The newspaper CINCO DIAS, echoes the tenders for the ramp assistance service to third parties of AENA.
A very competitive tender to which IBAS is presenting itself with 112 million euros of investment and a very ambitious commitment to sustainability, innovation and people.
You can read the full article at the following link:

https://cincodias.elpais.com/cincodias/2023/01/29/companias/1675031820_404143.html

This year, Iberia Airport Services commercial team has attended the 23rd GHI – Ground Handling International – Annual Conference, which took place in Amsterdam from November 29 to December 1. During three days, more than 50 airlines customers have visited IBAS stand, a unique opportunity to present the value of our proposal in the AENA tender that we submitted last week for 41 Spanish airports.

Carmen Martínez, Key Account Manager of airlines such as Etihad, TUI or KLM highlights: “We are delighted to have welcomed 53 clients (more than a third of our portfolio) this year at the IBAS stand. Despite having daily contact with them by email, telephone and video calls, it is very enriching for client-supplier relationship to enjoy face-to-face meetings and combine formal forums with more relaxed moments. The organization of the GHI team has been perfect and our “red” stand an emblem of Iberia Airport Services brand and quality.”

As hosts of the “Meet the ground handler” event, we have received more than 15 interesting proposals from different ground equipment providers and other technology companies. “The number of airlines, handling agents and suppliers attending has reached a new record this year. Having presence at this type of conference allows me to discuss the most relevant aspects of contracts and operations with my clients. It has been a great opportunity to share our plans and projects for 2023, as well as identifying synergies and future collaborations with many airlines and suppliers in the sector with innovative solutions for handling agents.” comments Ana del Cura, Key Account Manager of companies as United, Qatar, Emirates or Wizz.

In addition, during the course of the conference, we have participated in two of the most relevant conferences of the organization. With the intervention of Nuria Escorihuela, Head of Commercial and Business Transformation, in the panel “Digitalization: digital aid to alleviate the shortage of skills and promote punctuality”, we have presented the technologies and projects that are in the IBAS portfolio to improve performance, control costs and increase employee satisfaction. Francisco López, Operations Director, presented “Strategy: return to the front line – What has senior management learned?” describing the importance of feeling front-line challenges for business strategy and the decision-making process in senior management positions.

We would like to thank the excellent reception in the venue, all the visits to IBAS stand and the meetings participation during these days. One of the best networking moments within ground handling industry to share with the best professionals and suppliers in the field.

In 37 airports it is bidding individually and in another four it will do so in a Joint Venture or UTE, in order to maximise its chances of winning all the tenders.

– At each airport it will present a customised bid, which has been constructed with a focus on sustainability, innovation and costs, in line with the requirements of AENA’s specifications.

– Iberia Airport Services is bidding for these licences after an agreement was reached last Thursday on the 22nd Ground Staff Collective Bargaining Agreement, which affects more than 8,000 Iberia airport workers.

Iberia Airport Services yesterday submitted bids to AENA for a handling licence at 41 Spanish airports, in 37 of which it is bidding alone and in the other four it will bid in a joint venture. These are Seville, Valencia, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote, where it currently does not have a handling licence, and it has decided to adopt this formula to maximise its options for providing services to third parties at the 41 airports for which it is bidding.

1000 files, 337 folders, 3 GB

For each of the airports, Iberia Airport Services has designed fully customised offers that have been audited by Cap Gemini, a highly prestigious consultancy specialising in airport services. All these proposals are contained in more than 1,000 files, 337 folders and three gigabytes of information that were sent to AENA by telematic means yesterday.

More than 50 people from the Iberia Airport Services team, but also from other areas of the company such as human resources, sustainability, transformation and legal, among others, have been working for months on the different proposals for these tenders, which represent the great challenge for Iberia’s airport business in the coming years.

According to José Luis de Luna, Director of Airport Services, “thanks to everyone’s efforts, we have presented bids that we are convinced are the most competitive in order to continue to support all Iberia people who work in this business, and to continue to maintain it within Iberia”.

People, sustainability and innovation

For the renewal of its third-party handling licences, Iberia Airport Services is facing the most complex and competitive tender that AENA has published to date, due to the large number of companies that have shown their interest in the process and also due to the demanding requirements established in the specifications (more than 350 pages of requirements and annexes on operational and airport safety, environmental and sustainability requirements, technical and economic solvency…), which translates into an investment of millions of euros.

