Aviation World
3/2015
The “Blue Angels”
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Airport
Habitat
12
A Breath of Fresh Air
18
Flying High
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2
Check-in
Dear Reader,
As contradictory as it may sound at first, nature plays an important role at an international air traffic hub like Frankfurt Airport. We firmly believe that our business is
compatible with natural diversity. This is why we have made biodiversity one of the
principles of our environmental statement.
This includes improving ecological structural diversity on the airport premises,
ensuring the sustainable use of forests and, above all, reducing the risk of bird strike
by means of biotope management. The Wildlife Control team at Fraport AG is the
guardian and protector of both the nature that surrounds us at the airport and the
safety of flight operations.
Dr. Stefan Schulte,
Executive Board Chairman
Fraport AG
The Equipment Service of Fraport AG’s Ground Services (BVD) unit secures ongoing
flight operations at Frankfurt Airport. This rapid response team, which operates three
workshops on the apron, repairs handling equipment in case of a breakdown. These
highly specialized pieces of equipment are used to handle aircraft on their parking
positions. Should there be a breakdown, the equipment has to be repaired immediately,
very often on site. A small glitch could soon turn into a worst-case scenario, which could
mean damage to aircraft and material or lead to a halt to the entire ground handling
operation. The “blue angels” of BVD act as emergency trouble-shooters for the vast
fleet of specialized vehicles on the apron. Professionals who are always ready to prevent
precisely these incidents and bottlenecks. And they succeed, over and over again.
A green airport with blue angels – as you can see, we have prepared a colorful mix for
you to explore. I hope you enjoy reading about these and many other interesting topics.
Sincerely,
Dr. Stefan Schulte
Executive Board Chairman
Fraport AG
04 Airport Habitat
03 Fraport World
First Phase of Delay Code Clearing Successfully Launched
The Future Begins Now: The Transparent Vehicle Fleet
Innovative Format: Live Broadcast from the Best Seat in the House
Three Questions: Knowledge Transfer
12 The “Blue Angels”
16 Airline World
Tomorrowland in Belgium: A True Global Journey
Adria Airways Renews Cargo Agreement with Fraport Again
Air Astana Gets More Room for Freight from Frankfurt
Flying High in South Korea
“To Make the World a Little Better”
18 A Breath of Fresh Air
23 People World
Fraport Is Restructuring Its Freight Business: New Department Under New Management
Fraport World
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Fraport move is shaking up the entire ground handling sector.
New Majority Shareholder for Fraport
Cargo Services (FCS)
Fraport enters into strategic partnership for cargo handling with global leader
Worldwide Flight Services (WFS)
The door to global expansion is now wide
open. This was the conclusion drawn by
the industry news portal www.airliners.de
when the first rumors emerged concerning a merger between the leading ground
services providers – a move that it said
would “shake up the entire ground handling sector.” On July 8, Fraport AG officially
announced that it had entered into a
strategic partnership with WFS for cargo
handling at Frankfurt Airport. Fraport AG is
selling 51 percent of Fraport Cargo Services
(FSC), which is based at Frankfurt Airport,
to the global industry leader.
Explaining this groundbreaking move, Dr.
Stefan Schulte, Chairman of the Executive
Board of Fraport AG, said: “Cargo business
will remain a vital element of our business
model. To allow us to continue developing
these activities, our aim was to find a strong,
expert partner with an extensive international
network that will allow us to expand our
business.” WFS was the partner of choice. As
a global leader for cargo business, it has a
workforce of 14,000 employees and generates annual revenue of €700 million. While
WFS operates at 145 locations in more than
22 countries, FCS is currently represented only
in Frankfurt with its team of 600 employees.
Front-line access at Frankfurt Airport
FCS is located in CargoCity South at Frankfurt Airport. It became a subsidiary of the
airport group as part of a spin-off some
ten years ago. At 470,000 tons, the company accounted for one-fifth of all cargo
processed in Frankfurt in 2014, generating
revenue of €59.5 million in the process.
FCS’s three main customers are China
Southern Airlines, Air Bridge Cargo (Russia)
and Emirates (UAE), which account for
around one-third of its business volume.
They are accompanied by a number of
smaller airlines, including Adria Airways
(Slovenia) and Air Astana, the national carrier of Kazakhstan. FCS belongs to an exclusive group of three handling agents
with front-line access at Frankfurt Airport,
i.e. with direct apron access.
Despite the minority interest of 49 percent,
Fraport will remain a major shareholder in
the new constellation, and hence will continue to have an influence on the management of FCS. For Fraport, the sale of the
majority interest in WFS is primarily a strategic measure. It also represents a major
transaction for the France-based WFS and
its CEO, Olivier Bijaoui: “As Europe’s largest
economy, Germany is obviously a prime
focus in our growth plans. As such, we could
not ask for a better partner than Fraport.”
The WFS Group is based in Paris and was
acquired by the US investor Platinum Equity
this May. As the WFS Group is also acquiring the entire workforce, the transaction
will not result in any changes to the handling services provided to the existing customers of Fraport Cargo Services, as the
established expertise will remain in place.
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Fraport World − Keynote
Airport Habitat
Environmental protection
at a high level
Airports are not always just synonymous with noise,
asphalt and emissions. An airport is also a piece of
nature between the runways. We take a look at the
little piece of paradise between take-off and landing.
Fraport World − Keynote
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Fraport World − Keynote
There’s no question about it: Operating an airport
impacts the environment. At a place where 60 million
passengers are transported and around 500,000
aircraft movements take place each year, where
78,000 people work on a daily basis and over 500
companies are based, the environment will inevitably be affected. Fraport AG, the airport operator,
has long been committed to minimizing and limiting its environmental impact. Since 1999, it has
undertaken to comply with the strict guidelines of
the Eco Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS).
This involves an environmental audit by an external
EMAS expert. The European Union certificate issued
by this expert demands the strictest standards for
environmental management systems. Frankfurt was
one of the first airports in Europe to join the EMAS
program.
