No third handler for BRU.

[Inquirer]

Agreement between belgian government and aviapartner and swissport not to open BRU to a third handler.

http://www.tijd.be/nieuws/politiek_econ ... .art?ckc=1

[cnc]

well that sucks! both perform bad

[RoMax]

well that sucks! both perform bad

I doubt it will become any better with a third handler. Already now the competition is being battled at the cost/price aspect. A third handler will put even more pressure on the prices and therefore the costs made by the handlers, that's not going to have a positive impact on the quality of the service (at least not in general, of course there will be airlines pushing for high quality instead of the lowest costs, but I doubt that will be the majority).

[cnc]

if you think handling in BRU is cheap think again

[RoMax]

if you think handling in BRU is cheap think again

I have never said it's cheap. And whether it's cheap or not is not the point, the point is that Swissport and Aviapartner are fighting on costs, at the cost of quality and a third handler is not going to change that. Besides, there are more factors that determine how expensive handling is vs other airports that are not in direct control of the handling companies itself.

[BRU]

Handling is big part labour. Labour in Belgium is expensive and inflexible. So yes, compared to other countries, handling at bru is expensive. 3 rd handler will face same problems and will not be able to work with a structural lower cost base...

[LJ]

Wasn't the EU regulation updated a few years ago which requires aiports with 5mio or more passengers to allow at least 3 third-party handling companies (and allow self-handling for each airport user)? If so, how can the Belgian government deviate from this regulation?

if you think handling in BRU is cheap think again

I have never said it's cheap. And whether it's cheap or not is not the point, the point is that Swissport and Aviapartner are fighting on costs, at the cost of quality and a third handler is not going to change that. Besides, there are more factors that determine how expensive handling is vs other airports that are not in direct control of the handling companies itself.

If this correct then why did handling costs lowered at other airports? If all handling companies pay the minimum wage than your assumption is correct, but in other countries with minimum wages you do see lower handling costs when you have more handling companies.

[flightlover]

if you think handling in BRU is cheap think again

I have never said it's cheap. And whether it's cheap or not is not the point, the point is that Swissport and Aviapartner are fighting on costs, at the cost of quality and a third handler is not going to change that. Besides, there are more factors that determine how expensive handling is vs other airports that are not in direct control of the handling companies itself.

If this correct then why did handling costs lowered at other airports? If all handling companies pay the minimum wage than your assumption is correct, but in other countries with minimum wages you do see lower handling costs when you have more handling companies.

They lower their costs by taking a small loss for some time to smoke others out. The only way they can do that is when they have some profitable stations in their network. In which case they also can evade taxes due to less overall profit.

[Flanker2]

The problem is that BRU lacks mass.
In big airports like AMS or FRA or CDG, you have many many activities that ensure that the entire package is profitable.

Aviapartner and Swissport are probably doing their best for their knowledge, but if you look at the low handling costs achieved at LCC airports such as CRL, one has to ask oneself where the problem is.

BSCA handling is not profitable and is losing money on their handling, but they operate at different standards than Aviapartner and Swissport, providing punctual, excellent service at just a fraction of the cost, while not being that lossmaking.

When you look at both Avia and Swissport, they hire a lot through interim offices as well... that must affect the costs. But there must be more than that to justify their huge cost gap with LCC airport handling companies...

I think that maybe they have a too heavy an overhead / management structure? Because on the tarmac I can only notice how thin the workers are spread, I can't see how that translates into those high handling charges and they still barely make money.

[sean1982]

The quality of the handeling at BRU is far below that of CRL imo. A third handeling company would have maybe inserted Some healthy competition improving quality

[flightlover]

The quality of the handeling at BRU is far below that of CRL imo. A third handeling company would have maybe inserted Some healthy competition improving quality

And who is going to pay for that?
Airlines just want the best deal around these days. NO MATTER THE QUALITY.

I expect licences for ground handling to be more expensive @ BRU. Not to mention that @ CRL these services are probably subsidised as well.
CRL is far from a normal airport environment in terms of costs.

And about the cost of employees: Aviapartner is only searching for half time personnel for the moment for the handling side. A good evolution in terms of cost reductions. But far from ideal for the workers involved as it is for 4h shifts. So 5 days a week in a full continuous system even, leaves little time for another part time job.

So next time you'll have to wait because there is no ground crew available due to a delayed flight: Praise yourself lucky as it is in the name of cheap flying.

[sean1982]

No, its in the name of over-unionising.
Why did I never have to insist to get stairs to the L2 door in CRL when in BRU they only bring it when having a good day. But they do have time to catch a tan on the baggage loader when it's sunny!!!

[tolipanebas]

But they do have time to catch a tan on the baggage loader when it's sunny!!!

Because there are only 32 bags to load per ryanair flight on average so far, maybe?

[andorra-airport]

Yes all the cabin bags with SN luggage tags are in the cabin

http://i.imgur.com/BbgL7x3.gif

[LJ]

And who is going to pay for that?
Airlines just want the best deal around these days. NO MATTER THE QUALITY.

Not really. If this would be true then the more expensive handlers at i.e. AMS should be out of business. Hiwever, this is not what you see at AMS. There are low cost handlers and those more expensive. Both coexist at AMS.

[Passenger]

The Dutch unions are very pessimistic about AviaPartner Cargo (NL). The unions have announced that the next "ondernemingsraad / conseil d'enterprise" will discuss the dismissal of 60 staff members. Unions told the press they think that Aviapartner Cargo NL has lost the fight against Swissport, Menzies World Cargo and WFS. The unions expect that this forthcoming dismissal (60) will have to reduce costs, making it easier to sell the company. AviaPartner AMS now has 400 employees + 100 temporaries.

Source:
http://www.luchtvaartnieuws.nl/nl-NL/Ar ... tner_Cargo

[LJ]

The Dutch unions are very pessimistic about AviaPartner Cargo (NL). The unions have announced that the next "ondernemingsraad / conseil d'enterprise" will discuss the dismissal of 60 staff members. Unions told the press they think that Aviapartner Cargo NL has lost the fight against Swissport, Menzies World Cargo and WFS. The unions expect that this forthcoming dismissal (60) will have to reduce costs, making it easier to sell the company. AviaPartner AMS now has 400 employees + 100 temporaries.

And yet the same unions want(ed) to increase costs for Aviapartner Cargo and thus went on strike for 3 weeks (without any result). Wouldn't surpise me if this strike has cost Aviaprtner additional cargo customers. However, their pax side isn't doing badly.

[cnc]

the reason why BRU is so expensive is because split shifts are needed due to peak and ghost town moments but the unions are against this and go on strike every time they hear the words "split shift"...