The Jacksonville Airport Authority, in partnership with a German airport management company, is continuing with plans to offer airlines at Jacksonville International Airport services ranging from loading baggage to issuing boarding passes.
The first phase of the program is expected to be in operation by Jan. 15, allowing it to help handle the legions of aircraft that will descend upon Jacksonville for the Feb. 6 Super Bowl.
The airport hopes that by working together with Fraport AG, it will augment its revenue, improve passenger service and potentially lure more airlines to JIA.
"We want to be in a position to offer them everything," Bingham Parkinson, president of the authority's business development division, said of the airlines. "They don't have to do anything. They just land their planes and we'll take care of them."
That includes cleaning the aircraft cabins, filling airplane water tanks, moving baggage and handling ticket counter duties.
Airlines have increasingly warmed to contracting out ground support services in recent years as a way to cut costs, said Stuart Klaskin, an aviation consultant with Miami-based KKC Aviation Consulting. By using outside providers, they're able to pay for only what services they use, eliminating fixed costs of crews and equipment.
The authority's program is based on using the same employees to do multiple tasks, which should also save the airlines money, said Rodney Turner, Fraport's director of operations in Jacksonville.
But typically, Klaskin said, it's third-party companies, not the airports themselves, providing outsourced services. Those outside operators include Fraport, which runs Germany's Frankfurt Airport and provides ground handling services at airports throughout Europe, Asia and South America, and Delta Ground Services, a division of Delta Air Lines that moves the baggage for both Delta and United airlines at JIA, Parkinson said. Delta Ground Services could not be reached Tuesday to comment on its new competition.
So far, no airlines have signed up for the authority's program, which was approved the authority's directors in July. But marketing efforts are just getting underway, and Parkinson said the authority is already in negotiations with two of the nine airlines operating at JIA (Parkinson requested that those airlines' names not be printed for fear of damaging the negotiations.)
Besides airlines already at JIA, the authority will also market the new services to other airlines, like JetBlue, that are considering flying to Jacksonville. With the airport capable of providing ground support services, that should lower the up-front cost for an airline setting up shop at JIA, Parkinson said.
For the Super Bowl, the partnership will focus on servicing large chartered jets, like Boeing 737s and 757s, Parkinson said. Those jets, with over 100 passengers, are typically too big to be handled by fixed-base operators, businesses that provide fuel and food to corporate jets. Another option for chartered jets is to have an airline service them, but especially over the Super Bowl, the airlines may be too busy to work with others' aircraft, he said.
Beyond the football extravaganza, the demand for handling charter jets remains strong. "We know the business is there because charter companies are being turned away all the time" because no ground support services are available, Parkinson said.
In the partnership, the authority is providing equipment and Fraport is providing staff. The authority has approved $220,000 this year for the program, but Parkinson said Fraport doesn't get paid until an airline contract is signed. Revenues will be split between the authority and Fraport.
The authority's business plan for the partnership projects annual revenues of at least $317,520 in the first year, with expenses of $527,890. In the fourth year, revenues may reach as high as $9.6 million, with costs of $1.4 million.
Challenges include airline labor contracts that restrict the outsourcing of work and security regulations regarding contract employees working on airliners, said Doug Wills, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, which represents the major U.S. airlines.
Still, it may have appeal for some airlines, he said. "I wouldn't be too surprised if this were a success."
The first phase of the program is expected to be in operation by Jan. 15, allowing it to help handle the legions of aircraft that will descend upon Jacksonville for the Feb. 6 Super Bowl.
The airport hopes that by working together with Fraport AG, it will augment its revenue, improve passenger service and potentially lure more airlines to JIA.
"We want to be in a position to offer them everything," Bingham Parkinson, president of the authority's business development division, said of the airlines. "They don't have to do anything. They just land their planes and we'll take care of them."
That includes cleaning the aircraft cabins, filling airplane water tanks, moving baggage and handling ticket counter duties.
Airlines have increasingly warmed to contracting out ground support services in recent years as a way to cut costs, said Stuart Klaskin, an aviation consultant with Miami-based KKC Aviation Consulting. By using outside providers, they're able to pay for only what services they use, eliminating fixed costs of crews and equipment.
The authority's program is based on using the same employees to do multiple tasks, which should also save the airlines money, said Rodney Turner, Fraport's director of operations in Jacksonville.
But typically, Klaskin said, it's third-party companies, not the airports themselves, providing outsourced services. Those outside operators include Fraport, which runs Germany's Frankfurt Airport and provides ground handling services at airports throughout Europe, Asia and South America, and Delta Ground Services, a division of Delta Air Lines that moves the baggage for both Delta and United airlines at JIA, Parkinson said. Delta Ground Services could not be reached Tuesday to comment on its new competition.
So far, no airlines have signed up for the authority's program, which was approved the authority's directors in July. But marketing efforts are just getting underway, and Parkinson said the authority is already in negotiations with two of the nine airlines operating at JIA (Parkinson requested that those airlines' names not be printed for fear of damaging the negotiations.)
Besides airlines already at JIA, the authority will also market the new services to other airlines, like JetBlue, that are considering flying to Jacksonville. With the airport capable of providing ground support services, that should lower the up-front cost for an airline setting up shop at JIA, Parkinson said.
For the Super Bowl, the partnership will focus on servicing large chartered jets, like Boeing 737s and 757s, Parkinson said. Those jets, with over 100 passengers, are typically too big to be handled by fixed-base operators, businesses that provide fuel and food to corporate jets. Another option for chartered jets is to have an airline service them, but especially over the Super Bowl, the airlines may be too busy to work with others' aircraft, he said.
Beyond the football extravaganza, the demand for handling charter jets remains strong. "We know the business is there because charter companies are being turned away all the time" because no ground support services are available, Parkinson said.
In the partnership, the authority is providing equipment and Fraport is providing staff. The authority has approved $220,000 this year for the program, but Parkinson said Fraport doesn't get paid until an airline contract is signed. Revenues will be split between the authority and Fraport.
The authority's business plan for the partnership projects annual revenues of at least $317,520 in the first year, with expenses of $527,890. In the fourth year, revenues may reach as high as $9.6 million, with costs of $1.4 million.
Challenges include airline labor contracts that restrict the outsourcing of work and security regulations regarding contract employees working on airliners, said Doug Wills, spokesman for the Air Transport Association, which represents the major U.S. airlines.
Still, it may have appeal for some airlines, he said. "I wouldn't be too surprised if this were a success."