“We carry out environmental protection at a high
level,” states Wolfgang Scholze, Head of Environmental Management at Fraport. The main environmental aspects covered by Fraport in its latest
environmental statement include aircraft noise,
greenhouse gases, energy consumption, traffic, air
pollutants, factors affecting biodiversity, water consumption, waste water, contamination of soil water
and groundwater, hazardous goods and substances,
and garbage. Scholze comments: “There are many
specialists looking after the environment at Frankfurt Airport.” After all, it is the individual business
Wildlife control also requires a lot of desk work:
Jürgen Ebert in his office.
units that are responsible for the actual environmental protection measures, i.e. the operational
implementation of the principles and guidelines,
and this is where the experts for the various
specialist areas are based.
Conservation on behalf of aviation
The biodiversity expert at Fraport is a biologist
named Jürgen Ebert. He is in charge of the “Wildlife
Control, Forest and Biotope” department – a
team of four that deals with plants and animals at
Frankfurt Airport. Around 54 percent of the 22
square kilometers covered by the airport premises
is undeveloped and forms a valuable habitat for
flora and fauna. The airport grounds are alluvial
sands from the ancient River Main. On this sandy
soil and with little precipitation, the meadows to
the left and right of the runways have developed
into a mixed biotope of nutrient-poor grassland
and heather – an ideal combination, since the wildlife caretakers are aiming to produce little biomass.
But this barren environment has its charm, too.
Four different protected species of gorse blossom
there. And 600 hectares of non-agricultural grassland is something that can be found hardly anywhere
else in Germany.
By contrast, the grass grows relatively long where
flight operations permit this, and in particular prevents unwanted birds of prey from being able to see
Fraport World − Keynote
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Live from the runway in Frankfurt: a kestrel with its prey.
The Wildlife Control team is taking stock because observation
and analysis form the basis of
nature conservation. Shooting
down the birds is not permitted
but the airport can scare them off.
Starlings also like to sit on the warm lamps.
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Fraport World − Keynote
Things can become dangerous:
bird strike in front of the cockpit.
mice or insects. The long grass means that predator
birds struggle to see prey such as mice so circle less
above the airport grounds. The airport has its own
beehives and even produces “airport honey” on
a small scale. It tastes good, but it has another
advantage, too: It is analyzed each year by an independent bee research center and serves as an
indicator of environmental damage. The airport
honey always gets top grades.
Ebert brushes aside any overly romantic feelings
about the paradisiac conditions: “This certainly
isn’t untouched nature here, not anywhere at the
airport.” The organizing and controlling influence
of humans can be seen everywhere.
Desirable and undesirable birds
When the airport began its expansion plans back
in 2000/2001, a biological population count was
performed under the scientific direction of the
Senckenberg Institute. This revealed for the first
time what a wide variety of species can be found at
the airport. Above all, many rare species of birds
have found a home on the airport premises. These
include several hundred skylarks, which are considered particularly deserving of protection and
represent the largest closed population on the
European continent. Another “desirable bird,” according to Ebert, is the wheatear, a species that is
at risk of extinction in Germany. It prefers open, rocky
land and can therefore be found on the stony paths
of the airport. The carrion crow is another resident
of the airport. Although they are relatively large,
these intelligent animals have adapted to the special
habitat on the airport apron. They fly away briefly
during operations and then return, and are hardly
ever involved in bird strike incidents. “But they do
sometimes brood on the apron lamps,” says Ebert.
Undesirable birds include species that pose a risk
to air safety or disrupt flight operations. Large,
heavy birds weighing a kilogram or more are dangerous for aircraft. This includes birds of prey such
as falcons, buzzards and kites. They are dangerous
not only because of their weight, but also because
of the altitude they fly at (around 50 or 100 meters,
which is exactly the level at which aircraft approach
and depart from the airport). Flocks of birds such
as starlings are also risky. Starlings love warmth and
therefore sometimes like to sit on lamps and spotlights on the apron. “But in Frankfurt even a sparrow
or a swift can disrupt flight operations,” explains
Fraport World − Keynote
the Northwest Runway precisely at a height of 100
meters. A bird flight warning system has been installed at three locations here, using infrared cameras to identify biomass in the air – not just gulls –
on a fully automated basis and pass on this information
directly to air traffic control.
“Keeping birds away from the airport is also a form
of conservation,” says Ebert. If necessary, this can
also be done by firing a blank gun. Shooting down
the birds is not permitted in Germany. They are not
subject to hunting law in the same way that game
is, for example. This is no longer a problem in Frankfurt. Although the airport is well fenced in, hares,
rabbits and foxes find their way in. The latter are
welcomed as animal helpers when it comes to controlling the mouse population.
To control undesirable bird species, the measure
of choice for the Wildlife Control team is biotope
management combined with thorough population
counts in the airport and the surrounding area.
Existing data are analyzed, new data collected and
concentration points for birds monitored in a targeted manner, for example in the fall now, when
bird activity increases again. Fortunately, large-scale
migration of cranes and geese in the Frankfurt
region is very concentrated in terms of time and
numbers.
Ebert. This is because the high frequency of air
traffic leaves very little leeway for solving problems.
“Biomass in the air”: What to do?
The River Main is the guiding line for the flight path
of seagulls, which cross the corridor for approaching
A major asset for all airports
Biodiversity is a high priority right now. Not just in
the principles of Fraport’s environmental statement,
but also for other airports and the German Airports
Association (ADV), which has set up a task force on
this topic. Furthermore, the state of Hesse, where
the Rhine-Main airport is located, has also launched
a biodiversity and conservation program together
with businesses. “The green areas are a major asset
for all airports,” says the Head of Environmental
Management at Fraport, Wolfgang Scholze. “The
airport is a precious wildlife habitat.”
