlines and the like?

The manufacturers are being asked toimprove efficiencies to meet industrydemands. Quicker responsivenessand fast delivery times are especiallyimportant to independent groundhandling companies, who often havelittle time to set up a station oncethey’ve won a handling contract. AtFMC we’re continuing to reduce leadtimes without building up a largeinventory of stock. We’re achievingthis by working closely with our cus-tomers to identify demand as accu-rately as possible, and by having aflexible and responsive supplier net-work.

What do you regard as your maingeographical markets?

FMC sells its products throughout theworld. Our largest markets are inNorth America and Europe, thoughwe have a growing presence in Asia,too.

What impact does this geographicalfocus have on your corporate strategyin terms of manufacturing locations,spare parts services and so on?

FMC is committed to globalising itsoperations by enhancing its networkof regional manufacturing and servicebusinesses.As our customers increasetheir global presence, we plan to be attheir side with the products and ser-vices they’ve come to rely on in theirhome markets.

What is the FMC quality philoso-phy? How does the company standwith regard to ISO and other quali-ty assurance programmes?

Well, ISO 9001 certification does notin itself assure quality, but it doesguarantee a certain consistency. Bothour Orlando, USA and our Madrid,

Spain facilities are ISO 9001-certified,and our Ogden facility in the USAwill be certified this year. ISO is animportant component in our overallquality process.

Ground handling companies are un-der a lot of cost pressure themselves,and are bound to pass at least someof this on to the manufacturers oftheir equipment. How is FMC deal-ing with this pressure in its pricingpolicy?

While we certainly don’t produce theleast expensive products on the mar-ket, their longevity, reliability andease of use result in overall life cyclecosts that are well below those of ourcompetitors. Nevertheless, we havehad to respond to pricing pressure,too, and have been challenged toreduce our own costs and enhanceour supply chain management pro-cess.We’ve also introduced lower-costproducts, and we’ve simplified ver-sions of existing products.

What is your company strategy as faras maintenance activities are con-cerned?

FMC aims to become more involvedin providing a full range of mainten-ance services for the airport sector.We recently launched a new businessfocused on airport facility mainten-ance; and we’ll undoubtedly beexpanding our service business in the

ground services equipment sector,too.

What’s your basic corporate philo-sophy on partnerships with leadingground handlers? Are you interestedin this kind of collaboration? Whatbenefits would you seek to derivefrom a partnership of this kind?

Strategic partnerships can be verybeneficial to both the manufacturerand their customer, as long as it’s atrue partnership in which each com-pany is willing to integrate the otherinto its business processes. FMC hasforged several key partnerships over

the years. In fact, most of our businessvolume comes from key strategicpartnerships with airlines, groundhandling companies and airfreightcarriers.

How could a collaboration betweenan equipment manufacturer and aground handler be organised to cre-ate a ‘win-win’ situation for bothsides?

I’ll give you an example: we can givea customer favourable prices inexchange for flexibility in deliveryschedules. This allows us to level-outour manufacturing schedule and so

maintain a constant workforce andworkload and effect savings in ouroverall costs – savings we can thenpass on to the customer.

In what areas could you imagine in-tensifying your collaboration withSwissport International? What chal-lenges and opportunities do you seehere?

Swissport International is a key FMCcustomer, and we’re working closelywith them to tailor our productsas effectively as possible to theirneeds. We’re eager to expand ourrole from equipment manufacturer

to overall service provider, andsupply a full range of maintenanceservices as well as unique leasingprogrammes, hourly rentals and thelike.

“We’re eager to expand our rolefrom equipment manufacturer to

overall service provider.”

What is FMC’s policy on spare partshandling? Are you already using in-ternet capabilities here?

With our Parts Distribution Centersin Europe, Asia and the USA we canprovide unmatched spare parts sup-port. We are rapidly moving towardsinternet capability in this area, whichwill greatly simplify and speed up thespare parts ordering process.

How effectively can you respond to abreakdown in an essential piece ofequipment farther afield – in Africaor South America, for example? Howdo you ensure that components canbe shipped or replaced as swiftly aspossible?

We have an extensive service capabil-ity around the world, through a net-work of our own facilities, affiliatedcompanies and authorised serviceproviders. This enables us to respondto virtually any event worldwide with-in 24 hours. In South Africa, forinstance, we have maintenance facili-ties at the main airports that caninstantly respond to emergency situa-tions.

While we make great efforts to ensurethat our products are as reliable aspossible, and we’re confident that ourproducts set the standard in this area,there are occasional equipmentbreakdowns. Most of our customersare trained and equipped to handlethese eventualities; but FMC is onstandby to provide backup support.Our service technicians are available24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365days a year for immediate consulta-tion on any problem.

