Years ago, ground handling services at commercial airports were strictly conducted by the airlines themselves. In a move to concentrate on their core business and lower labor and equipment costs, a number of airlines began to contract with third parties to provide the service. Of version of the self-handling model involved the hiving off of a semi-autonomous unit that, aside from handling the parent airline, would also seek business from other carriers and at various airports.

As the economic downturn-induced cargo collapse squeezed carriers tighter and tighter this past year, a number of airlines looked to release asset value in their ancillary divisions – like ground handling – as a survival mechanism to cope with the downturn. As such a number of carriers sold of their ground handling units. The industry also saw some consolidation in which bigger players bought out smaller dedicated handlers. And many of the global players also expanded their operations, making inroads into new markets like India, Afrcia and South America.

The February supplement will look at the key players in the industry, as well as related equipmentsuppliers, along with recent developments in theindustry, particularly how the industry weatheredthe global recession and what long term impactsthe ground handling industry experienced. Thesupplement will also look at current trends in theindustry as a window to where ground handlingis headed.

For advertising in the February supplement, please contact Alvin Lim of Reed Business Information at email: [email protected] or call him at +65 6780 4521 (GMT +8). For editorial coverage please contact Donald Urquhart at email: [email protected] or call him at +65 6780 4396 (GMT +8).