4/2016Aviation World

BVD Party 2016 20Interview: LATAM Airlines 18Portrait: Croatia Airlines 16

04 New Ideas for the Airport

2 Check-In

Dear Reader,As 2016 draws to a close, we can look back on one of the most challenging years in our industry. The current geopolitical situation has led a reluctance by passengers from around the world to book air travel. At Frankfurt Airport (FRA), we have also been af-fected by this trend – as have many of our business partners. However, volatility in the marketplace is nothing new to our industry. For example, in contrast to the passenger sector we have experienced renewed growth in cargo. Fraport AG, as the airport oper-ator at FRA and other airports worldwide, is firmly convinced that passenger volumes will continue growing over the long term.

To meet the needs of passengers and airlines – now and in the future – we are working diligently to develop innovative ideas for our airports. In this issue of Aviation World, our cover story (page 4) describes how we are driving forward innovation in a targeted way to improve processes and create new service offerings. Ultimately, we wish to cre-ate services that ensure passengers have a pleasant stay. On page 10, you will discover why the time spent by passengers at Frankfurt Airport has never been so relaxing.

I hope you enjoy this final issue of Aviation World. In the future, we will be pursuing new directions for informing and staying in close contact with our business customers.

The end of the year is not only time to take stock of the previous months; it is also a time for celebrating. Many of you have participated in this year’s Ground Services event (page 20). I would also like to thank you for the excellent cooperation in 2016.

On behalf of the employees of Fraport AG and its subsidiaries, I wish you a relaxing holiday season – as well as a happy New Year filled with health and prosperity.

Sincerely,Dr. Stefan Schulte Executive Board Chairman of Fraport AG

Dr. Stefan Schulte,

Executive Board Chairman

Fraport AG

03 Fraport WorldAirport Charges: Why Does It Have to Be So Complicated?Three Questions: Service Provider for AirlinesFCS Uses Speed Gate for Delivery of Import UnitsFCS Recertified by German TÜV Authorities

15 Airline WorldKorean Air Cargo Extends Agreement with Fraport Ground ServicesTurkish Airlines Cargo Continues Cooperation with FraportCroatia Airlines: Flying High AgainTwo Become One: LATAM Airlines Tunisair Has Been Operating in Germany for 55 Years

22 People WorldTG: New Airport Service ManagerCI: New General Manager GermanyEgyptAir: New Station ManagerWorld Flight Services: New Chief Executive Officers

04 New Ideas for the Airport

12 Waiting Has Never Been More Relaxing

22 BVD Party 2016

3Fraport World

“We’re Backing the Expansion of New Routes”

at Frankfurt Airport, like a great many other airports have already been doing for years. These will apply to all airlines, irre-spective of their business model. We will support every new airline that adds Frank-furt Airport to its route network and we want to promote services to new desti-nations, particularly for intercontinental transport. It goes without saying that we will not be doing all of this behind closed doors and have incorporated these incen-tives into our new charges, which are being reviewed and approved by the rel-evant ministry.

But is that not distorting competition with other airlines?Absolutely not! We’re backing the expan-sion of new routes. This is why the pro-gram is for a limited time only and will be dismantled over a certain period of time. It also applies to all airlines, irrespective of whether they already operate flights to Frankfurt Airport or want to add Frankfurt Airport as a new destination in their route networks. All airlines can participate equally in this program. All they have to do is knock on our door and we’ll see whether and how they qualify. Furthermore, incentives are basically a legitimate and standard means of creating growth stimuli – and not just in the aviation industry.

Following in the footsteps of Vueling and WOW,

from March 2017 Ryanair – one of the lead-

ing low-cost airlines – is coming to Frankfurt

Airport. Aviation World discussed this move

with Winfried Hartmann, Senior Vice President

Sales & Customer Relations at Fraport.

For a great many years, low-cost carriers have not been a big feature at Frankfurt Airport. Why is this changing now? In a nutshell, because the market is devel-oping in this direction. Low-cost airlines have a market share of between 20 and 60 percent in Europe, depending on the country in question, and are the segment that has been posting the largest rates of growth for several years. For a long time, we at Frankfurt Airport were rather con-servative in this segment and with a share of around just 4 percent we are way below the average. Other major airports have a share of between 20 and 30 percent. We don’t want to ignore passengers’ expec-tations in this market segment.

So why has Fraport been so conservative until now?Not just Fraport, but other major airports too. The challenge lies in processes. At Frankfurt Airport, everything has always been geared toward our extremely high percentage of transfer passengers rather than toward the fast turnaround times required by low-cost airlines. On average, these turnaround times are between 25 and 30 minutes. Consequently, these air-lines initially settled mainly at smaller re-

gional airports that already have more streamlined processes simply on account of their size.

Does that now mean that Fraport is changing all its processes to satisfy the requirements of low-cost carriers?No. After all, our airline customers have different requirements of us. Speed is one of them. So far, we have been focusing heavily on the full-service offering, which is a matter of course for many of our air-line partners. As such, we will naturally continue to market this service and devel-op it further. This is – and will remain – our core business. But we also need to adapt to the special requirements of low-cost airlines.

What does that mean exactly?The focus is clearly set on achieving fast turnaround times for aircraft and lean, standardized processes in which everyone knows what they’re doing and the various players are optimally interlinked. Right now, we’re noticing that a rethink is required for some of our longstanding processes. We’re a structure that is learn-ing as it goes along in this respect.

As an international hub, FRA is more ex-pensive than smaller airports. Is Fraport enticing low-cost carriers with special discounts?Definitely not! There has never been – nor will there ever be – any special discounts for low-cost carriers. Although this is being vehemently asserted in the industry at the moment, these claims are false. It’s true that we want to create growth incentives

Winfried Hartmann, Senior Vice President Sales &

Customer Relations (Fraport)

Ryanair launches its new base at Frankfurt Airport from

the end of March. The first destinations to be served

will be Alicante, Malaga and Palma de Mallorca in

Spain, as well as Faro in Portugal. The airline expects

the routes to deliver 400,000 customers per annum.