A Matter of Central Importance: Environmental Management
Environmental management is based within the
“Corporate Development, Environment and
Sustainability” central unit, one of thirteen central units of Fraport AG that report directly to the
Executive Board. Environmental management is
in charge of organizing and coordinating all
environmental protection measures, provides
guidance and legal protection, and supports the
general environmental and location policy of
Frankfurt Airport. It is also responsible for environmental reporting – including the Group’s
environmental statement, the environmental
program, and publications and public relations
work on the topic.
Dr. Wolfgang Scholze coordinates the many experts and aspects involved in environmental protection.
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Fraport World
Stefanie Birkner and Matthias Beckmann from Fraport Punctuality and Performance Management are responsible for delay code clearing.
First Phase of Delay Code Clearing
Successfully Launched
EUROCONTROL expects to receive monthly delay information in IATA format
Fraport Airside and Terminal Management
(FTU) is currently working with all airlines
to implement delay code clearing. Since
the introduction of EU Regulation 390/2013,
all European airports have been required
to send quality-assured delay information
for each delayed take-off to EUROCONTROL
in Brussels, the international organization
for the central coordination of air traffic
control in Europe. This quality assurance
takes the form of clearing, which was
successfully launched at Frankfurt Airport
on July 1.
If there is a delay of at least four minutes,
airlines are obliged to provide Fraport with
delay information. Delays are calculated as
the difference between the Fraport timestamps SOBT and AOBT, and the reasons
for the delay are read from the movement
messages (MTV). In the summer, Fraport
therefore asked all airlines to send their
delay code lists to Fraport Punctuality and
Performance Management and to name a
punctuality and performance manager, including an e-mail address and telephone
number. According to Matthias Beckmann
from FTU-FD2 Punctuality and Performance
Management, things have gone well so
far: “A good 80 percent of the 100 airlines
with the most aircraft movements have
already provided us with all the necessary
information and are sending us their delay
codes.”
EUROCONTROL in Brussels expects to receive quality-assured delay codes from Frankfurt every month.
The codes sent by the airlines are automatically translated into the FRA delay codes
based on the IATA standard before being
forwarded to Belgium. Certain delays are
checked for plausibility on the basis of
timestamps. In the first phase, this involves
delay codes 87, 89 and 93. If the Fraport
system INFOplus determines that an airline’s delay codes are not plausible, it automatically sends an e-mail to the punctuality
and performance manager. If the sender is
DC_FRA@Fraport.de , this means the system has identified deviations in terms of
the delay code or the delay minutes. An
immediate reply brings the responder into
direct contact with Fraport Punctuality
and Performance Management to clear up
the inconsistencies.
With someone like Stefanie Birkner, for
example, who is one of the people responsible for the roll-out of the first phase.
“The plausibility checks have already led
to a tangible improvement in the quality
of delay information, as well as covering a
far higher proportion of delay codes
thanks to the translation matrix.”
In the event of rejections of delay codes or
corrections to the stated delay minutes,
the airlines are required to send a new MTV
with corrected delay information to prevent data discrepancies between the airline
and the airport and, consequently, different
messages being sent to EUROCONTROL.
EUROCONTROL expects to receive the
delay codes on a monthly basis.
Fraport World
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The Future Begins Now:
The Transparent Vehicle Fleet
Fraport introduces TWS, a new telemetry data-optimized maintenance control system
pioneers. TWS is nothing less than a technical and logistical revolution in fleet management – and the first system of its kind
in the world. Scholz: “The road from our
first attempts at GPS-based location in
2001 to where we are now has been a
long one. Building on the usual GPS to
localize location-related data, we added
several special features, such as new
algorithms, to the software that runs and
controls TWS now.”
Bernhard Scholz, Head of Fleet Management, is in
charge of the airport’s vast fleet.
The vehicle fleet at Frankfurt Airport numbers
more than 1,500 ground handling vehicles,
from on-board power units to airport
tugs. They are accompanied by almost
10,000 pieces of towed equipment, like
the many types of trailers and freight
wagons that speed around the apron. This
makes up a huge fleet that has to be controlled, maintained and managed. To help
achieve this, Fraport Fleet Management
can now call upon an innovative system
that transmits telemetry data from the
vehicles and equipment to the control
center in real time. This means that the
current location of a piece of equipment
can be established digitally and at glance,
together with information on whether all
of its key functions are working or whether
maintenance will soon be required.
The new system is called TWS, which stands
for “Telemetriedaten optimiertes Wartungssteuerungssystem” – telemetry dataoptimized maintenance system – and it will
catapult Fraport into the future of technology. “We are well ahead of our time. By
2030, systems like this will be optimizing
processes at all airports as an integral
element of ground handling,” explains
Bernhard Scholz, Head of Fleet Management
at Ground Services. Today, though, he
and his team can count themselves as
But a worthwhile one, too. It used to be
the case that looking for a certain vehicle
was a game of fishing in the dark, while the
need for repairs would often come as a
surprise or important maintenance would
be skipped. TWS brings light into this
darkness. So that the system can work, the
fleet vehicles first have to be fitted with
transponders, which measure and send
information on operating hours, the working order of the vehicles and their maintenance status to operations control by
GPS. The collected information and geodata for the entire fleet is shown on a digital map of the airport.
“This means that we know about imminent
defects long before the loading crew notices
that anything is wrong and can respond
accordingly with our taskforce. This allows
us to proactively initiate regular maintenance in cooperation with the workshops,
meaning that TWS also forms the basis
of our repair shop control tool,” explains
Scholz. Another advantage: All of the vehicles and equipment are kept behind a
virtual “geofence.” If a ground power unit
leaves the apron area without authorization, this is automatically reported by
the system. This allows third-party use to
be identified and calculated at all times –
which was not previously the case.
All in all, a whole range of plus points with
tangible economic benefits. 200 units
from the Fraport vehicle fleet have been
fitted with transponders to date. All 1,500
pieces of motorized handling equipment
used by Ground Services will be successively fitted and connected to TWS. And
the system is set to be linked to data from
the flight information service before the
year is out. The new system offers extensive options for evaluation, meaning it is
not only being used by Fleet Management,
but is also already proving popular among
customers when performing quality assurance as part of airline audits.