To meet these requirements, Iberia Airport Services has submitted a customised offer for each of the 41 airports it has built, focusing above all on sustainability, innovation and costs.

– Sustainability: Iberia Airport Services’ commitment is in line with the company’s sustainability strategy and, in order to obtain these licences, it has included in its offer a significant investment in equipment renewal and more than 30 other measures to improve waste management, increase the use of renewable energies and promote a sustainable culture among its employees.

– Innovation: Iberia Airport Services is already a pioneer in Spain in the digitalisation of its operations focused on coordination and decision-making in real time. In the coming years, it will develop an ambitious transformation programme with more than 60 transversal initiatives based on biometrics, telemetry and data analysis, among others, which will allow it to improve its efficiency and service to its customers.

– Costs: last Thursday, Iberia reached an agreement with the main trade unions on the 22nd Collective Agreement for Ground Staff, which affects 8,000 Iberia Airport Services workers, and which allows it to bid for these handling tenders with a cost base and the productivity improvement measures in terms of shift planning and schedules necessary to maintain its competitiveness.

More than 150 customers

In addition, Iberia Airport Services has been able to leverage the confidence of more than 150 airline customers it serves at 29 Spanish airports, making it the leading handling provider in Spain, with more than 100 million passengers handled per year.

On Thursday 17 November, the 22nd Ground Collective Bargaining Agreement was signed by the company and the CCOO and UGT unions, which form the majority of the Negotiating Committee of the 22nd Ground Collective Bargaining Agreement, after intense negotiation sessions.

This agreement covers the ground staff of the corporate areas, the management of Airports and Maintenance, which represents some 11,000 employees, and joins the one signed in October by the pilots’ collective bargaining agreement.

“This is good news and a good agreement, which will help to continue building the future of Iberia and its employees, provides security and stability for all areas of the company, allows the Handling business to bid for AENA tenders with more competitive offers and contributes to consolidating the future of the Maintenance area to consolidate itself as a reference centre in the sector”, said Javier Sánchez-Prieto, Iberia’s Chairman.

Among other things, it includes a guaranteed salary increase during the years the agreement is in force, different productivity measures, especially for Airport and Maintenance staff, and improvements in terms of work-life balance.

It will allow Iberia Airport Services to bid for AENA tenders at Spanish airports with a more competitive offer.

Reus airport is located 10 kilometres east of the city and also of the city centre of Tarragona. Its facilities have grown significantly in recent years, where mainly low-cost airlines operate to assist numerous charter flights concentrated mainly in the summer season.

In 2005 a new arrivals building came into operation and in 2008 a new check-in terminal was built, joining the three buildings (arrivals, check-in and departures) into one. The new boarding area was opened in 2010 and the functional design terminal extension was completed in 2021.

Numerous general aviation and sports aircraft also operate at Reus, due to the presence at the airport of the Real Aeroclub de Reus, one of the oldest aeroclubs in Spain, and a pilot school, the Centro de Estudios Superiores de Aviación. Studies: CESDA).

In 2021, 158,887 passengers transited through this airport in more than 14,500 operations. In 2022, these operations have already recovered almost 97% vs 2021.

Amaya López Pelegrín is the manager of this airport and also of Gerona airport: “At Reus, we have a staff of between 10 and 60 people, depending on the season. We provide our handling services to the TUI group (95% of our activity) and to Air Nostrum, with up to 15 different destinations.

This airport is very peculiar because in addition to having two very distinct seasons within the year, it is also seasonal in terms of weeks and even days and hours. All the traffic we have is practically TUI charter flights, British and family tourism that arrives in B737 aircraft with bulk holds and full of suitcases. There are times and days when we have all the staff (more than 60 people) working at full capacity”.

Gemma Anaya is one of our passenger and boarding area supervisors, who is passionate about her job: “Ours is a very seasonal airport. One of the peculiarities, without a doubt, is that we are like a family. We are versatile and we love the contact with the people, the planes and the crews. Even if the day goes wrong or we have a 43-degree heat on the runway or an 8-hour delay, we never lose our smile.

Gemma offers us some “tips” about her city, which we encourage you to visit: “Reus is the birthplace of Antonio Gaudí, where you can visit many buildings, taste Mediterranean cuisine in good restaurants and, above all, enjoy a vermouth in a little terrace in the city centre, together with the famous olives and potatoes with which it is accompanied, without forgetting the world-famous Reus hazelnuts. We look forward to seeing you!