New Ideas for the AirportFraport is systematically working to enhance product quality and thereby increase customer satisfaction

4 Fraport World – Keynote

Good ideas sometimes come to you in the shower – but the road to implementing them can

be incredibly long. Aviation World investigates the origins of the many good ideas that seek to

continuously develop the service offerings at Frankfurt Airport.

Drones are on the agenda for Fraport: Felix Toepsch

(left) and Manfred Reinhard are conducting a number

of real-life tests to explore the technical and operating

requirements for drone operation at airports.

5Fraport World – Keynote

6 Fraport World – Keynote

A view of the future: The drone makes a quiet whirring noise as it flies over Runway 18 West. Its cameras capture every cen-timeter of the ground below. The drone is checking for foreign objects that could damage the aircraft. But this is still a long way off in the future. At the moment, the runways have to be inspected using ve-hicles as drones are not even allowed to fly in the vicinity of the airport. However, a research project at Frankfurt Airport (see page 9) is currently looking into how these state-of-the-art flying objects could be used to monitor large infrastructures.

This is just one example of the many inno-vation projects taking place at Frankfurt Airport. “As an airport operator, we cover so many potential development areas that this results in a whole host of brand new ideas and approaches every year that aim to improve existing facilities,” said Kerstin Bitterer, who is in charge of innovation management at Fraport. “Passengers and airlines don’t even notice many of these innovations, such as when the passenger stairways are converted to solar power. But innovations are important. Developing and bringing things forward is the only way we can provide our customers and passengers with the best possible services and make our processes more efficient.”

This is why since 2004 the airport oper-ator has focused its efforts specifically on innovation, setting up a dedicated depart-ment for innovation in 2006. It is respon-

sible, among other things, for identifying trends and combining the company’s ef-forts to address them. “One of the areas involved is electromobility, which could be relevant essentially everywhere in the airport where vehicles are used,” ex-plained Bitterer. Innovation Management also brings together representatives from the relevant business units and various manufacturers. It also helps to channel the diversity of ideas within the company. After all, the majority of innovations at the airport are developed by Fraport em-ployees themselves from their everyday operating activities – alongside them to some extent.

Improvements based on experience“Employees are highly involved in these processes and often know exactly where we can do something a bit better,” said Bitterer. This is why Fraport has had a pro-cess in place for the past 40 years or so allowing employees to suggest their ideas, for example via idea boards in the rec-reation rooms and now also over the intra-net. Innovation Management documents these suggestions and forwards them on to be assessed by the persons responsible in the relevant departments. Around one thousand ideas a year are currently being submitted, of which a good ten percent are subsequently implemented.

“Not every good idea can be made a real-ity,” commented Bitterer. In some cases, regulations and laws plainly obstruct im-

plementation of an idea, especially when it comes to security checks. Other sugges-tions may be good but are simply too ex-pensive to take any further. “Innovations are not ends in themselves,” expressed Bitterer, “they also need to be financially viable.” Ideas that frequently come to fru-ition involve increasing energy efficiency at the airport, including lighting, venti-lation and air-conditioning. In 2015, the airport made savings in the region of €500,000 thanks to a number of inno-vations. “Reducing our costs also benefits our customers indirectly,” said Bitterer.

Seeing the big pictureHowever, imaginative ideas do not just come from within the company but also from outside. This year, for the first time Fraport advertised an innovation competi-tion (see page 7) giving everyone the op-portunity to submit their visions for the airport. “Of course we also have a good network within the industry, including with the German air navigation service provider DFS and other airports – good ideas don’t always have to come from our-selves,” stated Bitterer.

Fraport also works together with various manufacturers to develop a range of tech-nical solutions, such as a sensor-based passenger management system for lines (see page 9).

“Sometimes, as a major airport, we have some very specific requirements for which there are currently no solutions on the

Kerstin Bitterer is Head of Innovation Management at

Fraport.

In the future, drones may well

take off from Frankfurt Airport in

addition to aircraft.

7Fraport World – Keynote

With the strapline “Make It Your Favorite Destination,” Fraport launched an inno-vation competition for the first time this year to look for ingenious ideas from out-side the company. 624 suggestions from all over the world were received and sub-sequently discussed and evaluated by the

Ideas from Outside: Frankfurt Airport Innovation Challenge

Innovation space for ideation and networkingThis is a room where passengers can meet up to be creative and develop ideas together. Specific issues and problems from not only the airport oper-ator itself, but also local start-ups or passengers can be discussed here.

community on the competition website www.fra-challenge.de. A five-person panel comprising industry and innovation experts then selected the six best ideas. These ideas are currently being analyzed for feasibility. The declared aim is to put all of the ideas into practice if possible.

WhatsApp passenger support and promotionsAll passengers could automatically be contacted via the WhatsApp messaging service as soon as they arrive at Frankfurt Airport. As well as a personal greet-ing, they will also be sent a package containing information about their stay via this channel.

Follow me trolleySo that passengers would no longer have to carry their baggage themselves, a special trolley could be developed that follows them around. This will be connected to passengers’ own smartphones using Bluetooth.

Lookalike street of FrankfurtWithin the terminal, a replica street could be created complete with Frankfurt tourist attractions to give passengers an impression of what the city looks like outside the airport. Street performances and regional specialties add the fin-ishing touches to this idea.

Augmented reality on observation decksAugmented reality applications could be used on the visitors’ terrace to explain the goings-on at the airport. This involves special telescopes that display digital information alongside the actual image.

Fraport international meeting hall Special meeting rooms could enable transit passengers to meet people they want to visit during their stay at the airport – without having to go through border control.