The end-product is a digital map of the airport that supplies all maintenance data at a glance.
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Fraport World
The “Blue Angels” of
Fleet Management
Nothing would work without them
Fraport World
When nothing’s working, when the electrical equipment is on the blink, the hydraulic hose
bursts, or the battery is flat – this is when the equipment service of the Ground Services (BVD)
unit is on hand to provide breakdown assistance.
They are positioned bang in the middle
of the apron, on the second floor of Building 254 at Frankfurt Airport: Here the
specialists from the fleet management
equipment service (BVD-TS3 for short)
have a central location with an overview
of everything that is going on below them.
The first shift starts at 5 a.m. From this
point on, the equipment managers for
the vehicle fleet at Frankfurt Airport must
be on hand. Fraport’s fleet comprises over
1,500 items of equipment from different
manufacturers – ranging from small pallet
forklifts to buses and powerful aircraft
tugs. In addition, there are almost 10,000
items of towed equipment at Frankfurt
Airport including trailers, freight wagons
and low loaders of all different types.
There is an on-call service for all this
equipment in case of emergency. If an
emergency does occur, then the “blue
angels” from BVD-TS3 hurry out to provide assistance on the apron.
Keeping cool in almost any situation
Haro Gabriel Campoy is the head of operations of the rapid response team. He is
the one who receives the emergency calls
and decides which teams to send out to
which emergencies. The equipment managers are usually deployed in pairs, as
their expertise often complements one
another. One may be an electrics specialist, while the other’s strengths may lie
in mechanics. “We all have sound basic
knowledge that enables us to make a diagnosis quickly and assess what needs to
be done in each individual case,” explains
Campoy. He himself has been working
at Fraport for 20 years and for the equipment service since 2001 – a proven motor
vehicle expert who keeps his cool in almost
any situation.
Because every day is different. In the winter
it is often flat batteries – the same as people
driving their personal cars – that are the
reason for an emergency call. Switches,
The equipment service and the fire department are often called out together.
which are exposed to the elements, also
break down frequently and block entire
systems. But nowadays Campoy sees the
summer as almost the more extreme
season, as this is when rubber hoses turn
brittle in the heat and burst. It is particularly bad when hydraulic hoses burst.
Then liquid flows out onto the apron by
the liter. In such cases, ground handling
operations have to be halted, the fire department comes to clean up and the equipment service salvages the equipment.
This inevitably results in delays to flight
operations.
The emergency service is called out
in 99 percent of cases
The fleet management equipment service
is called out on around 15,000 deployments each year. If the breakdown assistants are unable to help repair the damage, then one of the three workshops at
Frankfurt Airport comes into play. Either
the equipment is still fit to drive and can
Always quick to the scene to get operations
up and running again.
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Fraport World
get to the workshop itself, or the equipment service tows it there. In individual
cases, the Fraport workshop for major repairs located in Building 100 drives out
to the incident on the apron.
But in most cases, the “blue angels” on
the apron are able to help directly. At
those times, people are really happy to
see them. Just recently, after they had successfully jump-started a bus and rectified
a fault with the oil feed, the overjoyed
driver wanted to show his particular gratitude and reached for his wallet – money
that Campoy didn’t accept, of course.
The head of operations can hardly remember any really critical situations. Since
an incident many years ago when the
equipment service station was no longer
staffed on the evening of Christmas Eve,
there has been an on-call service until
11 p.m. every day of the year, which is
guaranteed by two-shift operations.
Breakdown involving a bus.
The Vehicle Fleet: There’s Plenty on the Move out on the Apron
Fleet
On-board power supply equipment
Container lift trucks
Container transporters
Diesel wagons
Electric tractors
Sewage trucks
Drinking water trucks
Conveyor belts
Aircraft tugs
Minibuses
Buses
Lightweight transporters
Motorized stairways
Towed stairways
Pallet forklifts
Passenger cars
Heavy tractor units
Hybrid tractor units
60
33
82
51
154
11
14
108
36
125
104
92
85
112
111
137
151
202
Total: 1,668
Climate protection on the apron
For over four years, Fleet Management has
also been supplying Ground Services with
electric cars out on the apron. There are
now twelve vehicles in the fleet, making it
the largest company fleet of electric cars
(iMiEV) by Mitsubishi in Germany. The
four-seater lightweight vehicles have a capacity of 49 kilowatts and a range of up to
160 kilometers. They are robust and
popular with drivers.
Towed equipment
Freight container trailers
Baggage container trailers
Rotating container trailers
Freight carts
Baggage carts
Pallet transport trailers
20-foot trailers
Low loaders
Baggage reconciliation trailers
Total: 9,859
1,186
184
1,654
2,165
1,072
3,117
102
316
63
Fraport World
Innovative Format: Live Broadcast
from the Best Seat in the House
The Visitors’ Terrace back in 1965.
The Fraport central archive guards the treasures
of the past, including this newspaper article about
the best seat in the house.
Source: central archive
Fifty years ago, Airport Operations at Frankfurt Airport launched a very special service
for visitors: Loudspeaker announcements
kept them informed about everything that
was going on at the airport. Guests were
told everything, from airplanes that had
just landed or were getting ready to take
off and the famous passengers on board,
right through to delays at check-in – no
information was spared. From May 1965
onwards, a dedicated “local reporter”
with a view from the best seat in the
house provided visitors with the latest
information and described everything that
was happening on the apron. He remained
in continuous contact with ground control, which coordinated radio contact
between the pilots and the tower, passing
on the relevant information directly via
announcements to travelers and guests in
the terminal building. Even technical data
concerning the aircraft and the airport itself
was transmitted. A very special kind of live
broadcast, and one which undoubtedly
helped to make the waiting time at the
airport feel rather shorter. It is no exaggeration to say that anyone who departed
Frankfurt in those days could count themselves among the best-informed passengers in the world.
