28,604,187 in 2004; record for one day of 111,594 on July 31 192,073
1,792,073 tons of freight and airmail
guaranteed time: 45 minutes, minimum time: 35 minutes length: 67 km, reliability level: 99.65 percent
passenger service, loading service, baggage service, cargo transport, cargo handling, cleaning, de-icing, special services facilities for animals: animals travel, too – from poisonous South American snakes to Olympic show jumping horses. perishable center: all kinds of perishable goods are handled here. Frankfurt is the biggest fishing port in Germany! * FRA Ground Services airside handling.
35
“Ground handling is a Frankfurt success story”
Peter Schmitz, head of the Ground Handling division, is optimistic that all the challenges will be met: “Ground handling is a Frankfurt success story and we are continuing to write it. With our many years of experience, we are one of the leading international providers of ground handling services. We are the airlines’ partner, understand their needs, take account of them and find the solution.” Right in line with this, the focus at our “Customer Service Center” is always on the customer. “One face to the customer” is our philosophy, an individual service concept with the same contact person throughout. These “Customer Service Managers” look after all of the airlines’ interests, so that smooth procedure is made possible in day-to-day airport operations. We are proud of the achievements of our ground handling services. The entire team is highly motivated and knows how important their skills and commitment are for smooth air traffic all over the world. We handle about 50 million passengers a year, more than half of them changing planes in Frankfurt. This is a particularly tough challenge for our baggage experts, because the suitcases from the aircraft that has landed have to be unloaded, allocated to the right connecting flight and loaded on to it again in only 45 minutes. Connecting times of only 35 minutes can be achieved in special cases via the direct transfer of passengers and their baggage to the connect- ing flight.
Reliability level: 99.65 percent
The automatic baggage conveyor system is the heart of the baggage handling operations and is the leading one of its kind and size anywhere in the world. The complex system with its roughly 67 kilometers of conveyors makes sure that more than 100,000 pieces of baggage reach their destination quickly and reliably every day in peak periods. Even when such disruptions occur as delays or changes in reservation, suitcases are redirected to the flight on which the passenger is leaving Frankfurt using special software. The reliability level of the system is now 99.65 percent. Not only punctuality and precision but also safety are essential features of baggage handling. The baggage system guarantees that all suitcases and bags are X-rayed, whether they are checked in at one of the 359 counters in Terminals 1 and 2, at the “AIRail Terminal” or directly at the departure gate. The concept of transporting baggage in coded plastic tubs has proved its viability for large air traffic hubs impressively. Other major airports like Paris, Amsterdam, Munich and Dubai have adopted this method.
Smooth baggage handling is one of the central assignments of the ground services. We move more than 100,000 pieces of baggage every day in peak periods with our baggage conveyor system.
Delayed departures Delayed because of ground handling 1. 5 6.3 6.5 4.5 18.2 23.6 27. 8 22.7 Delays in European traffic % Frankfurt Amsterdam London (LHR) Paris (CDG )
Connecting times at hubs minutes Frankfurt 45 35 Amsterdam 50 40 London (LHR) 90 45 Paris (CDG ) 75 45
Minimum connecting time Guaranteed connecting time
36
Optimization of the baggage conveyor system did not by any means stop when it celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2004. Expansion of the airport in the south is posing new challenges, for example. In accordance with the concept of multi-stage baggage controls, 100 percent X-ray examination of all checked-in baggage is to be integrated in the baggage conveyor system. Fast and efficient aircraft handling
Rapid and efficient aircraft handling is the core skill of the ground handling services. Highly quali- fied staff handle up to 1,100 flights a day using a wide range of special equipment and logistic systems. The skills that have been developed over decades form the basis for the IT systems developed in co-operation with well-known software companies and for solutions that enable complex handling processes to be carried out so smoothly.
The transport services handle up to 9,000 orders per day with very different kinds of cargo. We use a special planning system for this purpose, which arranges the waggons in the transport trains exactly as the customer requires. Our customers can communicate their requirements electronically and monitor the orders online.