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8 Fraport World – Keynote

market,” said Bitterer. “At the same time, because of its size, Frankfurt Airport is a promising development environment for many manufacturers – if a piece of tech-nology works here, then it can theoreti-cally be used at any airport.”

Keeping an eye on the futureThe airport operator also keeps an eye on technology trends and examines theoretical feasibility for everyday airport operations in a number of projects. For example, Fraport is working with trans-

port providers Deutsche Bahn and Rhein-Main-Verkehrsverbund to analyze the use of augmented reality throughout the pas-senger travel chain. Passengers could then use their smartphones, for example, to be guided from the train right up to the gate. In a research project with the Frankfurt University of Applied Sciences, the airport operator also investigated the possible ap-plications of fluid logistics in baggage transport. This concept involves moving goods around freely, thereby requiring less storage space. “A lot of these future-

related projects cannot be turned into a reality quite yet, for example because the technology is just not far enough advanced or the costs would still be too high,” con-cluded Bitterer. “But it’s important for us to pick up on new innovations at an early stage.” Such as drones that – at some point in the future – may be able to check the runway for foreign objects.

Manfred Reinhardt initiated the drone

innovation project at Frankfurt Airport.

There is a variety of possible applications

at the airport. And the logistics industry

also has high hopes for drones when it

comes to point-to-point delivery. Frank-

furt Airport could become a take-off and

landing point for drones.

Sometimes Fraport protects a good new idea with a patent or an industrial design. One reason can be to secure licensing rights when other airports want to use a solution developed in Frankfurt. The self-service baggage check is an example of this. It was developed as part of the cross-divisional program “Changing the Face of Check-In,” which involves further process automation and renewal of the existing desks.

One of the results of the program is that more baggage drop boxes will be used in the future, allowing passengers to check in their luggage themselves. Although many passengers are familiar with the process from other airports and Lufthansa passen-gers at Frankfurt Airport can already use self-service machines to check in their baggage, the innovation is that the new ma-chines will be an airline-independent, “common use” solution. Fraport has already patented the idea. The first prototype is cur-rently being implemented and tested at Desk 658 in Terminal 1. Additional prototypes are under development.

When an Idea Becomes a Patent

9Fraport World – Keynote

Ideas from within the Company: Many Paths Leading to the Same Destination

Tens of thousands of passengers a day pass through security checks at Frankfurt Airport. Waiting times cannot really be avoided with such large numbers of people – after all, every passenger has to be checked thor-oughly. Until now, Fraport employees have been distributing passengers from one large, overall line into multiple smaller lines to speed up the flow of passengers. Starting next year, this task will be performed by a new electronic solution that was specially developed at Frankfurt Airport. It is hoped that this will speed up the passenger flow.

“We have been performing line manage-ment before, but our new approach will distribute the waiting passengers more evenly into our hardly overlookable queuing areas,” said Dr. Rolf Felkel, Senior Vice President Application Development at Fraport. The solution uses sensors installed on the ceiling, which inform a central computer how many passengers are wait-ing in each smaller line prior to a security lane. The program then directs the waiting passengers to the individual lines using monitors, thereby ensuring that no line goes unused or exceeds a limit.

The solution was jointly developed by pro-cess and IT experts at Fraport and an exter-nal supplier, and was tested back in 2015 in Terminal 1, Area A, Level 2. Over the course of next year, monitors and sensors will be installed at all security checks to point passengers to the quickest route. “In the security areas, we expect this innovation, which did not exist in this form until now, to speed up our processes,” stated Dr. Felkel.

Efficient passenger management using monitors.

The majority of new ideas for processes and services at the airport are developed by the individual Fraport departments themselves.

Aviation World presents a few examples.

Continuously Improving Workflows on the Apron

Fraport Ground Services provides ground handling services, operates the baggage conveyor system and checks in passengers flying with various airlines. In this diverse area, new options and approaches are constantly being developed to improve existing processes. “In this way, our cus-tomers benefit from more efficient work-flows,” commented Sophie Graubner, Pro-ject Manager at Fraport Ground Services. Many of these improvements originate from normal operations or from airline re-quests. For example, the Vaculex lifting aid is a successful product innovation in use at Ground Services. It helps employees to unload containers and baggage carts.

To drive forward innovation in an even more targeted way, Ground Services is cur-rently formulating its own innovation strat-egy. Digital developments play an import-ant role in this respect. For example, in the future the Trans@BVD app will be used to summon staff drivers conveniently using a cell phone. The aim is to optimize the staff experience across all areas. Inno-vative hands-free solutions are also a point of focus. Potential products include a scanning glove or data glasses featuring various technology, which will be tested in operation at some point in the future.

The innovation efforts of Ground Services are also geared toward employees’ health. For example, a special lifting aid called Exo-Skelett is currently being developed to take the strain off employees as they pull or lift items in the course of their daily activities.

IT Solution for Faster Security Checks

The Vaculex lifting aid helps to unload containers.

From Airport to Droneport?

Drones surveying buildings, detecting ob-jects out on the runway system, monitor-ing the outer borders of the airport – this could be the reality at Frankfurt Airport in just a few years’ time. Drones are still not allowed to fly in the vicinity of the airport for safety reasons, but ever since 2013 Fraport has been investigating potential appli-cations as part of its innovation project FRADrones2020. “The issue kept coming up in various business units and has been deliberately pursued since then. Our aim is to integrate drones into regular oper-ations by 2020,” stated Felix Toepsch, Project Manager for Airport and Terminal Operations at Fraport.

The project team is conducting a number of real-life tests to explore the technical and operating requirements for drone oper-ation at German airports in an exclusive partnership with DFS. This also includes the first drone test at a commercial airport in Europe, which took place in December 2015. Using aerial photography, a 3D model of fire station 4 was created, allowing for a subsequent digital survey of the building. “The results of our test cases will pave the way for other commercial airports,” said Manfred Reinhardt, who initiated the pro-ject at Fraport. “If this is possible at our major airport, it will work at all airports.”

