Continuing our series on how to start an airline, let's investigate what additional services
you will require to keep your fleet in the air.
Today, we take a closer look at the array of support services that your airline will
require to launch and maintain reliable and safe operations.
At the most basic level, the handling of commercial aircraft at airports is generally classified
under two descriptive headings: 'above the wing' and 'below the wing' services.
From these two general categories are numerous sub groups.
Above the wing handling services includes all aspects of passenger handling, plus other
activities that generally occur within the terminal building or directly relate to passengers.
Below the wing handling activities are far more likely to occur around your aircraft
while it sits on the ground, parked either at a gate or elsewhere on the apron.
Handling is the general term given to all the various services that will contribute
to the turnaround process, taking an arriving aircraft and transforming it into a clean,
fuelled, and possibly catered airliner for its next passenger service.
Passenger handling is generally completed for departing passengers once they are safely
handed over to the crew once they board the aircraft before departure.
Likewise, once arriving passengers disembark the plane, they become under the responsibility
of the ground staff inside the terminal building.
As already mentioned, above the wing handling relates to everything involving the handling
of passengers.
This can be either within the airport terminal or onboard the aircraft itself.
The main areas of this type of handling include, but are not limited to, the following activities
-
Check-in services Baggage services and inquiries
Inflight catering Aircraft cabin cleaning
Special assistance, wheelchair, and ambulift provision
Customer services and airport ticket desks
As many of these activities bring your airline directly into contact with the customer, so
having reliable services will ensure positive customer experiences and reviews.
Below-the-wing handling tends to occur on the ramp once an aircraft arrives at its stand
and prepares for its next service.
This term encompasses a vast range of activities, which generally take place 'airside', where
skilled workers with enhanced security clearance operate in highly dynamic and often potentially
dangerous conditions.
Some of the main below the wing services that most readers will recognize include-
Fuel provision and refueling General ground handling - pushback tugs, wing
walkers, marshaling services, operation of airbridges,
De-icing services Cargo handling and loading
Baggage handling plus preparing load sheets and weight and balance documentation.
Toilet waste servicing plus potable water supplies.
Aircraft towing And Aircraft exterior cleaning services
Airlines tend to contract for handling services in one of three ways.
These are:
Through third-party handling services provided by a specialist company;
Self-handling (where an airline provides its own services); or
Handling services provided by another airline that offers services other operators at select
airports.
It will be up to you as to which model of handling you opt for at each airport your
airline flies to.
Note that airlines select different handling models for different airports they serve and
don’t really follow a 'one-size-fits-all' approach.
In most cases, airlines don't carry out their own handling functions.
Many view these tasks as a distraction and subcontract it to others who specialize in
this field.
Since setting up an in-house handling operation is so expensive, it may prove far more cost-effective
to contract out part or all of your handling to a third party.
Most airports have one or more independent companies that exist solely to service the
needs of airlines that do not wish to self-handle.
The airports you fly to may be one of your bases but may also be on another continent
many thousands of miles and several flight hours from home.
Unless you have reached a critical mass whereby your airline can be set up and then operate
profitably, as well as bear the total costs of owning your own handling operations, then
contracting third-party suppliers and procuring their services is likely to be a more practical,
cost-effective solution for you.
Such companies make their money by serving a range of different airline flights across
the day (or during the operating hours of the airport), so you may be able to strike
a better deal if your flights happen to arrive during off-peak times when the handling company
is likely to have assets and staff available.
The contract with the handling company may be for a fixed term or on a rolling basis
and stipulate what services are to be supplied.
It should also lay down service quality guarantees and also on-time performance metrics.
These will protect your airline's operation so that should the handling company continually
underperform and delay your flights, you will have grounds for a claim against the handling
company under the terms of the agreement.
Self-handling is a more common approach at home base airports where the passenger traffic
volumes can justify the investment in staff recruitment, training, and the equipment required.
This involves employing your own staff to provide some or all of the services we just
listed, either employed directly by your airline or a subsidiary company.
Ryanair, for example, self-handles its flights at London Stansted Airport through its subsidiary,
Blue Handling LImited, co-owned with another company, Omniserve.
With the self-handling model, your airline will recruit and train its staff to serve
your passengers and provide other ground services.
Your handling operation may well obtain its own ground equipment such as baggage belt
loaders, sets of aircraft steps, de-icing trucks, and pushback vehicles, to name but
a few.
Your handling operation will handle all of your own flights.
Still, you may also contract its services to other carriers should it have spare capacity,
for example, once all of your aircraft have departed on outbound services.
Doing so will attract an additional income stream to offset the investment costs involved
in setting up your self-handling operation and can keep staff fully employed while waiting
for your own aircraft to return.
Often larger airlines, particularly at hub airports where they already provide handling
services for their own operation, will offer such services to other airlines at the airport.
For example, British Airways have provided handling for other oneworld airlines at London
Heathrow Airport, its own home base, for many years.
One aspect that might prove to be a particular attraction of this model for your airline
is that you are likely to be contracting with a carrier with vast experience handling operations
at that specific airport.