Punctuality rate: more than 98 percent
A punctuality level of more than 98 percent helps to a decisive extent to guarantee the high quality of the handling services, particularly in the sensitive areas such as express transport. Even export cargo that arrives late is still taken to the aircraft requested by the customer in close co- ordination with the loading service.
Fit for the future with the cargo subsidiary
We spun the cargo handling operations off from Fraport AG in July 2004 and incorporated them in the newly established subsidiary Fraport Cargo Services, with the aim of making the cargo services fit for the future. Since the summer, our teams of experts have been working on new business ideas, with which further customers can be obtained and future trends on the airfreight market can covered. With its 550 excellently trained staff, the biggest neutral service provider at Frankfurt Airport handles cargo for more than 80 different airlines and acts as a partner for more than 200 forwarding companies and truckers.
Smooth flow of goods thanks to the use of innovative systems
Such additional logistic services as shipment collation, maintenance of the cold chain and simplified customs clearance, which enables cargo to be transferred duty-free within the airport, are becoming increasingly important. A smooth flow of goods is made possible by modern computer programs developed specially for this purpose, in which the emphasis is on maximum precision, speed and flexibility.
Segments ... Aviation ... Retail & Properties ... Ground Handling ... External Activities
Baggage performance Number of pieces of baggage left behind per 1,000 passengers Source: AEA KLM 22.6 Air France 18.8 British Airways 18.7 Lufthansa 15.1 Transfer passengers % Frankfurt 53 Amsterdam 42 London (LHR) 36 Paris (CDG ) 31
Every second passenger in Frank- furt is taking a connecting flight. Source: AEA
37
Our cargo transport staff complete up to 9,000 or- ders a day. The team handles a total of 1.6 million tons of cargo per year. We are also the people who are contacted first when special, sensitive cargo – such as animals – needs to be transported.
Subsidiaries generate competitive edges
APS Airport Personal Service GmbH was established at the end of 2003 to provide personnel ser- vices of various kinds. Following a positive start on January 1, 2004, APS has managed to expand its business and now has more than 500 employees. It provides its services successfully not only to its main customer Fraport AG but also to other companies at Frankfurt Airport as well as in areas associated with it.
N*ICE Aircraft Services & Support GmbH maintains the entire infrastructure for de-icing/anti-ic- ing aircraft at Frankfurt Airport. It is the only provider of aircraft de-icing/anti-icing services on the ground there. In addition to this, it develops technical and operational processes for this purpose and markets its know-how externally, too.
The range is rounded off by ASG Airport Service GmbH, the operations of which consist of cleaning aircraft cabins and supplying aircraft with magazines and accessoires. The company is German market leader for aircraft cabin cleaning and has about 800 employees.
Segments ... Aviation ... Retail & Properties ... Ground Handling... External Activities
39
1. What was the highlight of fiscal 2004 for you?
2. Where do you think the best opportunities for the future lie?
3. What challenges will you have to tackle in the coming years?
Three questions to
Andrea Pal
Senior Vice President, Acquisitions and Investments
2004 was a very successful year for the Fraport AG investment portfolio. Almost all of the investments exceeded the targets set for them. ICTS Europe in particular, our investment in the security field, reported EBITDA growth of 31 percent to us at the end of the year. The progress made as scheduled in the construction work at Lima Airport is cause for confidence, too. The highlight was, however, the conclusion at the last minute of the management contract for Cairo Airport. Fraport won this commission against tough competi- tion from France and Spain and will now be sending a management team to Cairo for 8 years.
The aviation industry has returned to growth and this is leading to more intensive merger & acquisition activities on the airport market. We are expecting three to four attractive privatization projects in 2005. The entire team worked with great motivation and flexibility again this year in order to prepare the bids for them.
Active portfolio management means not only promoting growth by the investments but also opening up new markets. For the next few years, we are planning fast growth for ICTS Europe and intend in particular to enter new markets like Asia and the USA. The conces- sion contract for operating the international Terminal 1 in Antalya is expiring in 2007. We are already making preparations, so that we are ready when a new invitation to tender is issued. In addition to this, we will be starting our activities on the next stage in the expansion of the airport in Lima in 2006. As can be seen: we have more than enough to do! But it is these challenges that make the job particularly exciting and the whole of the team is working hard to meet them.