Traditionally, full service carriers take control of their own aircraft handling. This is very common at their hubs or major airports where significant aircraft traffic reduces the costs of handling due to economies of scale. Iberia in Spain, for example, has its handling workforce situated all around the country (Iberia Airport Services). Similarly, BA in the UK, Delta in the US or Emirates in the UAE operate with the same approach. However, it seems reasonable to question how these airlines can effectively organize their handling activities outside their main hub.
BA, for example, has its hub at London Heathrow (LHR) airport and when flying to international destinations, use the services of a partner airline that provides the handling service, consequently reducing BA’s handling costs. A BA flight from London Heathrow to Madrid, for example, will be served by the BA handling workforce in London and Iberia Airport Services in Madrid Barajas (MAD) as both airlines belong to the same group, IAG (International Aviation Group). The same would apply when the other IAG airline Aerlingus flies from its hub in Dublin (DUB) to Madrid.
The other option for BA when flying to one airport a few times a day, and where they have no partner airline, is to contract the service of a handling company. Airlines with less-frequent service or fewer resources at a particular location sometimes subcontract ground handling or on-call aircraft maintenance to another airline. This is a short-term and cheaper alternative to setting up its own ground handling or maintenance capabilities (IATA, 2019).
In summary, there are three main options for airline handling services: 1) Self-handling; 2) Handling services by a partner airline; and 3) Handling service by a handling company, which could be the handling division of an airline (e.g. Iberia Airport Services) or an independent handling provider (e.g. Interavia).
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References
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- Reference 2