Month: November 2015

November 25

Baggage theft conspiracy uncovered in Virginia

Two baggage handlers have pleaded guilty for their involvement in an ongoing plot to steal passengers’ possessions from their luggage in Virginia.

The pair in question, 25-year-old Chris Arthur Perry and 27-year-old Gregory Paul Wingard, were charged by a federal grand jury on October 7, 2015. On December 18, the Department of Justice announced that both men had pleaded guilty to stealing items for the period from December 2013 to June 2015 at Norfolk International airport.

According to the details of the case, the two men broke into checked baggage in order to take money, electronics and other items and sell them on to individuals or pawn shops. The pair reportedly targeted firearm containers while searching for bags to break into and both now face a maximum penalty of five years in prison when sentenced on March 14, 2016.

Fast for better conditions

As was covered in Ramp Equipment News recently, unrest in the US over wage levels continues to grab the headlines. Airport and ramp staff have been caught up in the general movement that seeks to set a minimum wage of US$15 an hour for what is often unskilled, manual labor. And with ramp workers taking home perhaps US$8 an hour, and with some having to hold down two jobs at a time to make ends meet, there is clearly a need for a reappraisal.

What hit the headlines in Seattle a couple of years back is now steadily filtering through the rest of the US. In order to draw attention to their plight cleaners, skycaps, baggage handlers, security officers and other ramp workers have been holding a 24 hour fast in the hours leading up to the country’s Thanksgiving Day. Across the country, contracted airport staff are coming together through Airport Workers Unite: in all, some 14 airports have been affected, as the staff show solidarity and try to spotlight their plight. And plight is perhaps not an ill-chosen word in this context.

According to a study carried out by the University of California Berkley Labor Center, some 37% of cleaning staff and baggage workers live on or close to the poverty line; and a survey of 500 subcontracted passenger services workers at John F Kennedy International, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty International airports conducted last year by the Economic Policy Institute revealed that 50% of airport employees in the region were reliant on some form of public assistance to survive. Moreover, 20% of staff admitted that they had missed a meal within the past week because of financial reasons.

Whilst there is plenty of support in high places for these underprivileged sections of the workforce, any sort of concrete proposals seem to be a way off yet.

November 4

Take a walk behind

US manufacturer WASP (now FAST Global Solutions) offers a walk-behind beltloader that features easy, safe operation at a fraction of the cost of a drivable beltloader. To achieve this, WASP has eliminated the drive components to increase the unit’s longevity and to lower maintenance requirements, whilst reducing costs for the air travel and cargo handling industries.

The towable units keep packages and luggage moving as fast as 100 feet (30 meters) per minute, without sacrificing control. The belt operates at variable speeds in forward and reverse for easy loading and unloading, obviating the need for the operator to reposition the machine.

The manufacturer has also announced the production of a new side-tow European dolly. This innovative transporter features a patent-pending pivoting front towbar designed to increase safety and maneuverability. FAST engineers incorporated a foot-activated, quick-release mechanism that easily unlocks the towbar, allowing it to pivot right or left to connect to a tug or another dolly. Once transport begins and the towbar straightens, the mechanism automatically locks the towbar into a straight position for towing.

German technology comes to the US

Materna, the Germany-based developer and supplier of automated passenger handling systems and solutions, opened its own US office in Orlando, in October. The move enables Materna to promote its well-established products and solutions for the aviation sector in the US marketplace. In co-operation with its local partner, Ultra Electronics Airport Systems, Materna has begun delivering passenger handling systems at a large regional airport in California.

At the recent FTE Global, in Las Vegas, Materna focussed on presenting its latest generation of automatic common-use baggage handling and self-tagging solutions. Regarded as one of the real innovators in this sector, Materna has implemented the current self-bag drop standard set by IATA and has integrated components for cashless payments in common-use environments. Materna’s solution offers passengers the opportunity to hand in their baggage by themselves, irrespective of desk opening times. Should baggage weight allowances be exceeded, Materna also calculates the excess baggage charge, which can then be paid on the spot. This new bag drop solution can be deployed by airport operators as a fully automatic system at unmanned kiosks or as a solution accompanied by staff for different airlines.

Continental opens first commercial tire retread facility in Vegas

CMC Tire, a full service tire dealer, and Continental Tire the Americas are celebrating their partnership with the opening of their first commercial tire retread facility in Las Vegas, Nevada.

