New GSA alliance assemble to offer reduced costs and increased services
Mac Warner, Managing Director of Pace Airline Management, has founded ABA because, he says: ” Airlines today are looking to outsource more aspects of their business to lower costs, achieve greater flexibility and improve their financial performance. They also want to work with fewer suppliers. ABA is built around these core requirements.”
Pace, based in the UK, generates cargo revenues for its airline customers of more than US$50 million a year. Mac Warner adds: “You only have to look at the GSA business to see that airlines are looking for us to do more. Our core business when we launched Pace 17 years ago was cargo sales and marketing but in more recent times, we have successfully completed a wide range of other tasks, including ramp station management, trucking, marketing, telesales, customer service, new product development, setting up interline agreements and creating tailored management information systems for airline customers.
He added, ” Pace is certainly not unique. We have worked with other GSAs around the world that are doing the same. These companies tend to be extremely entrepreneurial with a strong customer base and knowledge of their local markets. Now, we’re looking to bring all of this expertise together under a single, global ABA brand identity.”
ABA members will have a standardized GSA agreement with airline customers, wherever they are located in the world. Common operating procedures, management reporting and IT applications will also be developed.
Already, ABA has signed up members covering 22 countries; TAS in France, Swift Airline Services in Belgium and Luxembourg, Goldair in Greece, Pace in the UK, Ireland, Germany and the Ukraine, AeroGroup in the USA and 11 countries in South America, and Pacific Cargo Services in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
According to Eric Andrews, managing director of AeroGroup: ” Through ABA we will be able to work together to more effectively address the challenges our industry is facing in this rapidly changing global environment, especially with regards to security and advances in technology. Ultimately, as part of a global group, we believe we can provide our customers with more services and more revenue opportunities, helping to ensure we retain their business.” The search is on to find other GSAs to participate in the alliance. Mac Warner states: ” Inside three years, we intend to have an ABA member in every major cargo market in the world. We are bringing businesses that are already successful in their local markets into a global alliance capable of offering airlines new and innovative ways to manage their cargo business.
” Through this close association, we will be able to achieve economies of scale for all of our members and customers and create a single group that’s easy for airlines to do business with. Within the framework of one member per country or area, we will all promote ABA as the foremost international GSA alliance.”
Author:Newsdesk, eyefortransport.com
