Swissport International, the current industry leader in the world airport services sector, has been named “Global Aviation Ground Services Company 2007” by the Institute for Transport Management.
Zurich/Vancouver – The Swissport Group continues to expand, too: the CHF 1712 million operating revenue generated for 2006 was a 14% increase on the CHF 1499 million of the previous year.
Swissport is delighted to have been named Best Global Aviation Ground Services Company for 2007 by the Institute for Transport Management. This prestigious award further confirms the strong position that the company currently occupies in the fiercely-contested aviation services market.
The distinction also means that, once again, Swissport has secured the leading position in various international industry surveys. This still-young company, which was only founded in 1997, initially to provide ground services in Zurich, Basel and Geneva, now operates at 180 airports in 43 countries. The fact that throughout its rapid growth, Swissport has always maintained its uncompromising quality and professional standards, together with its keen commitment to the same, was undoubtedly a key factor in this latest industry award.
In addition to numerous product innovations and airport process enhancements (such as web-check-in options and self-check-in facilities), Swissport has also earned itself an excellent name among its airline customers by steadily expanding its global station network. No fewer than eleven new destinations – Kiev, Nagoya, Tokyo, Osaka, Fukuoka, Madrid, Alicante, Almeria, Murcia, Jerez and Arrecife – have been added in the last eleven months alone; and Sofia will also join the Swissport network in the next few days.
A successful 2006 and a promising first quarter of 2007
While IATA, the industry’s umbrella association, estimates that passenger numbers rose 6.7% and cargo volumes increased by 4.8% in 2006, Swissport’s operating revenue for the year was a full 14% improvement on the prior-year period. Encouragingly, all the company’s business units and geographical regions contributed to this above-average revenue increase. And the fact that it was achieved in such a competitive market environment is a clear confirmation of Swissport’s successful positioning as the current industry leader, and of its ability to provide its airline customers with competitive and innovative ground services solutions.
Swissport reports similarly favourable results for the first three months of 2007: operating revenue for the period was over 10% up on the same period last year, again well above the overall industry average. These encouraging trends, and the positive prospects they engender, should provide further opportunities for acquisitions or new market entries (such as in Asia, Europe or Latin America).