Gatwick Handling
Encyclopedia
Gatwick Handling Limited was an aircraft ground handling
agent headquartered at London Gatwick Airport
.
Gatwick Handling was originally established in the late-1960s as a new company jointly owned by Airbourne Aviation and Messrs Metcalfe and Foukes. The company's liquidation
soon after its formation resulted in ownership passing to Davies and Newman (D&N), holding company
of UK
independentindependent from government-owned corporation
s airline Dan-Air
. D&N's search for a co-owner for its new ground handling
unit led to the sale of a 50% stake to Laker Airways (Services), an associate company of former Gatwick
-based UK independent airline Laker Airways
which was a contemporary competitor of Dan-Air.
Gatwick Handling's official appointment as an airport concessionaire
occurred in early-1972 following the signing of an agreement between the British Airports Authority (BAA), Dan-Air and Laker Airways. Under this agreement, the BAA licensed Gatwick Handling to conduct ground handling operations at London Gatwick
on behalf of third parties.
In addition to assuming responsibility for handling all Dan-Air and Laker flights at Gatwick, a growing number of third-party airlines appointed Gatwick Handling their handling agent at the airport.
Laker Airways's demise in early-1982 brought about a change in ownership that initially saw D&N gain 100% control of Gatwick Handling and the subsequent sale of the 50% stake previously owned by an associate company of the defunct airline sold on to US
carriers Northwest Airlines
and Delta Air Lines
.
In the late-1980s, Gatwick Handling extended its geographical coverage of the UK to other airports, leading to establishment of GH Manchester and GH Stansted respectively.
Dan-Air's takeover by British Airways
(BA) in late-1992 divided Gatwick Handling's ownership between Northwest
and Delta
.
In 1994, Gatwick Handling extended its geographical coverage to Ghana
in West Africa
. To give it a more international image, the company abbreviated its name to GHI (for Gatwick Handling International).
In 1998, Go-Ahead Group
replaced Northwest and Delta as GHI's owner.
In 2000, Go-ahead merged GHI with its other UK aircraft ground handling operations, Midland Airport Services, British Midland Handling Services and Reed Aviation, under the Aviance UK
brand.
s to ensure its profitability. One way to do this was to outsource
its ground handling to a third-party handler.
In the late-1960s, Dan-Air contracted its ground handling at Gatwick to Airbourne Aviation, an independent handler owned by a Mr Herbert Snowball, whose staff manned the airline's ground handling unit at the airport.
To keep pace with the growth of Dan-Air's Gatwick operation and to keep the airline's contract, as well as to win more third-party business at the airport, Herbert Snowball partnered Messrs Metcalfe and Foukes to form a new company named Gatwick Handling. Poor results forced Gatwick Handling to cease trading and go into liquidation within a short period of time, putting Dan-Air and the other airlines who had given the now-defunct company their ground handling business at Gatwick in a difficult position. To secure the check-in desks Dan-Air had contracted from Gatwick Handling and to minimise additional costs arising from its handling agent's failure, as well as to avoid confusing the travelling public who had already been informed by tour operator
s and travel agents to report to Gatwick Handling for check-in, Dan-Air's parent D&N agreed with BAA and the failed company's other creditors to continue trading under the same name in return for settling outstanding debts.
Dan-Air's requirement for additional check-in desks at Gatwick resulted in discussions about the formation of a new joint handling company with fellow independent airline and airport resident Caledonian Airways
, whose expansion had led to a requirement for more check-in desks at the airport as well. Although talks between both parties made good progress, the latter backed out of a deal following its successful bid to take over British United Airways (BUA) in late-November 1970. As Britain
's biggest independent airline and leading independent scheduled carrier, as well as Gatwick's largest resident airline, BUA already had a well-developed ground handling infrastructure at the airport. This enabled it to handle all of its own flights in-house and provide ground handling services to third parties. For Caledonian
this meant that it no longer required the services of a third-party ground handler at Gatwick. As a consequence of Caledonian's change in circumstances, D&N needed to find a new partner who was willing to co-own the yet to be formed joint handling company. An expression of interest from Laker Airways founder and majority owner Freddie Laker
, who wanted his airline to attain a greater degree of autonomy at its home airport, ended D&N's search for a partner to share control of a joint handling company.