Interview: Christian P. Somogyi

F M C ’ S R A N G E O F G R O U N D H A N D L I N G P R O D U C T S

• Cargo loaders • De-icers • Transfer decks • Passenger steps• Transporters • Transport loaders • Towbarless tractors• Preconditioned air • ‘Jetway’ passenger boarding bridges• Aircraft tow tractors • 400Hz power systems • Preconditionedair • Potable water systems • Automated guide vehicles

re global,

“FMC is making some significant investments in new technology.”

S A D F

This year’s International GroundHandling Conference (IGHC), whichwas held in Dubai from May 7 to12, attracted some 650 delegatesand 22 exhibitors to this emirateon the Persian Gulf. This primefixture on the ground handlingcalendar is a must for both theairlines who purchase groundservices and the compa-nies who providethem. SwissportInternational

DUBAI ■ The International Ground Handling Conference:

A must for buyers and supplierssent a sizable delegation to thisyear’s event; and it made its debut

as an IGHC exhibitor,too.

FOLLOWINGKuala Lumpurand Atlanta,it was Dubai’sturn to host the

latest major get-together of

the groundhandlingworld.Andalmost700 dele-gatesmade thejourney.The 13thAnnualMeeting –

whichremains the

most importantforum for the entireground handlingindustry – was heldin the JW MarriottHotel. The meetingwas accompanied

by an attractive exhibition which alsofeatured a Swissport Internationalstand, the first time the company hasexhibited at the event. The Confer-ence, which was opened by His Excel-lency Sheik Ahmed Bin Saeed AlMaktoum,who is also Chairman of theEmirates Group, featured a range offascinating presentations on issuessuch as passenger liability/ law, riskmanagement, integrated safety man-agement,aircraft ramp damage and ITsystems. The core Conference pro-gramme was supplemented by a seriesof invaluable workshops and seminars.

Bilaterals aboundedMuch of the value of the IGHC, how-ever, lies in the countless opportuni-ties it provides for bilateral talksamong its attendees. The IGHC andits various associated events areabout the best possible place to makenew contacts, cultivate existing ones,forge new partnerships or expandexisting collaborations. Indeed, manydelegates regard the gathering as akey opportunity to cultivate theirbusiness relations.

Social sponsorIn addition to various social meetingsand activities,Swissport International

C O N TA C T

Stephan BeerliExecutive Vice President Marketing & Sales Swissport International Ltd.CH-8058 Zurich AirportPhone +41 1 812 49 50Fax +41 1 811 10 01E-mail: [email protected]

made the most of the chance theIGHC offered to present itself as aleading global ground handling com-pany by sponsoring a number of Con-ference events. These included a live-ly ‘welcome reception’, the Plus10exhibition booth, and a memorableVIP boat cruise in an original dhowon Dubai Creek. The glittering high-light of the whole programme was agrand ‘Arabian Night’ hosted byIATA/ Dnata. Next year’s IGHC willbe held in Singapore. If this year’sConference is anything to go by, itshould be quite an event.

Stephan Beerli

Swissport International made the most of the chance the IGHC offered to present itself as a leading ground handlingcompany by sponsoring a number of Conference events.


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T H E G R O U N D H A N D L I N G W O R L D

S W I S S P O R T U S A I N C .

All the business units of the DynAirGroup operating across the USAwere scheduled to adopt their newSwissport identity on August 3.The name change comes 12 monthsafter the world’s number-oneground handler acquired this ma-jor US ground handling group.

D Y N A I R was acquired by Swiss-port International in July 1999. Themove marked a major step in Swiss-port’s progress to becoming theworld’s largest ground handler interms of both stations served and rev-enue earned. As a sign of DynAir’sassimilation into the Swissport net-work, the boards of the two compa-nies agreed to rebrand all DynAirunits as Swissport operations onAugust 3. “We’re pursuing a globalbranding strategy to emphasise that

SWISSPORT INTERNATIONAL ■ New identity for stateside operations

All DynAir units renamedSwissport in the USA

“This is an important portfolio-build-ing factor, and the greater visibilityfor the Swissport name underscoresour pledge to offer superior service.”DynAir, which introduced TotalQuality Management back in the late1980s, has proved a perfect match forSwissport International, and the cul-tures of both companies have dove-tailed smoothly. “DynAir has alwayshad a passion for innovation, so thename change comes naturally,”explains Erich Bodenmann, CEO ofSwissport’s US operations. “The newidentity expresses DynAir’s embrace-ment of the Swissport commitment toexcellence. It instils a sense of pride,too: we are now visibly a key part ofthe top industry player’s global net-work.”