Extract of the Article from
“The Airport,” No. 5, August 1965
Our Airport Operations team has had yet another idea of how to make visitors’ stays [...]
even more interesting than before. On May 1,
a special service was introduced, which keeps
airport visitors constantly informed about
what’s going on out on the runways, on the
apron and in the building facilities. From the
best seat in the house, the “reporters” Otto
Schmuck and Werner Rudnick (VL passenger
and visitor service) observe aircraft movements and inform listeners over a loudspeaker system of the imminent landing of each
aircraft prior to its arrival. [...] The service tells
airport visitors what type of aircraft it is, what
performance data the aircraft is displaying
[...], how many passengers it can carry and
any other information that might be worth
knowing. [...] The “airport reporters” also report on the arrival or departure of famous
passengers (including politicians and actors).
[...]
gn
15
Three Questions
Knowledge
Transfer
Ekkehard Franke,
Senior Project Manager
Ground Services (BVD)
Mr. Franke, you recently had a visit
from Bahrain Airport Services (BAS).
What was the reason for this?
We are supporting colleagues from
the Arab Kingdom in their aim to
make handling processes at the airport in Bahrain more efficient and
generally enhance the quality of
ground handling services. We have
more than 60 years’ experience in
ground handling and are happy to
pass on this knowledge as part of our
“Ground Handling Curriculum.”
What are the key components of the
“Ground Handling Curriculum”?
The training program, developed
specially for BAS, takes four days to
complete and covers the entire
Ground Handling Services portfolio
with all aircraft types and processes –
from passenger and baggage handling to apron processes and freight
handling. It also includes the area of
administrative planning, as well as
monitoring and measuring the quality
of ground handling services.
“We offer the right mix of
theory and practice.”
What happens after the training in
Frankfurt? What’s next?
For us at BVD, it’s a question of actively
continuing the fruitful cooperation we
have begun with BAS on site in Bahrain.
We therefore plan to send BVD experts to Bahrain to provide direct,
active support with the optimization
of operational processes and the
associated change process.
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Airline World
Tomorrowland in Belgium:
A True Global Journey
Brussels Airlines flies around 11,900 passengers to the unrivaled open-air music festival –
with some of them taking off from Frankfurt Airport
Party and dance: 180,000 people from all around the world celebrating at the Tomorrowland festival – some arriving on exclusive party flights.
It really is unique what has been happening every summer for the past ten years
in the small Belgian town of Bloom near
Brussels: Each year, fans of electronic
dance music gather there in a truly magical
setting for the techno festival “Tomorrowland.” Whereas in 2005 only 10,000 visitors
had come together for the festival weekend,
in 2015 the open-air mega-party attracted
around 180,000 people. And they flocked
to Brussels from airports all around the
world. Brussels Airlines has been organizing flights there since 2012 and can boast
new record numbers in the fourth year
of these party flights.
Saskia Lippert, Fraport’s Tomorrowland project manager.
United people of Tomorrowland
For the most recent music weekend from
July 24 to 26, 2015, the Belgian airline ran
a total of 119 flights to the Tomorrowland festival, including 80 exclusive party
flights. Exactly 11,871 passengers were
transported by Brussels Airlines from
62 different airports all over the globe.
There was a truly international mix of passengers, with 93 nationalities represented.
They came from Switzerland, the UK,
Austria, Spain and Germany, as well as
from countries such as Macedonia, Azerbaijan, Swaziland, Macao and Mauritius.
The oldest passenger was 72 – but he was
the exception to the rule. The average age
of the passengers was rather younger at
exactly 26. This taste in music also seems
to appeal to men in particular, who considerably outnumbered female passengers
at 69 percent.
Airline World
Flights from Frankfurt with DJ
and gate party
Frankfurt Airport has supported Tomorrowland twice already. The flights with Brussels
Airlines from Frankfurt to Brussels are
special for another reason, too: “This
route is not served at all by normal flight
operations. It’s just once a year that the
aircraft from Brussels Airlines take off in
this direction for Tomorrowland,” explains Saskia Lippert, project manager
and coordinator for the event in Fraport’s
FTU unit. There were 250 people on board
the flight from Frankfurt to Brussels. This
included 111 transfer passengers, many
of whom had traveled from Mumbai in
India, while others had come from Helsinki,
Athens or Belgrade.
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Fraport opens the extraordinary flight connection between Frankfurt and Brussels once a year.
This year, the flight from Frankfurt to Brussels
was one of four special flights with a live DJ
in the aircraft at an altitude of 30,000 feet,
putting the passengers in a party mood
and getting everyone fired up. At some air-
ports, the party even got started before
boarding. Frankfurt was one of nine airports
that invited the passengers to a Tomorrowland gate party, with the techno beat
booming through venerable Terminal 1.
Adria Airways Renews Cargo Agreement with Fraport Again
Cargo transportation is set to continue on
Adria Airways flights out of Frankfurt.
Flights will continue to be scheduled
three times a day to the company’s home
airport of Ljubljana, six times a week to
Pristina and three times a week to Tirana.
The contractual cooperation between the
Slovenian airline and Fraport Cargo Services
(FCS) began back in 1990, and the success
story is now set to continue well beyond
its 25th anniversary as Adria Airways has
just renewed its handling agreement with
FCS once again. The long-standing FCS
customer has enjoyed strong growth in
the past. The airline from the Adriatic now
has a fleet of 13 aircraft offering 220 flights
a week to more than 23 different European cities. And Frankfurt Airport has
been there right from the start. FCS considers the latest contract extension to be a
clear expression of confidence on the part
of Adria Airways, which has always insisted
on the highest standards in terms of
safety, quality and service.
Air Astana Gets More Room for Freight from Frankfurt
Kazakhstan is experiencing rapid economic growth and freight volumes are increasing continuously.