Drones are on the agenda not only at Fraport, but also at a number of other air-lines and companies in the logistics chain. This is why Fraport is also looking into what type of infrastructure the airport operator could provide for drones in the future.

The first drone test at a commercial airport in Europe.

10 Fraport World

Why Does It Have to Be So Complicated?Airport charges at Frankfurt Airport

Fees for take-offs and landings, aircraft parking, noise abatement, safety pre-cautions and the number of passengers – airport charges at Frankfurt Airport break down into five categories, with a number of sub-categories. The individual items then specify the landing costs for a certain type of aircraft, for example. “This major differentiation is the product of many years’ work and aims to ensure that charges are distributed as fairly as possi ble. It also means that airlines only pay for what they actually use,” explained Natalie Schwalm, Vice President Airport Charges and Licen-sing at Fraport. Not included in these air-port charges are the services provided by Ground Handling and the Central Ground Handling Infrastructure (for example, the baggage conveyor system).

The airport operator uses the charges to refinance construction and operations work to its infrastructure as well as related services. This is why all charges have to be in direct correlation with actual invest-ment and operating costs. “This means there has to be a relationship between the

Security charges

– Per departing passenger and per 100 kg of freight on landing and take-off

– Staff and goods control when entering a restricted area

Noise abatement charges

Parking charges

Security charges

Significance of Noise Charges

Passenger charges

Share of noise charges

Landing and take-off charges

The landing and take-off charges include a

noise-related portion, which has been

raised by around 120 percent since 2012.

costs. For example, passenger charges are used to refinance terminal costs,” ex-plained Schwalm.

Airline consultationTo remain in line with current develop-ments, Fraport regularly adjusts these charges – in consultation with the airlines. The most recent adjustment was in 2015. However, all changes are independently reviewed and have to be approved by the state-level aviation authority in accor -dance with Section 19b of the German Avi-ation Regulation. In the case of Frankfurt, this is the Hessian Ministry of Economics, Energy, Transport and Regional Develop-ment (HMWEVL).

11Fraport World

Landing and take-off charges (including noise charge)

– Each time an aircraft arrives or departs– Depending on maximum take-off mass of aircraft,

noise category and time of arrival/departure as well as number of departing passengers and freight volume on take-off and landing

– Runway system, including navigational aids– Noise-measurement devices

Parking charges

– Aprons, parking positions for aircraft

Noise abatement charges

– Per departing passenger or per 100 kg of freight on landing and take-off

– Depending on noise category of air-craft and time of arrival/departure

– Legal noise abatement measures in the vicinity of the airport

Passenger charges

– Per departing passenger– In relation to flight destination

– Terminal facilities and equipment– Transportation of passengers

between terminals

W Type of chargeW Charging methodW Use of resources

(examples)

– Charges related to parking an air-craft at the airport

– In relation to size of aircraft, parking time and location of the position (terminal or apron)

12 Fraport World

Waiting Has Never Been More Relaxing What has the “Great to have you here!” program achieved so far? We take stock in the “Relax & Enjoy” service segment

How about stretching out on a cozy arm-chair and falling into a doze during a stop-over on your long-haul flight? Or lying on a couch and listening to the soothing sound of the sea on a pair of headphones before you depart for the South Seas? Or limbering up your stiff legs with some yoga in between? Passengers at Frankfurt Airport can enjoy all these forms of rest and relaxation. “More than half of our transfer passengers have had what is effec-tively a long flight. Other passengers can feel a little tense as they wait for their flights to depart. Which is why we have created a range of services to help our guests recharge their batteries and un-wind,” said Martina Pfeffer, Head of Ter-minal Management at Fraport. The ser-vices in the “Relax & Enjoy” segment are part of the service initiative “Great to have you here!” This initiative aims to ensure that passengers have as restorative a stay as possible – in line with our corporate slogan “Gute Reise! We make it happen.”

In addition to the facilities offered by the “Great to have you here!” service pro-gram, guests at Frankfurt Airport can also take advantage of other relaxation offers. There are massages, manicures and aro-matherapy treatments on offer – directly at the airport or at the various hotels with wellness facilities in the vicinity. A new, unique type of hotel will also be opened in January 2017 directly in Terminal 1. “This transit hotel will offer a superior level of comfort to our transfer passengers. They will be able to stay directly at the airport overnight and start again on their depar-ture days without losing any time,” ex-plained Pfeffer. Passengers who would like to use the free time before their next flight to get some restful sleep also have the op-tion of booking a hotel room at an hourly rate. Arrive at Frankfurt Airport, check in, get some sleep, fly out again – waiting has never been more relaxing.

Lots of ways to relax and unwind In the transit area, for example, Fraport has created pleasant places of sanctuary with its silent chairs. The arched shape of this furniture allows users to sit in comfort while they listen to their own music from their smartphones using the built-in loud-speakers. The state-of-the-art seats also have integrated electrical outlets and USB ports.

Passengers looking to take some time out can also find relaxation areas in the transit zones that are specially designed for relax-ation purposes. Retire behind the retract-ing walls of these areas, put your feet up on the ergonomic loungers or linger a while in the comfortable club chairs – and you will quickly forget about all the hustle and bustle. To complement these areas, there are also reclining seats with privacy screens dotted around the airport.

From the end of the year, there will also be a grassy waiting zone in each of the public areas in both terminals – equipped with seating, electrical outlets and USB ports. “Our broad range of services en-sure that visitors throughout the airport have the opportunity to relax – if they want to,” concluded Pfeffer. And passen-gers who prefer to move around rather than sit and relax are also well catered for at the airport and can make use of two fully equipped yoga rooms, for example.