An opening ceremony was held at the new 25,000 square-foot facility, which will be able to produce up to 24,000 retread tires a year, eventually increasing to a production capacity of 48,000. This will facilitate the service of more than 300 customers and create 18 new job positions.

At the grand opening, CMC Tire announced plans to service both southern Utah and the greater Las Vegas area with new and retread tires, with the latter made using Continental’s ContiTrac premium retreading solution, which extends the overall life of the tire.

October 15

Lift-A-Loft announces newly redesigned APX20-DPL boarding bridge

Global lift specialist Lift-A-Loft has made improvements to its line of boarding bridges to better the experience of passengers with reduced mobility. Using customer feedback, the new unit has been redesigned to make it easier to operate and highly maneuvrable in busy areas around the airport. Interfacing with the aircraft is now easier and the fully enclosed upper cabin provides improved comfort for passengers, ensuring plenty of natural light thanks to multi-aspect windows and a translucent roof.

The newly redesigned APX20-DPL has an extended range of platform heights, from a minimum 4’9” to a maximum platform height of 21’5”, allowing a single unit to interface with regional jets all the way up to wide body aircraft. The bridge also comes with a recessed L-Track in the floor and walls to ensure wheelchairs are fully secure during transport. Additional extras for units can include air conditioning, an intercom system and fold down seats.

Special functions include adjustable front guardrails, a 24” extendable deck and front swivel bumper, which make the final aircraft interface safe and easy to accomplish. An auto-close, folding lift gate is also integrated into the apparatus, which can be easily raised or lowered by one person and can accommodate two stretchers or four wheelchairs at a time. All lift functions can be operated from either the driver’s cab or from the van body. From here, the operator can move and position the lift as necessary for maximum visibility.

Jet2 under investigation by US authorities

The US Department of Transportation is investigating low cost airline Jet2 in relation to its conditions of carriage for disabled passengers.

Jet2 is the only UK and EU registered carrier to enforce strict weight limits on the carriage of wheelchairs and mobility scooters. As a result of this policy, owners of electric wheelchairs (often weighing over 100 kilograms) are unable to take their mobility aids with them on Jet2 flights. To make matters worse, the weight cap imposed by the airline is half that imposed by other airlines, such as Norwegian or Ryanair, using the same Boeing 737 model of aircraft. In addition to the imposed weight limit, Jet2 also states on its website that disabled passengers who fail to pre-book assistance may be denied boarding or may be forced to pay to re-book on to a later flight.

Jet2 is soon to operate a number of flights to and from the United States, which will mean the airline will become subject to American disability law and the Air Carrier Access Act (ACAA). In light of this, DOT is taking steps to ensure the airline complies with the newly applicable regulations. “DOT will contact the carrier to discuss the policies posted on its website that may not be in compliance with Part 382,” a DOT spokesperson has said, referring to the ACAA.

Breaching the ACAA can have serious consequences for the offending carrier and may result in penalties of up to US$27,500 per violation. In November 2013 The US Department of Transportation fined Virgin America US$150,000 for making safety videos that were inaccessible to deaf passengers, and US Airways US$1.2m for failing to provide adequate wheelchair assistance to disabled passengers in Philadelphia and Charlotte.

TCR signs contract with SAS

TCR International has announced the signing of a major contract through its subsidiary TCR Denmark with SAS for the purchase and leaseback of all vehicles, motorised and otherwise, at Copenhagen airport.

Now present in 19 Scandinavian airports, TCR is to become wholly responsible for SAS’s GSE fleet at Copenhagen and for providing ground services to the airline at this base. Through this agreement, TCR is consolidated as the main supplier of all GSE for SAS throughout most Scandinavian airports, reaffirming its leadership position in Europe. This contract marks the culmination of the group’s regional expansion plans, increasing the TCR activities in the region by more than 1,800 vehicles. As part of the deal, TCR will also build a brand new 4,000 square metre workshop at Copenhagen airport.

TCR’s first major contract in Scandinavia started in 2011 at Oslo airport with the sale and rent-back of Menzies’ entire GSE fleet, followed by the signing of contracts with Aviator in 2012 and with SAS in 2014. In February last, TCR launched its subsidiary TCR Sweden as part of a long-term agreement with SGH on three Swedish airports: Stockholm Arlanda, Göteborg Landvetter and Malmö.