Buyers’ viewpoint: Handling the heat

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Airside International talks to Tony Smith, chief operating officer of Bahrain Airport Services (BAS), an integrated provider of ground, passenger, cargo, catering and engineering services at Bahrain International Airport

BAS is highly unusual in the range of services it offers. As well as the full gamut of ground handling services, it also provides passenger and cargo handling, catering, engineering and line maintenance for scheduled and charter flights as required, as well as looking after highly specialised customers such as the Bahrain Royal Flight fleet (which incorporates an A340, B727, B767, B747 and a Gulfstream G-IV).

​Looking after aircraft of the Royal Flight, airlines of all sorts, even military aircraft such as giant C-17s at Bahraini military airfields as well as operating at its home hub of Bahrain International, BAS even plays a key role in the Bahrain International Air Show that takes place every other year at Sakhir Air Base.

​BAS’s biggest customer is the Kingdom’s own flag-carrier, Gulf Air. Indeed they are part of the same family – Gulf Air has a share in BAS, and the two work very closely together. “Key performance indicators and service level agreements are always closely monitored, and we are always looking at ways to further improve productivity and maximise efficiency,” Smith explains. But it’s also got about 45 other airlines as customers – “all the big ones, from British Airways and KLM to Saudi and Emirates,” he notes.

To support such a wide client base, BAS requires the use of an extensive fleet of GSE. “It’s the full range,” Smith observes, the approximately 2,500 pieces of motorised and non-motorised GSE operated by the handler including all the usual equipment – from pushback tractors, loaders and hi-loaders to engineering and catering vehicles, air start-ups, ground power units, and so on.

​And that fleet is highly likely to continue to grow in size. Much of BAS’s expansion comes about as a result of any increase in tempo at Gulf Air, and the latter has an order for B787 ‘Dreamliners’ to come on stream from 2017 (the order is for 16 B787-9s, while the airline is also expecting delivery of a large number of A320neo Family aircraft from 2018).

​Gulf Air’s own expansion will be stimulated by development of Bahrain International Airport; a new passenger terminal currently being built at the gateway as part of a wider airport modernisation programme is going to increase annual passenger handling capacity from 8 million up to more than 13 million by the time it opens (planned for 2020).

​Handling Gulf Air’s new Dreamliners won’t be a problem or require specialised new GSE, Smith informs, given that BAS already handles the biggest and most modern aircraft in the air today, including A380s and the composite A350. However, changes are being made in the nature of the handler’s GSE fleet. Perhaps most notably, Smith has used the experience he has of introducing all-electric or hybrid GSE into a handler’s fleet, gained during his time with Sharjah Aviation Services (SAS) just a few years ago, to begin looking to undertake a similar process at BAS.

​Certainly, minimising the environmental footprint has become a priority for BAS just as it has for airport operator Bahrain Airport Company (BAC). Electric belt loaders, electric cars and baggage tugs, as well as various hybrid vehicles, are all likely to be introduced into the BAS inventory mix in coming years. Such a move will make the handler’s operating footprint that much more eco-friendly, and will also represent a transition no doubt welcomed by many of the handler’s carrier customers, perhaps especially the European ones.

GSE procurement

All of BAS’s GSE is owned by the business. Until such time as the GSE lessors of the world can offer a more cost-efficient package for the requirements of a Middle Eastern handler, this is likely to remain the case, Smith says, pointing to specific characteristics of the region – such as its comparatively low wage economies and the slightly less skilled engineering expertise that is readily on call when compared to those operating in locations such as the US or Europe – that work against long-term lease options and more towards the use of cheaper, simpler equipment that can easily be bought and moved on as required.

​While there is no doubt that the dusty and sandy environment of Bahrain can take its toll on GSE, actually the climate is fairly benign in its impact on equipment, Smith believes. GSE in Bahrain won’t suffer from rust like equipment operating in damper environments, for example, he points out.

​Nevertheless, when it comes to GSE procurement, one of the key factors Smith assesses when considering the options is a manufacturer’s after-sales service. Suppliers are frequently not that good at providing either engineering after-sales support or providing parts quickly when required, he says, yet this should be a vital part of any sales package. One supplier that does do particularly well in this respect is TLD, which has locally based engineers (they are in Dubai) who will fly out to deal with any problem with BAS’s GSE.

​Another factor in any procurement decisions will relate to the need to achieve a greater degree of standardisation in the handler’s GSE fleet. BAS operates equipment from a wide range of suppliers, including JBT, TLD, Mallaghan, TUG and TREPEL, which leaves the handler with not only maintenance but also training and development challenges in regard to a less than homogenous fleet.

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