Fraport Cargo Services (FCS) has been Air
Astana’s freight handling partner since 2013.
Now Kazakhstan’s national airline has expanded its capacity for freight shipments to
and from Astana, the capital city of the central Asian nation. The new Boeing 767–300ER
can carry significantly more freight than the
Boeing 757–200 models. The additional
freight volume is 8 tons (48 cubic meters)
compared with 2.6 tons (16 cubic meters)
previously. It has been available as a seasonal
service from May and will run until the fall.
In winter, Air Astana reverts back to operating the smaller Boeing B757-200 aircraft.
The former Soviet republic on the Caspian
Sea is among the world’s richest countries
in terms of raw materials. Since its independence, it has enjoyed one of the highest economic growth rates globally. The
oil and gas industries are booming, as are
imports of machinery, chemical products
and luxury goods. The country’s rise is
also reflected in the continuous increase
in freight volumes. Commenting on the
airline’s new capacities, Andreas Helfer,
Managing Director of FCS, said: “We are
proud to support Air Astana’s impressive
growth and positive development in our
role as its cargo handling partner.”
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Airline World
A dynamic LED lighting system ensures changing colors and moods on board the brand-new A350 XWB with the extra-wide interior.
A Breath of Fresh Air from
Northern Europe
Finnair is banking on international business travelers with
optimum comfort and a new fleet
The Finnish airline has been in business since 1923 and is constantly evolving. Today, it has one of the newest and most ecologically
efficient fleets in Europe. October will see Finnair’s first flights with the newly purchased A350 XWB, the long-range jet from the very latest
Airbus generation – making it the first European airline to take off using the new wide-bodied aircraft.
Jan Pellinen is Director Sales Central Europe at Finnair.
It is already receiving awards before scheduled flights have even begun: At the end
of May, Finnair won the prestigious international “Yacht & Aviation Award” for its
A350 XWB cabin design. The design for
Economy and Business Class is based on the
“Space Alive” concept, which introduces
changing colors and moods on board, easing passengers on long-haul journeys into
new destinations, time zones and weather
conditions. The dynamic LED lighting system
can display some 24 different landscapes
during the flight, including sunrise, various
cloud images or the dance of the Northern
Lights against the clear, starry sky.
No fear of jetlag
For Finnair, the new aircraft with the “extrawide body” fits well with the airline’s
concept of offering passengers maximum
comfort on long-haul flights. Since 2014,
Finnair’s entire long-range Airbus fleet has
been equipped with full-flat seats in Business
Class that can be converted into two-meter,
fully horizontal beds – ensuring a good
night’s sleep above the clouds. In Economy
Airline World
Class, Finnair is committed to providing
good entertainment. For example, the new
personal in-flight entertainment system
offers passengers 72 movies and 150 TV
shows in their own language at the push
of a button. This is accompanied by an
audio selection, games, and electronic
newspapers, magazines, books and comics.
Another new seating category at Finnair is
“Economy Comfort,” which is aimed at
customers who do not want to compromise
on comfort on long-haul flights in particular, but who are looking for an affordable
alternative to Business Class. “Economy
Comfort” gives passengers priority boarding and exit, and seats in the front rows of
Economy Class on long-haul flights with
more legroom and comfier headrests.
Representing fresh Nordic design
The design concept is based on clarity and
freshness, reflecting the airline’s desire to
provide a calm and relaxing atmosphere
on long-haul flights in particular. Jan Pellinen,
Director Sales Central Europe at Finnair,
also sees the design concept as a calling
card for his country: “We want our passengers to take a piece of Finland with them
from every flight. This is a way of allowing
long-distance travelers from Asia, Europe
or North America to learn something about
the culture and design of our country while
they are in the air.”
The fresh Nordic design immediately reveals
its origins with the Finnish design company Marimekko. The specially designed
“Marimekko for Finnair” collection of textiles and tableware, featuring Marimekko’s
classic, colorful patterns, is used on all flights.
Passengers in all classes also benefit from
the bright and roomy cabins, high-quality
materials and the creative integration of
the dynamic LED lighting system.
Special focus on environmental protection
Finnair not only has one of the most modern
fleets in the world, but is also an extremely
environmentally friendly airline. Its aim is
to reduce emissions per seat by 41 percent
between 1999 and 2017. It is achieving this
by converting the fleet, including by introducing more efficient winglets and lighter
seats. Water and waste management on
board has also been optimized with a view to
ecological considerations. Finnair’s commitment to the environment does not end with
the innovative reuse of uniforms. Continuous
descent approaches, which remove the need
for environmentally harmful circling above the
airport, mean that between 60 and 80 percent of Finnair landings are “green landings.”
Attractive for business travelers: Finnair
and Frankfurt fit together over the ages
The Finns have been flying to Frankfurt since
1956 – a strong cooperation that has been
in place for almost 60 years. This is one of
the plus points immediately identified by
Finnair manager Pellinen, who also cites “the
international flair and excellent shops that
give Frankfurt Airport a distinctive atmosphere.” According to Pellinen, this also makes
Frankfurt Airport an attractive destination
for business travelers, whom the airline addresses with its “Finnair Corporate Program”
and a three-tier frequent flyer program.
Needless to say, these programs will also
be available for flights involving the A350
XWB, which all Finnair employees are now
eagerly awaiting.
It all begins in October this year
Finnair is the third airline in the world, and
the first in Europe to start scheduled flights
using the A350 XWB. The Helsinki – Frankfurt route is scheduled to launch on October 7, 2015. This will not be the first time
an A350 XWB has touched down in Frankfurt: The prestigious new airliner made a
Typically Finland: shimmering Northern Lights, long fjords and sauna cabins in the woods.
