Dubai Airport Ground Services to Airlines - Case Study Example

Dubai Airport Ground Services to Airlines Name Course Name and Code Date Table of Contents Table of Contents 2 Key Ground Services Provided 3 Aircraft Appearance 4 Baggage Services 4 Lounges 4 Meet and Greet 5 Passenger services 5 Ramp services 5 Load control and Flight Operations 6 Technical and Line Maintenance 6 Relationship between Airport and Airlines 7 Airport Ground Service to Airline Process 7 Activities of Airport Ground Services to Airlines 9 References 11 Key Ground Services Provided Like in any other business field, airline passengers expect smooth and seamless experience at the airport; say from the check-in to baggage delivery. Good and excellent airport ground services ensure that customers receive optimal experience. Airport ground services define those services that the aircraft receives while is on the ground; still packed at the airport’s terminal gate (Dunston 2007). These services are essential in addressing various service requirements of an airliner from the time it arrives at the terminal gate and the time it departs on the next flight. In this regard, speed, efficiency, together with accuracy are extremely vital in ground handling services particularly in reducing the turnaround time (Forsyth 2010). For the past five decades, Dubai International Airport has provided excellent ground handling services to various airlines that use this Airport. For instance, the airport is considered to have the best quality and cost-effective passenger, cargo, ramp and technical support services courtesy of dnata Ground Handling services International. The company has a ground handling team that is dedicated, skilled and above all forward-thinking professionals. This paper discusses Dubai International Airport Ground handling services to airlines. The key ground handling services that this airport provides to airlines include: Aircraft Appearance This service is dedicated towards ensuring that the cabin is clean and external washing and polishing which ensures passenger comfort (Dunston 2007). Similarly, Aircraft appearance crew makes sure the replenishment of on-board consumables, tissues, blankets as well as soaps (Williams 2011). At Dubai International Airport, the Aircraft Appearance crew ensures that all aircrafts using the airport are cleaned, replenished, and above all polished to meet the international aircraft appearance standards. Baggage Services The major cause of passenger complains in the aviation industry mainly culminate from lose of baggage. Baggage Services is dedicated towards ensuring that passenger baggage is handled with great safety and efficiently (Gross et al. 2007). At Dubai International Airport, there is an excellent baggage handling system referred to as Baggage Reconciliation System, which has greater baggage handling control process (Smith 2013). Lounges In between flights, passengers will automatically need a place to rest or relax, eat, or even catch up with work; Dubai International Airport has lounges that are equipped with the state of the art equipments including PCs, internet phones and fax together with an open buffet that offers a variety of cold and hot cuisines, drinks together with other refreshments. The Airport’s Skyview and Airport lounges are exactly equipped to meet the aforementioned passenger needs. Meet and Greet This service allows passengers to arrive and depart in style. Dubai International Airport’s marhaba has and still is instrumental in bringing smiles as well as improving customer experience (Dunston 2007). Furthermore, the marhaba professional assistants are always on the forefront to ensure that passengers get exclusive experience where they bare received and greeted warmly before efficiently helping the passenger through the airport formalities. This service makes clients, family, as well as friends to feel special and it is extremely great experience to first time visitors. Passenger services This is aimed at delighting customers form check-in to baggage delivery. The customer service personnel at Dubai International Airport play a significant role in offering passengers care; for instance checking-in flights and/or transiting through Dubai (Kramer 2010). The customer care department has exceptionally trained personnel that ensure seamless handing of passengers from check-in to boarding as well as from disembarkation to baggage collection. Accordingly, for passengers in need of extra help, the customer care staffs have skills in helping passengers with special needs as well as unaccompanied minors. Ramp services Ramp handling is a service that ensures all aircrafts at the Airport meet their tight schedules. For instance at Dubai International Airport ramp handling provides a wide range of aircraft handling functions including aircraft loading and unloading, technical support such as provisions for pushback vehicles, portable water units together with toilet servicing units. All aircrafts are handled with expert care. Accordingly, other services handled under ramp services are aircraft appearance services including internal and external cleaning. Load control and Flight Operations This function ensures that the flight taking off process is smooth. Dubai International Airport has fully licensed flight dispatchers who work tirelessly to ensure that aircrews are provided with flight briefings, which extensively cover a careful analysis of aeronautical activities as well as weather conditions (Dunston 2007). On the hand, the load planners at the airport ensure the safe departure of all aircrafts with the maximum payload. On the same line of discussion, the airport’s control center continuously maintain flight watch, monitoring flight movements, and above all providing airlines with 24 hour coverage together with assisting flights with VHF range. Technical and Line Maintenance This is the provision of 24/7 line maintenance care and support. Delivering highest standards of safety and technical expertise to ensure smooth air travel without any aircraft immobilization time is the key of this function. Dubai International Airport has a wide range of ground support services together with excellent support throughout the air service chain (Dunston 2007). The dnata Ground Handling Services International Company offers line maintenance to airlines and air cargo companies at the Dubai International Airport. For instance, the company has highly skilled employees comprising of maintenance engineers together with technicians who possess a range qualifications with regard to all types of aircraft as well