Plane spotting on the roof terrace “To give our passengers even more places to retreat and stay awhile, we are expan-ding our range of services,” said Pfeffer, announcing the new plans. For example, the airport is planning to build an access-ible roof terrace in the transit area of Ter-minal 1, from which passengers will be able to observe the comings and goings out on the apron.

Passengers can

relax in ergo-

nomic loungers

while they wait.

The silent chairs offer pleasant places

of sanctuary in the transit area.

13Fraport World

Where waiting is almost as comfortable

as an afternoon on the sofa at home:

The relaxation areas at Frankfurt Airport.

Looking to the future: the transit hotel will be opened in

January and an accessible roof terrace is also planned.

14 Fraport World

FCS Frankfurt Cargo Services Recertified by German TÜV AuthoritiesOne of the main targets of FCS Frankfurt Cargo Services is to maintain a high level of quality for all its customers. To ensure this, the cargo handling company partici-pates in external certification processes on a regular basis, such as those conducted by the German TÜV authorities. Certifi-cation for its quality management and work safety has recently been extended for another three years. “This certification

is important not only for internal issues and processes, but also for customers who demand quality and safety,” explained Steffen Kuhn, FCS’ Quality Manager. “These standards are often relevant for our customers when they select a hand-ling partner. Furthermore, regular examin-ations help us to verify our internal pro-cesses and optimize them accordingly.”

How did Fraport Passenger Services (FPS) come about?Initially, FPS was founded in 2009 solely for the check-in of Condor as the airline was looking for a new pas-senger services partner at Frankfurt Airport. FPS is now a wholly-owned Fraport subsidiary with a workforce of 110 people.

What services do you provide?We are responsible for checking in passengers and their baggage at the counter as well as inspecting their travel documents. Our employees also help with the check-in machines and carry out boarding at the gate. In addition, we collect excess baggage fees, provide assistance to passen-gers, perform arrival services, look after children traveling alone and sell flight tickets and travel documents via our ticket service. In cooperation with Fraport Ground Services, we also pro-vide ramp agent, load control and baggage tracing services.

What are your plans for the future?Last year, we gained another airline, TAP Portugal, as a customer. Going forward, we want to attract more cus-tomers.

Service Provider for Airlines

Claudia von Stockert-

Klemm, Station

Manager, Fraport

Passenger Services

“Going forward, we want to attract more customers.”

Three Questions

New Service: FCS Uses Speed Gate for Delivery of Import UnitsFollowing a test phase, FCS Frankfurt Cargo Services is using the Speed Gate (formerly known as neutral transfer point) for the delivery of import units. This is in-tended to relieve the existing FCS Truck Dock, especially at peak times, while cre-ating additional capacity for export units. Preannounced units for forwarding agen-cies with a business address in CargoCity South are delivered in this way. “The for-warding agencies benefit from shorter dis-tances and have responded very positively to the new offer,” said Benjamin Weil, Head of Business Development at FCS. Four major forwarding agencies are al-ready using the new service from FCS, and further customers are interested. “The transfer of import unit delivery means that FCS and all its customers are benefiting from increased capacity for the outbound delivery of export units at the existing Truck Dock,” said Weil.

The Speed Gate from above: FCS is now using

it to expand its capacity.

€170,000 ...... has been raised from returned bottles since July 2013 at Frankfurt Airport. The eye-catching green machines were in-stalled in the publicly accessible passen-ger areas at Frankfurt Airport three years ago. What makes them special is that they do not pay out. “Spende dein Leergut – Donate your empties” is the slogan on the machines, and they are true to their word. Travelers press a button to choose which of the four partner charities they wish to receive their bottle deposit.

15Airline World

Vueling has been operating flights from Frankfurt to Barcelona since March 23, 2013, and now provides connections between the two cities once daily. On October 14, 2016, the Spanish low-cost airline hit the 500,000 passenger mark from Frankfurt Airport.

IN BRIEF

500,000 Passengers from FRA

Korean Air was established in 1969 as the national airline of South Korea. Today, the Seoul-based flag carrier operates in the field of passenger transport and airfreight. Its cargo division, Korean Air Cargo, has now extended its ground handling agree-ment with Fraport Ground Services for a further five years.

Korean Air Cargo Extends Agreement with Fraport Ground Services

Delighted about the signature of the agreement (from

left to right): Jochen Golle, Korean Air Cargo, Joon Wook

Yoo, Korean Air Cargo, Martin Bien, Fraport AG, Gi

Hyun Cheon, Korean Air Cargo, Hiltrud Winkel, Fraport

AG, and Jerome Konn-Kruse, Fraport AG.

Condor added a new destination to its long-haul network from Frankfurt at the start of November: Fort-de-France is the capital of the Caribbean island of Martinique. This route from Frankfurt is now being operated once a week, al-ways on a Sunday, with a Boeing B767. Condor flies to a total of 17 dream destinations in the Caribbean.

Maiden Flight to Fort-de-France

The Frankfurt – Cape Town route re-turns to Lufthansa’s flight schedule this winter. Every Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from December 2, 2016, a Lufthansa Airbus A340–300 will take off from Frankfurt and fly non-stop to the port city at the foot of Table Mountain.

Non-Stop Frankfurt to Cape Town

With 241 international destinations, Turkish Airlines Cargo has one of the world’s largest cargo networks. The partly state-owned airline has now extended its ground handling agreement with Fraport Ground Services at Frankfurt Airport for a further three years. In 2015, the Istanbul-based airline transported more than 700,000 metric tons of cargo worldwide. It uses Airbus A332F and A310F cargo air-craft on routes to Frankfurt Airport.