Stephan Beerli

Swissport is licensed to offer fullground handling services at Termi-nal Two at McCarran Airport, LasVegas. Swissport USA, the group’sUS subsidiary, has captured 70 percent of current Terminal Two flightactivities, generating revenue ofsome USD 6 million a year. Swiss-port USA began offering a com-plete range of commercial aviationservices at Terminal Two on June 6this year.

T H E S E R V I C E S include allaspects of passenger handling such ascheck-in, arrivals /departures, loadcontrol and operations/dispatch.Swiss-port also provides skycap and wheel-chair services together with subcon-tractor Universal Parking Resources.On the ‘underwing’ front, Swissportnot only provides the traditionalramp, cleaning, lavatory and waterservices; it also offers into-planefuelling with its sister company Swiss-port Fueling. Swissport also has thecapability to provide cargo and mailservices, plus interline transport and

aircraft line maintenance.Among thecompany’s new customers are Aero-mexico, American Trans Air, AviacsaCasino Express, Mexicana, MonarchAirways,Virgin Atlantic and West JetAirlines. Swissport’s Las Vegas teamis led by Tom Lynch, an industry vet-

eran with more than 25 years of expe-rience with the former Eastern Air-lines and over a decade with DynAir.Tom’s most recent position was asDirector of Operations for DynAir’sinternational operation at New YorkJFK. A start-up team comprising

head office staff plus other opera-tional specialists from Swissport’sexisting stations has been temporari-ly drafted in to ensure top-level cus-tomer service from the start. Swiss-port USA is well positioned to takeadvantage of future growth amongboth international and charter carri-ers at Las Vegas’ Terminal Two. Sistercompany Swissport Fueling, led byGeneral Manager Bill Caballero, hasbeen a feature at McCarran Interna-tional Airport for many years. AndGate Gourmet (as Dobbs Interna-tional) has been providing on-boardcatering services at the airport since1998. With the presence and commit-ment of these well-established affili-ates,Swissport can offer customer air-lines a complete package of aviationservices. The aim now is to provide‘one-stop shopping’ for the carriersutilising Terminal Two by combiningthe resources of Swissport GroundServices with Swissport Fueling andGate Gourmet.

Thomas A. Dyer

Swissport offers its customers a uni-fied service quality standard around

the world,” says Joseph In Albon,CEO of Swissport International.

McCarran International Airport in Las Vegas is the seventh-fastest-growing airport in theworld. Terminal Two opened for operations in December 1991 and has since servedover 15 million passengers.

LAS VEGAS ■ Full ground handling services

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

■ Swissport Geneva

Red carpet rolled outThe Emperor and Empress of Japanpassed through Geneva Airport dur-ing a private trip in May. Once newsof the impending visit was received,

Swissport Geneva soon heardthrough Japan Airlines that it wouldbe asked to provide some vital ser-vices as ‘agent d’assistance’ for thislandmark event.The decision was fol-lowed by a flurry of telexes, e-mails,phone calls, faxes and meetings untilthe whole timing and sequence of theVIP arrival and departure were fixed.All these activities demanded topprofessionalism and extreme flexibil-ity of all Swissport Geneva’s person-nel,however,because those carefully-crafted plans continued to be changedright up until the last minute.The air-port’s Emergency Room, which hadbeen transformed into a commandcentre for the Japanese delegation,was a picture of studied silence onMay 20 as the final seconds tickeddown.And the words of JAL’s personin charge – “No error is allowed forsuch a flight!” – will ring in the Swiss-port staff’s ears for some time tocome. Right on cue, the Japanese AirForce Boeing 747-400 appeared in theclear blue sky over the airport, and

touched down majestically a few min-utes later. The Swissport airstairswere immediately on the scene, andthe reception committee gatheredat their foot to welcome EmperorAkihito and Empress Michiko toSwitzerland. After the initial wel-come, the party left in a limousineprocession.Their baggage was quicklyand efficiently unloaded, and fol-lowed soon after. In the meantime,the party’s standby aircraft – a secondBoeing 747-400 – had landed safely,too, and had taxied across to join itssister on the ground.

Gérard Soler

■ Saudi Arabia

And Jeddah makes it 115Expanding its business in Saudi Ara-bia and throughout the Middle East isa key facet of Swissport’s currentglobal strategy.Progress on that strat-egy took a further step forward onMay 1, when the group concluded aclose cooperation agreement withNational Flight Services (NFS),theground handling companywhich is ac-tive atJeddahAir-

carriers such as Singapore Airlinesand KLM among its customers, andpromising discussions are under waywith further potential clients. Thecompany offers a full range of groundhandling services and employs over150 personnel.