as each airline’s technical operational procedures. Relationship between Airport and Airlines Dubai International Airport is focused on delivering ground service excellence; the airport ground service operations management fully understands that passengers fully expect seamless experience from the time they check-in to baggage delivery. Given this understanding, the Airport management works to ensure existence of excellent relationship with all airlines using Dubai International Airport. This has largely been achieved by the airport offering exceptional airport ground services without bias. For instance, the passengers are given warm welcome; customer luggage arrives safely and efficiently at their destinations; and more importantly, airport ground service management ensures smooth arrival and departures for approximately 230,000 passengers every day, which is nearly 80 million travelers per year. The dnata Ground Handling services International which provides almost all Dubai Airport ground services to airlines, prides of high training standards, sharing the best practices among the employees around the world. In this regard, the company keeps air travel safe with the highest levels of security something that all airlines using Dubai International Airport covet (Dunston 2007). For instance, the airport security provides baggage and passenger screening, aircraft security sweep, profiling, anti-sabotage checks, security patrol and above all escort services. They have managed to achieve this through employing latest detection, deterrence, and anti-fraud and crime prevention technology. Similarly, the security of airline passengers and aircraft both in the air and on ground is ensured. Airport Ground Service to Airline Process Using the above discussed ground services; Dubai International Airport offers airlines excellent ground services processes (Postorino, 2010). In this regard, the line maintenance team at the airport offers: on-call maintenance, defect identification as well as rectification, transit inspections, maintenance and repair of ULD cargo containers, cabin maintenance and fumigation and engine/APU replacement and washing. Accordingly, aircraft decontamination, defect rectification and component replacement, parts pooling management, non-destructive testing, parts and component logistics, and bonded storage of components and consumables are also other airport ground services that are offered to airlines (Dunston 2007). In the same line of argument, structural repairs such as composites, material management, shipping and customs clearance, and towing, pushback and headset communication are also done at the Dubai International Airport. The dnata Ground Handling services International Company is an approved and well equipped to service tremendous range of aircrafts (Smith 2004). The Airport lounges are reclining in comfort comprising of push leather seating, savor fine cuisines together with the state of the art business facilities (Forsyth 2010). Similarly, the priority buggy cars are assigned to take customers to the boarding gate directly. More importantly, the lounges are spaciously and luxuriously designed specifically to meet the traveler comfort in mind. Other services offered in the Dubai International Airport lounges include the business centre, food court, shower and smoking facilities, and 24-hour television broadcast as well as reading materials. These help passengers to comfortably wait for their scheduled flights. In the same line of discussion, dnata Ground Handling services International help airlines in load control, communication, flight operations and crew administration. For instance, it ensures safety, quality as well as punctuality of each aircraft turnaround. Accordingly, it ensures that passengers keep their schedules together with their promises. Furthermore, dnata Ground Handling services International informs airline passengers on the general, departure, arrival and transfer and transportation information to ease passenger flexibility. The ground services offered by dnata Ground Handling services International particularly ramp services ensures that each airline has excellent baggage handling, marshaling, parking, cooling and heating, ramp to flight deck communication, loading/unloading, air start, safety, moving of aircraft, toilet services, aircraft interior/exterior cleaning, water services, cabin equipment, cabin material storage, catering ramp services and ice/snow removal. In this perspective, dnata Ground Handling services International Company ensures precision, accuracy, safety as well responsiveness from the core of the company services are met (Dunston 2007). The company is also fully conversant with each airline’s safety procedures together with operating systems, which make it easier to meet each airline demands (Forsyth 2010). In the same breath, the ground service personnel are fully trained to handle all ground support equipment something that ensures efficiency in service delivery. Consequently, customer audits have largely shown that the company is consistent in meeting the highest quality benchmarks. Activities of Airport Ground Services to Airlines At Dubai International Airport, each ground service provided to airlines has its own specific activities. In this regard, the activities under each service will be listed: Aircraft Appearance Full exterior and interior cleaning Cabin dressing Litter and waste disposal Disinfecting and sanitizing Loading control and flight operations Load control Communication Flight operations Crew administration Technical and line maintenance On-call maintenance, defect identification and rectification Maintenance and repair of ULD cargo containers Engine / APU replacement and washing Cabin maintenance and fumigation Aircraft decontamination On-board engineers and field team assistance Defect rectification and component replacement AOG support and recovery Towing, Pushback and headset communication (Dunston 2007) Parts and component logistics Meet and Greet Meet and greet services Airport lounges Chauffeur services Citystops Visa services Trade and corporate services Airshells Baggage delivery of arrival bags Transfer services Airline station support services (Forsyth 2010) Ramp services Baggage handling Marshaling parking Cooling/heating Ramp to flight deck communications Moving aircraft Aircraft interior /exterior cleaning Toilet services Water services Cabin material storage Loading and unloading Catering Ice/snow removal References Dunston, L 2007, Dubai, New York, Lonely Planet. 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