Turkish Airlines Cargo Continues Cooper-ation with Fraport

At the extension of the agreement (from left to right):

Toni Bayer, Fraport AG, Carlos Cardiga, Fraport AG, Martin

Bien, Fraport AG, Erdal Köse, Turkish Airlines, Hiltrud

Winkel, Fraport AG, and Swen Michel, Fraport AG.

Since November, FCS Frankfurt Cargo Services GmbH has been in charge of freight handling for one of the largest air-lines in the Middle East, Saudia Airlines, at Frankfurt Airport. The airline operates daily flights in both directions between Saudi Arabia and Frankfurt with an A320 aircraft and has another six freighter con-nections from FRA. Saudia Airlines flies to 225 destinations worldwide with its fleet of passenger and cargo planes. In recent years, the airline has steadily expanded its freight business.

Saudia Becomes aNew FCS Customer

Since November 16, 2016, Thai Airways International (THAI) has been offering a new non-stop connection from Frank-furt to Phuket. The airline serves the route a total of three times per week. Flight number TG927 takes off from Frankfurt Airport at 8:30 p.m. on Wed-nesdays and 8:55 p.m. on Fridays and Sundays.

From Frankfurt to Phuket

Airline World16

Croatia Airlines: Flying High AgainFor the last 25 years, the airline has connected the small Adriatic nation with the big cities of Europe and, from there,

the rest of the world.

Boris Kolka has been Director

Sales and Marketing at Croatia

Airlines since 2015.

economic development – around one-third of all passengers who visit the country use a Croatia Air-lines service. As well as being a driver of tourism, the airline is Croatia’s sixth-largest exporter. Despite this important position, Croatia Airlines has had to fight for its very existence on more than one occasion.

High quality as a hallmarkAlmost as soon as the first plane had begun serving the Zagreb – Split route in 1991, the airline had to suspend operations on account of the Yugoslav War. But Croatia Airlines took off again the same year, buying new aircraft and opening offices in multiple European cities. It subsequently enjoyed rising passenger numbers year after year. Despite receiving numerous awards, including being rec-

As well as having been one of the airline’s first foreign destinations, Frankfurt Airport is one of the most important, accounting for more foreign flights than any other destination.

The first Croatia Airlines flight took off 25 years ago. Since then, the development of the airline has been closely linked to that of its home country: “Croatia Airlines plays an important role in the value chain encompassing all segments of Croatian civil aviation, which would not be sustainable without a stable national airline,” said Boris Kolka, Director Sales and Marketing, with considerable pride. After all, this is a responsibility that goes far beyond the normal duties of an airline. As a pillar of national aviation, Croatia Airlines makes a significant contribution to Croatia’s

17Airline World

– Formed: 1989– Head office: Zagreb,

Croatia– State-owned stock

corporation– Revenues: 1.55 bil-

lion Croatian kuna (2015)

– Destinations: Do-mestic and inter-national

– 1.85 million passen-gers (2015)

– Fleet: 2 Airbus 320, 4 Airbus 319, 6 Dash 8-Q400

– Employees: 911 (2016)

Croatia Airlines at a Glance

Gorgeous landscapes like here in Split, tasty delicacies and

fantastic beaches along the Adriatic coast – Croatia offers

vacationers a whole host of attractive options. Croatia Airlines

takes you to a number of destinations within the country.

ognized as a Croatian “Superbrand” (2012) and carrying almost 1.8 million passengers in 2013, drastic savings brought Croatia Airlines to the brink of bankruptcy, and the government even consider-ed forming a new, privatized airline. A strict re-orientation was essential to gradually bring the air-line back on course. “The key element was a re-structuring program, which changes the strategic and market positioning of the three fundamental profit centers: network flights, seasonal and charter flights, and the technical center,” explained Boris Kolka. At the same time, the airline is increasing ef-ficiency and improving its processes across the board. Today, the company has a fleet of 12 aircraft and has secured its place in the skies with services that offer an excellent price/performance ratio.

Service first“The greatest possible attention is always paid to the trust and satisfaction of our passengers. We therefore continuously improve and develop our quality of services, both in the air and on the ground,” noted the Director Sales and Marketing. This concept also includes a dedicated travel agen-cy (Obzor Putovanja), which offers foreign passen-gers special arrangements for combining flights to Zagreb, Split and Dubrovnik with other desti-nations, such as Rome, Paris and Vienna. This is made possible by Croatia Airlines’ membership in Star Alliance, which allows it to enjoy a strong market position. Four new routes have been intro-duced this year alone – from Zagreb to Prague, Milan, Lisbon and St. Petersburg – and the network will continue to expand in the future so that pas-sengers can take advantage of new destinations. The airline is also planning to purchase an addi-tional 100-seat aircraft.

Frankfurt: at the heart of the scheduleFrankfurt Airport is an important location for the airline, a fact that is further underlined by its long-standing cooperation with Lufthansa. “Frankfurt has been the most important European hub of

Croatia Airlines for nearly two and a half decades – the company has performed the largest number of international flights on this route,” said Kolka. Right now, the airline operates Zagreb – Frankfurt flights three times a day and Split – Frankfurt flights once a day throughout the year. During the winter time-table the company operates Dubrovnik – Frankfurt flights three times a week. “This means the quick, professional service provided by Fraport Ground Services and FCS Frankfurt Cargo Services GmbH is vital to Croatia Airlines’ operations”, Kolka added.

“I would like to highlight the importance of having reliable partners and providers in such a complex process of flight operations, and Croatia Airlines certainly has that support at the Frankfurt station.”

Airline World18

Two Become One: LATAM AirlinesRegional Commercial Director, João María Murias Dos Santos, tells us in an interview

why this association was the next logical step

all in one go. Starting now, new planes will feature the new logo, and we will con-tinue using all the others as they are for the duration of the C check or D check. By 2018, we are hoping that all aircraft will bear the new logo. Our new uniforms have already been launched and will be in use at the beginning of 2017. Last of all, our new website has of course been on-line right from the start.