There is a potential downside, however.
In cases where several flights are due to depart simultaneously, and yours happens to
be the only one not operated by the airline providing your ground handling, you might
find your flight has to wait until a pushback tug becomes available once all of the other
airline's flights have left their gates.
Unusual although this scenario may seem, it can and does happen!
A well-functioning passenger and aircraft handling function is essential for your airline's
operation.
Without a reliable process to get passengers on and off your aircraft and get it turned
around swiftly, and on time, you may as well give up without trying.
Ultimately, a passenger's post-flight perception of your airline will undoubtedly include their
journey through the terminal and the time spent onboard your aircraft.
As we have seen, getting an aircrfat unloaded, cleaned, catered, and reloaded takes great
coordination, with various elements working together in unison to get that aircraft away
on time.
The whole process is fragile regardless of how often it is performed each day.
It only takes one kink in the chain to unravel the entire process, leading to missed slots,
delayed flights, and disgruntled passengers.
When selecting your handling services provider, look for a proven track record and make sure
that your airline is protected if the service level agreed to at the contract stage is not
adhered to or falls short once the contract is underway.
As with handling, you can opt for various engineering and maintenance support models
for your new airline operation.
You may decide to invest in a full in-house engineering department that can provide anything
from heavy maintenance in your own hangars to contracting out your maintenance support
to a third party.
In the same way as handling services, specialized maintenance companies, and other airlines
can offer such engineering services, which are attractive options for any new airline
starting out.
You may decide to employ your own licensed engineers for routine, or 'line' maintenance,
where your own engineers tend to your aircraft when on the ground at your bases, resolving
any minor engineering snags to ensure that your aircraft remain serviceable.
When deciding upon maintenance services provision, you must decide how much you are willing to
invest in your own in-house operation versus how much it would be to outsource some of
the entire operation to another organization.
When it comes to inflight services, these are often imagined as simply relating to the
catering aspect of air travel.
Yet it can consist of more than just the food and beverage service onboard passenger flights.
Other services, such as selling tax-free goods and other consumables, have become part of
modern air travel.
Some airlines sell lottery tickets onboard, while others offer the chance to purchase
train tickets for onward travel from the airport after arrival.
Although such offerings can add significant incremental revenue to the airline's bottom
line, there is a cost to offering such 'frills' and behind the supply chain of such goods
and services is a contract between the airline and the supplier.
Inflight catering has evolved enormously over the decades.
It was not that long ago that being able to purchase food and drinks onboard routinely
was an unheard-of concept.
Nowadays, it has become commonplace across large swathes of the industry.
Conversely, the major carriers have been forced to up their game regarding inflight food and
beverage service as the competition for the travel dollars of high-end premium passengers
has increased.
While the average passenger appreciates the service of food and drinks onboard, it is
a highly costly business for airlines.
For example, removing single after-dinner chocolate from the business class cabins of
a short-haul medium-sized European operator saved the airline almost US$1 million annually.
Also, for the long-haul carriers offering complete meal services in all three or four
classes onboard, the costs of additional fuel required to carry large amounts of crockery,
cutlery, and glass around the sky cannot be underestimated.
It is also a highly complex logistical task to fulfill service offerings on every flight
your airline operates.
Depending on the type of model you choose for your airline (and indeed, the level of
inflight service you intend to offer to your passengers), you'll need to conduct a rigorous
tender process, find the supplier that is right for your airline, and will work with
you to achieve the objectives.
At certain airports, you'll have greater choice than at others, so the art of negotiating
a good deal will be crucial.
As with the example of the after-dinner chocolate, even the slightest change to an inflight meal
can hugely impact your bottom line.
In the modern age, where everything relies on IT, you’ll need to invest in systems
and technology to support your operation.
Every element of today's airline operation runs on technology, so this will be essential.
Although the list of technology you will need to procure for your airline is far too extensive
to reproduce in full here, let’s look at some things to consider:
Reservations systems Customer and frequent flyer databases
Check-in and baggage tracking systems Electronic maintenance logs
Access to Global Distributions Systems to sell your flights
Flight monitoring, flight planning, and flight tracking software
And much, much more!
While all of this used to be based on physical paper and logbooks, starting your airline
in 2022 will most certainly need a whole suite of software - which may or may not need to
be customized to your operations.
Having adequate tech support and cybersecurity experts on-hand to protect your systems will
also be critical.
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As part of your planning process, you will also require your procurement team to look
at securing the following items and services:
Slots acquisition Air traffic services
Advertising and marketing Public relations
And sales support and promotion
With so many things to arrange, you may want to consider hiring an experienced purchasing
professional early on to give your airline the best opportunity to negotiate good commercial
deals to obtain all supporting services required.
Running an airline is a collaborative business and your operation will rely on many external
suppliers to make it work.
Develop close working relationships with your key suppliers and foster partnerships that
will ultimately result in efficient turnarounds, on-time departures, and happy customers.
How will you arrange services for your airline?
Will everything be in-house or outsourced?
Let us know by leaving a comment!