Werner Krummenacher

■ Latin America

New stations in Braziland Argentina…Swissport Brasil began operations atViracopos Airport, its ninth Braziliandestination, on June 1. The companyhas also been active in Argentina,creating a joint venture with Aero-puertos Argentina 2000: SwissportArgentina S.A. will begin operationsin September – initially at BuenosAires, though these activities shouldlater be extended to other Argen-tinean airports.

...and in Central Americaand the CaribbeanSerlipsa-Swissport, the Peruvian Swiss-

port subsidiary,

■ Swissport Deutschland

New name, newstructureSwissport is ringing the changes in itskey German market. Having startedits operations there in 1996 as ‘Aero-gate’ in partnership with Munich Air-port (FMG), the company has nowraised its own local profile byrebranding five of its six units as Swiss-port operations.Only the Munich unithas kept its Aerogate name, at therequest of majority owner FMG. In afurther key development, Swissporthas established a central managementcompany in charge of marketing andquality control for all its Germanbusiness units. Those German opera-tions currently extend to Frankfurt,Munich, Düsseldorf, Hamburg,Stuttgart and Berlin (Tegel and Tem-pelhof). Cologne will be added next,and further points should followsoon. In a parallel development, LTU– Swissair’s German airline partner –has become a shareholder in Swiss-port Germany and will soon be con-tributing its sizable traffic volume andground handling expertise. LTU’soperations have already been mergedwith Aerogate/Swissport at MunichAirport – an impressive achievement

that makes the company by far the largest local ground handler.Swissport can now offer cus-tomers top ground handling atall major German airports in asingle product package. Thecompany is currently focusingon passenger handling; but it is

well aware that customerstoday seek broader solu-tions that include rampservices, too. In a move to

meet these new demands, the com-pany has acquired a 25.1% stake inFrankfurt-based Acciona Services,enabling it to offer both passengerand ramp services at this key Euro-pean hub.

Thomas Neff

■ ISO 9002

Frankfurt joins the clubHaving passed its ‘certification audit’,Swissport Frankfurt earned its ISO9002 credentials on June 15, the 20thSwissport station to do so.

News and views from all over

port, Saudi Arabia, and is now alsoactive in Riyadh and Dammam.Under the new accord, NFS has nowjoined Swissport’s worldwide ground

handling network. For NFS, whichwas founded three years ago, theteam-up with Swissport offers anexcellent way to achieve its goal ofexpanding its involvement in theglobal ground handling business.NFSalso chose Swissport for the highquality of its products and services,and for its successful expansion strat-egy. NFS already numbers renowned

C O N TA C T

NFS, Werner Krummenacher,General ManagerP.O. Box 52025King Abdul Aziz InternationalAirportJeddah 21536Phone +966 2 685 0554 Fax +966 2 685 3118Mobile +966 55 355 016E-mail: werner.krummenacher

@sairgroup.com

joined forces with San FranciscoAirport recently in view of thecurrent privatisation of Honduras’four largest airports (Tegucigalpa,San Pedro Sula, Roatán and La Ceiba). The new consortium hasnow won a concession for groundhandling at the airports concerned.Swissport has also acquired a passen-ger handling licence for the three air-ports most frequented by tourists inthe Dominican Republic, togetherwith local joint-venture partners.The company should commenceactivities at Santo Domingo, PuntaCana and Puerto Plata airports inSeptember 2000.

Dieter Altenburger

■ Air Littoral

LOT contracts Air LittoralAssistanceLOT, the Polish national carrier,has joined Air Littoral Assistance’scustomers in Lyon and Nice. LOTserves Lyon twice weekly, while Nicereceives four weekly flights.

Jean-Luc Payot

MBAS promises to provide its cus-tomers with tailor-made‚ person-alised services at airports at whichMiascor already operates in thePhilippines. The new division hasalready been appointed by IASS ofJapan and Universal Weather Avia-tion Services as their Philippine ser-vice provider. MBAS is also lookinginto possible tie-ups with other globalFBOs to augment and enhance itspresent resources.The services currently offered byMBAS include:

flight coordinationflight planning and flight opera-tionsflight following and communica-tion servicesaircraft /ramp handlingaircraft servicing/cleaningloading and unloadingtechnical assistancetraffic handlingpassenger and crew handlingcatering servicescargo services andother special arrangements.