Why did LAN Airlines and TAM Linhas Aéreas associate in the first place?As I said, we have been working closely to-gether for a number of years anyway. For us, this association was merely the next logical step. LAN had a very strong pres-ence in all the Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America as had TAM in Brazil. The two of us together rather than separate just made more sense. In any case, for our business partners and passengers it is a more pleasant experience communicating with just one airline – and not two.

What goals has LATAM set itself?We want to be the airline with the best connections in Latin America. We offer a huge number of direct flights, especially between Latin America, which saves our customers time – both during booking and with the trip itself. We are also expan-ding our international route network. Since October, we’ve become the first

Latin American airline to fly to Africa. With our new flight from Sao Paulo we have also been flying to Johannesburg, and in December we will be adding another flight to Barcelona with our Lima connection.

What has the new branding of the air-lines changed at Frankfurt Airport?Not a lot operations-wise. We are continu-ing to operate as we did before; it’s just now easier for our passengers to identify us with a single visual image – and soon uniforms as well. The uniforms also repre-sent a type of association. The colors are typically Latin American: The blue is a shade called indigo and is a blend of the red and blue shades that LAN and TAM used to use. We are still offering three con-nections from Frankfurt Airport: To Sao Paulo with a Boeing 777 and to Santiago de Chile via Madrid with the Boeing 787 Dreamliner. The standardized check-in by LATAM in Hall C of Terminal 1 is new.

What significance does Frankfurt Airport have for you?For LATAM, Frankfurt Airport is an import-ant hub, not just for passengers but also for our cargo business. What’s more, we have an outstanding partnership with Fraport. For me personally, Frankfurt Air-port is quick to get to, has a great infra-structure and enables people to jet off on vacation in next to no time.

Chilean company LAN Airlines and Brazilian airline TAM Linhas Aéreas launched their new branding in May of this year to become LATAM Airlines. How do you feel about this move?Very good. We have been working to-gether since our association in 2012, but we wanted to truly belong together. Now we have one name, one logo and a set of common objectives.

What does this mean for employees and customers?For our employees, this gives them a new sense of affiliation. They are now LATAM, and no longer LAN or TAM. This creates a bond between us. When it comes to the passengers, it gives them a single carrier with which to identify Latin America, al-though it will be a slow process for our new identity to catch on.

Why is that?The new LATAM brand can’t become vis-ible everywhere overnight. We have over 300 aircraft in our fleet; we can’t just with-draw them all from service and paint them

19Airline World

It all started on October 14, 1961, when a Tunisair plane landed at Frankfurt Airport for the first time. Since this day, the Cara-velle, a Sud-Aviation SE 210 turbojet air-craft with space on board for 76 passengers, has operated the Tunis – Geneva – Frank-furt route once a week in both directions. “Frankfurt was one of the first Tunis air destinations in Europe in addition to Paris, Marseille, Rome, Nice and Geneva,” re-called Director of Tunisair Germany, Chok-ri Wallani.

And, 55 years on, Germany is still one of the airline’s most important markets. Today, Tunisair operates a total of 25 flights from Frankfurt, Munich, Hamburg, Düsseldorf and Berlin to Tunis, Enfidha and Djerba. There are even daily flights from Frankfurt to the Tunisian capital.

“We are also planning to establish oper-ations at other airports in Germany and in-crease our frequencies,” stated Chokri Wallani, outlining future developments for the German market. In Germany, along-side traditional tourism the airline also caters to other niche areas such as travel to the Middle East or West Africa with a stopover in Tunis.

Tunisair Has Been Operating in Germany for 55 Years

At Frankfurt Airport, the anniversary was marked with

an event at the gate. The airline was represented at the

event by (from left): Khaled Ghazouani (IT & Finance

Supervisor), Sehl Zbiss (Finance & Sales Supervisor),

Chokri Wallani (Director Tunisair Germany), Menaa

Ben Hamza (Station Manager Germany), Tanja Dersch

(Marketing & PR Manager) and Mounir Helal (HR & Fi-

nance Manager).

– LATAM was established in 2012 as a result of an association between LAN Airlines (founded in 1929) and TAM Linhas Aéreas (founded in 1961)

– LATAM flies to 138 destinations in 25 countries– Fleet: 328 aircraft– Passengers: Over 67 million passengers in 2015– Employees: Approximately 50,000 worldwide

At a Glance

João María Murias Dos Santos

has been Regional Commercial

Director at LATAM in Frankfurt

since August 2016. His previous

position was Commercial Director

for Italy & Middle East in Milan.

The 37-year-old began his career

in 2007 as Senior Sales Executive

Spain at TAM Linhas Aéreas. João

María Murias Dos Santos is mar-

ried and father of three children.

BVD Party 2016Did you know that Thanksgiving is one of the busiest days at US airports? This is be-cause all generations in a family often come together around the fourth Thurs-day in November in the United States – even if they live in different cities through-out the country.

This year, the extended family at Frankfurt Airport also gathered together at a major Thanksgiving celebration when Fraport

Ground Services invited its customers to the Sheraton Frankfurt Airport Hotel & Conference Center on November 24. While enjoying the feast of cold drinks, turkey, squash and all the trimmings, guests had plenty of time to catch up with existing contacts and make new ones. There was also an opportunity to say thank you to customers for their long-standing relationships with Fraport Ground Services.

21Airline World

Entertainment at the well-attended evening event

included a slackline performer, a photo booth, the

artist Miss vio-Line, a band called the Hollywood

Connection – and also a miniature aircraft.