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Finnair at a Glance
Finnair transported 9.6 million passengers in 2014, up 3.7 percent on
the previous year, as well as 150,000
tons of cargo. Finnair’s main hub is
Helsinki Airport. It flies to 15 destinations in Asia – geographically, the
northern route via Helsinki is the
shortest – and to more than 70 destinations in Europe. Finnair is a member
of the “oneworld” alliance. Finnair
has been recognized in the “Best Airline in Northern Europe” category at
the “World Airline Awards” every year
since 2010. The “airline with the blue
wings” has been given four-star status
by Skytrax.
stopover at the German hub during Airbus’s
second passenger test flight phase in July
2014. Finnair’s regular services will begin
with a domestic flight on October 5,
2015, followed by a number of routes
within Europe before the first long-haul
flight to Shanghai using the A350 XWB
takes place on October 25, 2015. Finnair
has ordered a total of 19 A350–900 aircraft from Airbus.
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Airline World
Flying High in South Korea
A success story to be continued – major investments in fleet also to the
benefit of the huge Korean business community in Frankfurt
The rapid economic growth of South Korea and the
changes to an export nation of high-tech products
in recent decades have created the ideal climate
for a strong expansion of Asiana Airlines. Seokwon
Song has been the new Senior Vice President Europe
at Asiana Airlines since March. A good occasion to
speak with him about landmarks of the past and
plans for the future.
Seokwon Song is Senior Vice
President Europe at the regional
headquarters of Asiana Airlines
in Frankfurt. Prior to this role,
which started in March 2015,
he was Vice President for
Passenger Marketing.
Mr. Song, you have been with Asiana Airlines almost since the beginning and have witnessed
and helped shape the successful history of the
airline. How did everything start off?
Asiana Airlines is still a rather young airline. As a
result of the Summer Olympics in 1988 hosted in
Seoul our country opened up more to international
and non-state regulated air traffic. Consequently, in
December 1988, the enterprise Kumho Asiana Group
founded the new Asiana Airlines. On December 23,
air operations began with six leased Boeing 737-400s.
Shortly after, in 1989, I also began my career with
the airline.
How did things go after that? What were the
landmarks of Asiana Airlines’ development?
Asiana Airlines has developed at a rapid pace. As
early as in 1990, we offered our first international
flight to the destination of Tokyo. In the same
year, we also acquired our very first airplane, a
Boeing 767. In 1994, we entered the cargo business. In the first decade, we developed our fleet
and our international network continuously. After
that, 2003 was an important landmark for us with
Asiana Airlines’ entry to the “Star Alliance.” This
meant that we were able to position ourselves
within the aviation alliance as a gateway to Asia.
Asiana Airlines has a strong network in Asia. At the
moment, we offer 31 connections to China, 20 to
Japan and a further 32 connections to the regions
of Southeast Asia, Australia and Oceania.
Within just a few decades South Korea has developed from one of the poorest countries in the
world to a leading industrial nation. What role did
international air traffic play in this development?
There are different reasons for the rapid growth of
our country including, for example, the close collaboration between the government and the economy,
which led to ambitious programs of economic support.
But air traffic also definitively played an essential role
Airline World
in the global expansion of our enterprises. Airlines
and airports were the infrastructures we required
and the precondition for the global success of our
multinationals such as Samsung, Hyundai and Kia.
How important is Frankfurt Airport within the
international network of Asiana Airlines?
Frankfurt became our first European route in 2001.
We operate both passenger and cargo aircraft. Germany is an important trading partner for South Korea.
There is an extensive exchange between our country
and the Frankfurt/Rhine-Main region. 200 Korean
companies are based in and around Frankfurt. Approximately 6,000 South Koreans live in the region.
70 percent of all flights on the daily Frankfurt – Seoul
route are taken by business travelers. As Germany’s
economy grows as the center of gravity in Europe,
we expect the importance of Frankfurt Airport as a
European transportation hub to grow, too.
What are your business objectives for the years
ahead? What can customers expect from Asiana
Airlines?
We have been investing massively in our fleet for a
number of years. Six Airbus A380s have been ordered
and the last delivery is scheduled to arrive in 2016.
From 2017, we are expecting the delivery of 30 new
Airbus A350s. We are especially excited about the
biggest model of the new A320 Airbus family. From
the A321 Neo family, Asiana Airlines has ordered
25 brand-new models from the European airplane
constructors. In addition to investing in and modernizing the fleet, service quality and security are
also high up on the agenda to make us even more
competitive than we have been up to now.
IN BRIEF
New Route to
Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro in Brazil is the latest addition to Condor’s winter program. Starting in the 2015/16 season, the leisure
carrier will serve the destination for the
first time with two flights a week from
Frankfurt on Mondays and Fridays. Condor’s current destinations in Brazil are
Salvador da Bahia, Recife and Fortaleza.
More than 40 destinations throughout
Brazil can be accessed via Condor’s
partner, GOL. Major sporting events like
the 2014 Soccer World Cup and the
2016 Olympic Games have helped to
turn Brazil into a major destination for
passengers from Germany and Europe.
Fly with Condor to Rio de Janeiro in winter.
Expansion of US Route Network
At a Glance
– Founded in 1988
– Corporate headquarters in Seoul, South Korea
– European headquarters for freight and
passenger services in Frankfurt
– 10,380 employees
– Domestic flights: 10 cities, 10 routes
– International flights: 25 countries, 77 cities,
91 routes
– Cargo: 12 countries, 25 cities, 22 routes
– Passengers: 17 million (2014)
– Fleet: 86 aircraft (as of August 2015)
– Subsidiary: Air Busan
– Skytrax Awards: Ever since 2007, Asiana
Airlines has received the prestigious Skytrax
5-Star Airline rating every year for the standard of its products and service delivery
quality, making it seven times in a row this
year. In addition, in June of this year it was
again awarded the title of “World’s Best
Economy Class” and “World’s Best Economy
Class Onboard Catering.”