Further complimentary/indirectservices such as flight instruction,commuter airline operations, air-craft sales and aircraft charters orrentals will eventually be addedas part of the business’s futureexpansion programme. The newMBAS division, which will workclosely with the Ground Han-dling, Cargo,Aircraft Maintenanceand Catering subsidiaries of the Mias-cor aviation group, will be headed byFrancisco V. Daza.

René Sayo

■ Johannesburg

Swissport South Africaearns prestigious awardThe Airport Company at Johannes-burg International Airport has namedSwissport South Africa ‘best groundhandling company’ in ramp safetyand discipline terms. The award wasbased on a survey of all the catering,

■ Swissport Zurich

Quick Drop: self-servicecheck-in with baggage,too!Swissport Zurich has created a fur-ther convenient check-in facility for

frequent flyers in a hurry. With thenew ‘Quick Drop’ self-service ma-chines, passengers can check them-selves in – even if they are travellingwith one registered bag. Passengersusing the machine will receive aboarding card showing their seatnumber,boarding time and departuregate. And if they’re travelling with abag they wish to check in, the machinewill provide them with the appropri-ate baggage tag.All they then have todo is affix the tag to their bag and takeit to the special baggage acceptancedesk. The people here will comparethe bag tag’s details – passenger’sname, destination and date – withthose on the boarding card, take thebag, and put it into the baggage sort-ing system.

Albert Kiefer

■ Miascor

Miascor adds anotherstring to its bowMiascor, a Swissport partner and thebiggest independent ground handlingcompany in the Philippines, hasadded another facility to its growingrange of services. The new division,named Miascor Business AviationServices (MBAS), will act as a fixed-base operator (FBO) providing spe-cial ground services to executive air-craft, charter flights, technical landingflights and other special flights.

ramp handling, cleaning, self-han-dling and other companies active onthe ramp; and the assessment criteriawere jointly determined by all the air-port’s stakeholders a year ago. Theaward is far more than a fancy diplo-ma for Swissport South Africa and itsmanagement and staff. Because anexcellent safety record is not just animpressive achievement in its ownright. It saves money, too, by minimis-ing ramp accidents and the damagethey cause; and it does wonders forthe company’s image within the air-line and airport community.

Armin Unternährer

■ Tanzania

A hat-trick for AfricaSwissport International has beenawarded a concession as the soleground handler at the international

airports in Tanzania. In view of theongoing privatisation of the country’sairports, Swissport has also acquireda majority holding in Dar es SalaamAirport Handling Company Ltd.(Dahaco), enabling it to offer itsservices at both Dar es Salaam Inter-national Airport and KilimanjaroInternational Airport. Tanzania isSwissport’s third African location.

Nicole Schneider

■ Swissport Mexico

Ready for operationsThe new Swissport facilities at Mexi-co City International Airport wereinaugurated on July 17. In a ceremo-ny attended by VIPs that includedSwiss Ambassador Dr.Markus Kaiserand Roberto Cánovas Theriot, Gen-eral Manager of Mexico City Interna-tional Airport, Swissport Mexico’sCEO Fernando Rodriguez Gálvezgave a brief presentation of the com-pany and its aims and activities.Afterinspecting the equipment and instal-

lations, attendees were treated tocelebration cocktails to mark theevent.

Fernando Rodriguez Gálvez

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

the world

One of the first customer aircraft, belonging to the ‘Rega’ Swiss Air Ambulance Com-pany, is met personally on the apron by Francisco V. Daza, Head of MBAS.


Dutchport took over the handlingof Air France’s nine daily servicesto Amsterdam on August 12. Thecurrent flight pattern will soon beexpanded to 14 daily departuresby Regional Airlines, the Air Francesubsidiary. We spoke to WillemienMontulet, Air France Station Man-ager in Amsterdam for the lastthree years, about these develop-ments and her hopes and expec-tations of her new ground han-dler.

Swissreporter: Ms. Montulet, can yougive us a little background on AirFrance in Amsterdam?

Willemien Montulet: At present wejust serve our hub – Paris Charles deGaulle – with nine daily Airbus A320and Boeing 737 flights. But we’ll beadding five more services on Septem-ber 1 to Strasbourg, Nantes and LeHavre operated by Regional Airlines.

How many passengers do you carryfrom Amsterdam on your current ser-vices?

It depends on the season: the averageis around 800 to 900 a day, but it cango up to a thousand.

How important is Amsterdam to AirFrance?

Very: it’s one of the bigger airportswe serve in Europe.

What prompted you to change yourground handling company to Dutch-port?