People World22

TG: New Airport Service Manager

Rungsakdi Uplabat (57) is the new face of Thai Airways at Frankfurt Air-port. The new Airport Service Manager has al-ready enjoyed a long ca-reer with the airline dat-ing back to 1983, en-

compassing roles such as Ground Flight Manager (1993 to 2000) and Ground Ser-vice Specialist (2004 to 2015). He gained experience as Airport Service Manager in Taiwan and Station Services Manager in Bangkok. In his role at Frankfurt Airport, he intends to uphold the airline’s high standards when it comes to punctuality and service.

World Flight Services: New Chief Executive O�cersFollowing its merger with FCS Frankfurt Cargo Services last year, WFS now has a new management team at Group level: Craig Smyth joined WFS as Group CEO at the end of August 2016 and is based at Roissy, Paris. He joins WFS following more than 20 years at John Menzies plc, where he most recently served as CEO of Men-zies Aviation since 2004. Smyth says he’s eager to get started and to contribute to the company’s momentum: “I’m thrilled about the opportunity to join WFS, an am-

EgyptAir: New Station Manager

Amin Afifi is EgyptAir’s new Station Manager at Frankfurt Airport. The 48-year-old has beenwith the airline since1990 and has worked invarious station depart-ments, including check-

in, customer services, transfer desk and load control. Between 2006 and 2010, he was the airline’s Station Manager at Amsterdam Airport Schiphol. He most re-cently represented EgyptAir in the Star Alliance Airport Services Advisory Group and on the Customer Experience Commit-tee. In his new position, he intends to improve customer satisfaction on EgyptAir flights to and from Frankfurt Airport.

CI: New General Manager Germany

Since September, China Airlines has a new General Manager for Germany. Darren Hua began his career at the airline back in 1990. His recent roles have in-cluded General Manager

in the Pricing and Interlining department of the Passenger Sales division (2010 to 2011), General Manager of the Hiroshima and Nagoya branch in Japan (2011 to 2013) and Marketing Director in Taiwan (2015 to 2016). In his new position, he intends to continue to enhance customer satisfac-tion: “We treasure each encounter with our customers. We are here to serve our customers with top quality in mind.”

bitious and fast-growing company with a sterling reputation for customer service.”

The position of CEO for Europe has been taken over by John Batten. He joined WFS in 2015 as Executive Vice President Busi-ness Development and has over 35 years’ experience in senior positions in the avi-ation industry, including his previous posi-tion as Executive Vice President – Cargo at Swissport.

Craig Smyth John Batten

Publisher:Fraport AGFrankfurt Airport Service Worldwide60547 Frankfurt, Germany

www.twitter.com/Airport_FRA www.facebook.com/FrankfurtAirport

Editor-in-chief:Sigrun von Kienle, Corporate Communications

Editors:Anette Schmid, Fraport Ground ServicesSte�en Seipp, Airside and Terminal Management, Corporate Safety and Security

Content, information and ideas for articles:Susanne Kalbe, Sigrun von Kienle, Nicole Ruschig-Brunck, Ste�en Seipp, Anette Schmid, Felix Toepsch, Sophie Graubner

Written by: Profilwerkstatt GmbH, Darmstadt:

About This PublicationHannah Barthel (Chief Copywriter), Gesche Brock, Karin Jantke, Fabian Sell

Layout: Profilwerkstatt GmbH, Darmstadt: Anke Rabbeau

Translations: EVS Translations GmbH, O�enbach

Printed by: Airport Print Center, Frankfurt

Production and project management:Profilwerkstatt GmbH, Darmstadt: Dr. Claudia Klemm

Photo credits: Fraport – p. 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 12, 13 (all apart from bottom right), p. 14 (right and bottom), p. 15 (top right and bottom left), p. 16 (bottom), p. 19 (right), p. 20, 21; SFIO CRACHO/shutterstock.com – p. 7; CEPRO GmbH – p. 10; Hering Ser-

vice GmbH – p. 13 (bottom right); Jiri Vaclavek/shutter-stock.com – p. 14 (top left); Airbus S.A.S. 2015 – p. 15 (bottom); Croatia Airlines – p. 16 (top); xbrchx/shutter-stock.com (bottom left), Wlodarska/shutterstock.com (bottom middle), anshar/shutterstock (bottom right) – p. 17; LATAM Airlines – p. 18, 19 (left); Thai Airways – p. 22 (top left); China Airlines – p. 22 (top middle); Egypt -Air – p. 22 (top left); WFS – p. 22 (bottom); boroboro/shutterstock (background), BlackJack3D/istock-photo.com (top), fotoknips/shutterstock (pralines), marilyn barbone/shutterstock (stollen), Africa Studio/shutterstock (bottom), Alina G/shutterstock (postcard at back), Gergely Zsolnai/shutterstock (postcard in middle), Antoniya G. Kozhuharova/shutterstock (postcard at front), Coprid/iStockphoto.com (tree stand) – p. 23

FRA Brings Christmas to the WorldHowever much Christmas traditions may vary across the globe, there are still lots of similarities. Festively decorated Christmas trees, lovingly written cards for friends and family and seasonal delicacies are all sought-after products worldwide, and they trigger a boom in the freight business at Frankfurt

Sweet treats are part and parcel of the Christmas season. Christmas

chocolates are flown from Frankfurt to Johannesburg, for example.

Airport in the weeks and months leading up to Christmas. Many of these items are made in China, for example, and are flown all around the world by FRA. European manufacturers, too, use Frankfurt Airport as a Christmas hub for some of the prod-ucts featured on this page.

Christmas greetings to friends and family are all part of

the festivities. Christmas cards are transported from

Frankfurt to Perth, for example.

Raisins, spices and powdered sugar. Christmas cakes

like stollen are popular around the world – and reach

destinations like Moscow via Frankfurt.

Ornaments, ribbons and par-

cels decorate Christmas scenes

around the world. Including

the ones that are flown from

Frankfurt to New York.

A stand is essential if you want to put up a

Christmas tree in your living room. These

are delivered from Frankfurt to destinations

like the Maldives by airfreight.