Lufthansa has now added its third destination in the sunshine state of
Florida: Tampa. From September 25, an Airbus A340–300 will fly the Frankfurt – Tampa route five times a week in summer and four times a week in
winter. LH 482 will reach its destination in the afternoon. The return flight
is a night flight taking off from Florida in the early evening. Until now,
Lufthansa has served the Florida destinations of Miami and Orlando. Tampa
is located on the bay of the same name, on the western coast of Florida on
the Gulf of Mexico. Together with the neighboring cities, it makes up a
conurbation of almost three million inhabitants.
Tampa – the third destination of Lufthansa in the sunshine state of Florida.
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22
Airline World
“To Make the World a Little Better”
Airline trends: JetBlue shows how a free ticket can start a chain
reaction of good deeds
If there really was a fairy godmother with
the ability to grant wishes, the question
she would ask in the age of the jet plane
might be: If you were given one flight to
spread good – where would you go?
What would you do?
But this is no fairytale – this is precisely
the question being asked by US airline
JetBlue, especially on social media. The responses are helping to bring the airline’s
“FlyingItForward” campaign to life. The
idea: A free flight to anywhere in the
world, to help support people who are involved in social activities or who want to
realize a dream that will improve the lives
of others – then the ticket is passed on.
From a socially disadvantaged neighborhood to a global conference
Prior to the campaign launch in fall 2014,
it was JetBlue’s employees who were asked
to nominate the first candidates. Tameka
Lawson was the first to be selected. Growing up in the South Side of Chicago, she
was surrounded by violence her whole
life. Now she is the Director of “I Grow
Chicago,” a small organization that aims
to bring people together and improve
their self-worth through shared activities.
In recognition of her work, Tameka was invited to the World Conference on Indigenous
Peoples in New York. JetBlue paid for the
flight and accompanied Tameka on her
journey. Her story, along with all the others,
can be found on the multimedia campaign
website.
At the end of Tameka’s trip, the ticket was
passed on to Teena Katz, a young lady
from New York who has been wheelchairbound since an accident. Thanks to the
ticket, she was able to enjoy a dream trip
to Seattle. Teena had been suggested by a
JetBlue employee. The recipient herself
hopes that she can inspire other disabled
people not to shy away from challenges
such as long-haul flights. Teena passed
the ticket on to mural artist Peter, who
was followed by Louis, who works to provide opportunities for children in Haiti –
and so on. There were twelve participants
in the first half-year alone. The varied challenges they undertook ranged from helping sea turtles to supporting youth cycling
clubs.
Become part of the story
Anyone who has been inspired can submit
their own or someone else’s story via the
website and share it on Twitter using the
#flyingitforward hashtag – and earn the
chance to become part of what might just
be a neverending story.
Passing on the ticket for the next project.
More information can be found at:
jetblueflyingitforward.com
People World
23
Fraport Is Restructuring Its Freight Business: Dirk Schusdziara
to Head the New Department
Europe,” says Dirk Schusdziara. “I am looking forward to working with my team to
continuously enhance Frankfurt’s appeal
as an airfreight location by means of innovative developments and market-oriented
products and services. Our customers’
views are particularly important to me in
this context.”
Dirk Schusdziara is head of the newly formed freight department.
With a view to strengthening its freight
business at Frankfurt Airport, Fraport has
established a new department, “Cargo
Development and Management.” The
management of this strategically important
unit has been assumed by Dirk Schusdziara,
who has been at Fraport for almost twenty
years and is an expert with extensive international experience. “Frankfurt is the most
modern and most innovative cargo hub in
Mr. Schusdziara has been working at Fraport
since 1996, when he started his career in
the field of passenger facilities and terminal services. In 1999, he worked in
Fraport’s international business for the
first time. From 2003 to 2005 – back in
Frankfurt – he took charge of the strategic
development of the airport’s Facility Management department. In 2005, Schusdziara
was responsible for commissioning a new
terminal at Cairo Airport in his role as
COO. In 2009, he moved to Bulgaria as
CEO, where he was responsible for the
development and expansion of the two
airports in Varna and Burgas. Since 2012,
he has been working for Fraport in Antalya
as General Manager of the subsidiary
in Turkey, Fraport IC Ictas Antalya Airport
Terminal Investment and Management
Inc.
About This Publication
Publisher:
Fraport AG
Frankfurt Airport Service Worldwide
60547 Frankfurt, Germany
www.twitter.com/Airport_FRA
www.facebook.com/FrankfurtAirport
Written by: Profilwerkstatt GmbH, Darmstadt:
Petra Chenine (Chief Copywriter), Johannes Büchl
Editor-in-chief:
Sigrun von Kienle, Corporate Communications
Printed by:
ABT Print und Medien GmbH, Weinheim
Editors:
Anette Schmid, Fraport Ground Services
Ricarda Wahl, Airside and Terminal Management,
Corporate Safety and Security, Sales and Customer
Relations
Production and project management:
Profilwerkstatt GmbH, Darmstadt:
Petra Chenine, Dr. Claudia Klemm
Content, information and ideas for articles:
Susanne Kalbe, Sigrun von Kienle, Nicole
Ruschig-Brunck, Anette Schmid, Ricarda Wahl
Layout:
Profilwerkstatt GmbH, Darmstadt: Anke Rabbeau
Translations:
EVS Translations GmbH, Offenbach
Photo credits:
Asiana Airlines – p. 20; Brussels Airlines – p. 16 (first
from top), S. 17 (first from top); EUROCONTROL –
p. 10 (second from top); Finnair – p. 18, p. 19 (top
right); Fotolia / NIcola_Del_Mutolo – p. 21 (top);
Fraport – p. 1, p. 2, p. 3, p. 4 – 5, p. 6, p. 7, p. 8 – 9,
p. 10, p. 11, p. 12 – 14, p. 15 (left column: central
archive), p. 16, p. 23; JetBlue – p. 22; Lufthansa –
p. 21 (bottom); shutterstock/Anton Akhmatov – p. 17
(second from top); shutterstock/V. Below – p. 19
(bottom left); shutterstock/Vadim Petrakov – p. 19
(bottom center); shutterstock/Grisha Bruev – p. 19