A number of reasons. First, Amster-dam recently opened its ground ser-vices market up to all handling com-panies under the new EU rules. So wehave more choice now. And anotherkey reason is the price.

How important is it for you thatDutchport is part of a worldwideground handling group?

It’s very important: we were reallylooking for a global handler.We haveour alliance with Delta Air Lines. Ithink this is the first European AirFrance station with Dutchport han-dling,so it’s a bit of a pilot project for us.

And what services does Dutchportprovide?

Passenger handling, ramp services,operational services and lost-and-found.They’ll be running a lounge forus, too, later this year.

What do you expect most from yournew partner?

Very high quality! I think Dutchportis a highly motivated team. They’revery professional, too; and they haveISO 9002 certification.

Was the ISO certification an impor-tant factor in your decision?

Certainly.

How involved do you intend to be inshaping Dutchport’s Air Franceproduct?

We’ll have a lot of contact with themanagement and their frontline staff.We’ll tell them how we want the workdone. We have our own service andquality standards, of course, and we’llpass these on to Dutchport’s staff.

Do you work with a Customer Ser-vice Level Agreement?

Yes, we do.

How do you feel Dutchport comparesto the other ground handling compa-nies at Amsterdam?

A lot of things are changing at themoment.All the big alliances are now

well divided among the various han-dlers. Things are settling down now,and I hope we’ll see a bit more calm.But the competition and the biggerchoice of handlers do give us a lot ofadvantages, not only in price but alsoin quality terms.

As a station manager, you’re alwaysunder pressure from head office toachieve certain goals. Can yourground handler help you here?

Dutchport can certainly take oversome of the administrative workload.We have to produce a lot of statistics:quality assessments and so on. Theycan help me here, because they havetheir own program and it fits reallywell into ours.

How important is the ground handlerto the overall image Air France enjoysin Amsterdam as a leading Europeancarrier?

Dutchport acts on our behalf. Sowhatever Dutchport gives our clientshas a huge impact on the way thoseclients feel about us. For them, all thepeople they meet on the way to theaircraft will be Air France staff.

Interview: Christian P. SomogyiPhoto: Léon B. Jansen


S A D F

AIR FRANCE ■ An important step for Dutchport

“We expect quality!”

I M P R E S S U M

Published by:Swissport International Ltd. –an SAirServices company

Publisher:Stephan Beerli, Executive VicePresident Marketing & Sales,Swissport International Ltd.E-mail: [email protected]

Editor-in-chief:Christian P. SomogyiE-mail: [email protected]

Contributors to this issue:Dieter AltenburgerStephan BeerliPeter BeutlerThomas A. DyerJosef FritschePeter GrafJoseph In AlbonAlbert KieferWerner KrummenacherThomas NeffJean-Luc PayotFernando Rodriguez GálvezRené SayoNicole SchneiderGérard SolerArmin Unternährer

Translations:Paul DaySAirGroup Translations

Layout and art direction:Caroline Lipp, DAZ

Printing:DAZ, Druckerei Albisrieden AGZurich

Editorial and production office:CPS Communications, ZurichPhone: +41 1 260 65 22Fax: +41 1 260 65 24

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Printed in SwitzerlandCirculation 12 500

© 2000 Swissport InternationalLtd., Zurich Airport, Switzerland

Swissreporter Information Desk:Phone: +41 1 812 49 54Fax: +41 1 811 10 01

www.swissport.com


“Dutchport is a highly motivated team. They’re very professional, too; and they haveISO 9002 certification.” Willemien Montulet, Air France’s Station Manager inAmsterdam, has high expectations of her new ground handler.


S A D FA N D F I N A L LY …

C O N TA C T S

Swissport in SwitzerlandHead officeSwissport International Ltd., Joseph In Albon, President & CEO, P.O. Box, 8058 Zurich Air-port, [email protected], tel.: +41 1 812 27 79, fax: +41 1 811 10 01

Swissport International Ltd., Stephan Beerli, Executive Vice President Marketing & Sales,P.O. Box, 8058 Zurich Airport, [email protected], tel.: +41 1 812 49 50, fax: +41 1 811 10 01

Swissport International Ltd., Andy Bühlmann, Executive Vice President Finance, P.O. Box,8058 Zurich Airport, [email protected], tel.: +41 1 812 42 55, fax: +41 1 811 10 01

Swissport International Ltd., Stefan Resele, Executive Vice President Operations, P.O. Box,8058 Zurich Airport, [email protected], tel: + 41 1 812 75 93, fax: + 41 1 811 10 01

Swissport International Ltd., Urs von Euw, Chief Information Officer IT Management, P.O.Box, 8058 Zurich Airport, [email protected], tel.: + 41 1 812 43 94, fax: + 41 1 811 10 02

Swissport International Ltd., Peter Sturzenegger, Vice President Global Supply Management,P.O. Box, 8058 Zurich Airport, [email protected], tel,: + 41 1 812 01 89, fax: + 41 1 811 10 02

SwitzerlandSwissport Zürich AG, Willy Hallauer, President & CEO, P.O. Box, 8058 Zurich Airport,[email protected], tel.: +41 1 812 61 70, fax: +41 1 812 91 95

Swissport Genève SA, Ernest Hochuli, President & CEO, P.O. Box 776, 1215 Geneva Airport,[email protected], tel.: +41 22 799 30 10, fax: +41 22 799 31 67

Swissport Basel AG, Georges Peter, President & CEO, P.O. Box, 4030 Basel Airport,[email protected], tel.: +41 61 325 23 00, fax: +41 61 325 23 07

Swissport around the worldArgentinaSwissport Argentina S.A., Dieter Altenburger, President & CEO, Av. Vinte de Janeiro s/n,Via de Servico – Rua T/103, Ilha do Governador, RJ 21941-570, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,[email protected], tel.: +55 21 398 59 34, fax: +55 21 398 59 32

BrazilSwissport Brasil Ltda., Dieter Altenburger, President & CEO, Av. Vinte de Janeiro s/n,Via de Servico – Rua T/103, Ilha do Governador, RJ 21941-570, Rio de Janeiro,[email protected], tel.: +55 21 398 59 34, fax: +55 21 398 59 32

Dominican RepublicSwissport Dominicana, Dieter Altenburger, President & CEO, Av. Vinte de Janeiro s/n,Via de Servico – Rua T/103, Ilha do Governador, RJ 21941-570, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,[email protected], tel.: +55 21 398 59 34, fax: +55 21 398 59 32

FranceAir Littoral Assistance, Jan Tindemans, President & CEO, Immeuble Communica, 455, Prome-nade des anglais, 06299 Nice Cedex 3, [email protected], tel.: +33 4 92 29 44 52,fax: +33 4 92 29 44 51

GermanySwissport Deutschland GmbH, Thomas Neff, President & CEO, P.O. Box 231914,85356 Munich Airport, [email protected], tel.: +49 89 9781 1230, fax: +49 89 9781 1236

Aerogate München GmbH, Roger Scheifele, President & CEO, P.O. Box 231533, 85324Munich Airport, [email protected], tel.: +49 89 9759 2300, fax: +49 89 9759 2006

Great BritainSwissport U.K. Ltd., Michael J. Maguire, CEO, Room 2411 / Terminal 2, Heathrow AirportTW61HG Hounslow, Middlesex, [email protected], tel.: +44 208 757 49 32,fax: +44 208 759 81 11

GreeceSwissport Hellas S.A., Bernard Karrer, General Manager, 4 Hippocratous Street,10679 Athens, [email protected], tel.: +30 1 3370 610, fax: +30 1 9622 525

IsraelQ.A.S. – Quality Airport Services, Yossi Raviv, President & CEO, P.O. Box 136, 70100 BenGurion International Airport, [email protected], tel.: +972 3 972 77 77, fax: +972 3 972 77 72

ItalySogaerDyn, Giorgio Orru, General Director, Aeroporto di Cagliari Elmas, 09030 Elmas,[email protected], tel.: +39 070 212 076, fax: +39 070 212 597

KenyaSwissport Kenya, Olaf Everts, CEO, Jomo Kenyatta Intl. Airport/Unit 2, P.O. Box 44549,Nairobi, [email protected], tel.: +254 282 20 20, fax: +254 282 23 29

MexicoSwissport Servicios S.A. de C.V., Fernando Rodriguez, General Manager, Quetzalcoatl 113,3er.piso, Col. Peñon de los Baños, 15520, [email protected], tel.: +52 5 784 21 25,fax: +52 5 785 28 17

The NetherlandsDutchport vof, Jürg Schumacher, President & CEO, WTC-Schiphol Boulevard 181,1118 BG Schiphol Airport, [email protected], tel.: +31 20 40 59 400, fax: +31 20 40 59 430

PeruSerlipsa, Alfonso Garcia-Miró, Executive Director, Av. Elmer Faucett 4800, Callao, Lima,[email protected], tel.: +51 1 484 01 11, fax: +51 1 574 23 00

The PhilippinesMiascor, Juan C. Paraiso III, President & CEO, Citadel Holdings, Inc., 4th Floor, SGV II Bldg.6758 Ayala Avenue, Makati City, [email protected], tel.: +63 2 851 96 47, fax: +63 2 851 96 80

Puerto RicoSwissport Puerto Rico Inc., Hanspeter Schurter, CEO, 150 Carr.Sector Central, Suite 14, L.M.M.Intl. Airport, 00979, Carolina, [email protected], tel.: +1 787 791 48 28, fax: +1 787 791 30 95

RussiaKhabarovsk Ground Services Inc., Robert Erkens, Vice President, Khabarovsk AirportInternational Terminal, Room 203, Khabarovsk, tel.: +7 4212 37 88 15, fax: +7 4212 64 90 28

Saudi ArabiaNFS – National Flight Services, Werner Krummenacher, General Manager, P.O. Box 52025,King Abdul Aziz Intl. Airport, 21536 Jeddah, [email protected].: +966 2 685 05 54, fax: +966 2 685 31 18

South AfricaSwissport South Africa (Pty) Ltd., Armin Unternährer, President & CEO, P.O. Box 111, 1627Johannesburg Intl. Airport, [email protected], tel.: +27 11 928 85 27, fax: +27 11 928 85 47

SpainSwissport Spain S.A., Espana, Daniel Gut, President & CEO, C/Gran Via, 71-3a dcha.,28013 Madrid, [email protected], tel.: +34 91 548 76 31, fax: +34 91 541 59 55

TanzaniaDAHACO, Gaudence K. Temu, General Manager, P.O. Box 18043, Dar es Salaam Intl. Airport,[email protected], tel.: +255 22 28 44 343, fax: +255 22 28 44 343

TurkeyHAVAS, Jean-Didier Savioz, General Manager, Prof. Nurettin Öktem Sk. No. 2,80260 Sisli-Istanbul, [email protected], tel.: +90 212 233 24 84, fax: +90 212 233 38 53

USASwissport USA, Inc., Erich Bodenmann, President & CEO, 45025 Aviation Drive, 20166 DullesVA, [email protected], tel.: +1 703 742 43 01, fax: +1 703 742 43 21

Swissport Fueling, Thomas F. Comeau, President, 45025 Aviation Drive, suite 350, 20166-7557Dulles, VA, [email protected], tel.: +1 703 742 4392, fax: +1 703 742 4388

Swissport CFE, Fred Campell, President, 4560 South Boulevard, suite 202, 23452 VirginiaBeach VA, [email protected], tel.: 01 757 490 2465, fax: 01 757 490 2543

F R O M T H E T O P

E-commerce in ground handling? We’ve got it!You won’t remain the world’s number-one ground handler for long unlessyou can identify new trends and customer wishes in good time. But spottingthose developments is only part of the story: you need to be the first to acton them,too. At Swissport,we’re well aware of the leading role we play with-in the ground handling sector.That’s why we’re constantly surprising the in-dustry with innovations and ideas. The latest example of this approach isEasyContact, the new internet-based system we launched in June that en-ables our existing and prospective customers to obtain a swift and simplequote from us for our services – 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, whereverthey are in the world. EasyContact enables our specialists to draw up a se-lection of quality ground handling services that are carefully tailored to eachcustomer’s specific wishes and needs, and quote them a concrete price forthe package. E-commerce in ground handling? We’re there already. Still, ittakes a lot more than technical innovation to stay the top ground handler inthe world. The human angle needs to be carefully cultivated, too. And it is,through our customer relationship management programme.

As part of our ongoing endeavours on this front, and within our overallPlus10 campaign, we launched our ‘Goodwill’ initiative this August at all ourstations around the world. The initiative, which is due to continue until No-vember, will provide special incentives for our staff to make that extra effortwith our customers and passengers that can make all the difference. We’resure that ‘Project Goodwill’ has tremendous potential; and we’re convincedit will make us the global leader on the quality front, too.

Sincerely,Joseph In Albon, President & CEO

Swissport International Ltd.

We look local but we think Swissport.

Swissport provides world-class ground handling services to more than 400 customersat over 115 airports in 23 countries around the globe. The big difference is people who care – from landing to take-off! We invite you to contact us. Phone:+41 1 812 49 50, fax: +41 1 811 10 01, [email protected], www.swissport.com

Philippines

MexicoItaly Israel Germany

Switzerland ArgentinaKenya

Puerto Rico

NetherlandsSouth Africa SpainTurkey

United States Great BritainRussia Tanzania

France Brazil Saudi ArabiaPeru Dominican Republic

Greece

swissport worldwide “we go the extra mile!”...dutchport groundhandling vof is a joint venture at...

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