BAA agreed to award the new company a concession
to become one of the airport's appointed ground handlers. This was followed by the official signing of the contract in February 1972. Signatories included Dan-Air managing director Alan Snudden, airport director David Livingstone and Freddie Laker. The contractual period for the licenceBAA operated a strict licensing regime for ground handlers at Gatwick to avoid a proliferation of companies and destructive competition covering Gatwick Handling's appointment as an airport concessionaire was ten years. That arrangement afforded Gatwick Handling security of tenure to invest in new ground handling equipment to enable Gatwick's airlines to serve the airport with the then latest-generation widebodied aircraft
.
The expiry of Gatwick Handling's original ten-year licence in February 1982 coincided with the collapse of half-owner Laker Airways the same month. Initially, this resulted in D&N taking full control of Gatwick Handling. However, the BAA insisted that other airlines should become additional shareholders to prevent D&N subsidiary Dan-Air from deriving an unfair advantage from its sister company's status as monopoly provider of third-party ground handling services at Gatwick Airport
. US carriers Northwest and Delta, whose transatlantic flight
s used Gatwick as their London
terminal as a result of restrictions on access to Heathrow
implemented in the Bermuda II
UK–US bilateral agreement
and whose ground handling in London had been contracted to Gatwick Handling, each acquired a 25% stake in the ground handler in 1983 and 1984, respectively. These moves ensured Gatwick Handling's continuity and stability. They also resulted in the new shareholders replacing the former Laker representatives on the ground handler's board of directors
with their own people.
To reduce its dependence on Gatwick and to take advantage of new business opportunities at other UK airports in the late-1980s, Gatwick Handling established GH Manchester and GH Stansted to begin ground handling operations at Manchester and Stansted
respectively. (The former took over the operations of Manchester Handlingnot to be confused with Manchester Handling Limited, an existing provider of aircraft handling services at Manchester Airport, an associate company of Dan-Air formed in the mid-80s.)
Another change in Gatwick Handling's ownership occurred, when BA acquired D&N along with some of the assets of Dan-Air for £1
in late-October 1992. As the UK flag carrier
handled all of its Gatwick flights in-house and did not require Gatwick Handling's check-in desks, this resulted in disposal of the stake it had inherited in the ground handling company to remaining shareholders Delta and Northwest in 1993, thus dividing the ground handler's entire share capital between the two American
carriers.
A new international expansion strategy
that saw Gatwick Handling launch its first overseas ground handling operation in Ghana, West Africa, in 1994, replaced the by then official Gatwick Handling International name with its abbreviated form GHI.
GHI's ownership changed again in 1998, when Delta and Northwest sold out to the Go-Ahead Group.
Following GHI's merger with Midland Airport Services, British Midland Handling Services and Reed Aviation in 2000, all of Go-Ahead's UK aviation interests rebranded as Aviance UK.
Aircraft ground handling
In aviation, aircraft ground handling defines the servicing of an aircraft while it is on the ground and parked at a terminal gate of an airport.-Overview:...
agent headquartered at London Gatwick Airport
London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...
.
Gatwick Handling was originally established in the late-1960s as a new company jointly owned by Airbourne Aviation and Messrs Metcalfe and Foukes. The company's liquidation
Liquidation
In law, liquidation is the process by which a company is brought to an end, and the assets and property of the company redistributed. Liquidation is also sometimes referred to as winding-up or dissolution, although dissolution technically refers to the last stage of liquidation...
soon after its formation resulted in ownership passing to Davies and Newman (D&N), holding company
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
of UK
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
independentindependent from government-owned corporation
Government-owned corporation
A government-owned corporation, state-owned company, state-owned entity, state enterprise, publicly owned corporation, government business enterprise, or parastatal is a legal entity created by a government to undertake commercial activities on behalf of an owner government...
s airline Dan-Air
Dan-Air
Dan-Air was a leading private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline based in the United Kingdom....
. D&N's search for a co-owner for its new ground handling
Aircraft ground handling
In aviation, aircraft ground handling defines the servicing of an aircraft while it is on the ground and parked at a terminal gate of an airport.-Overview:...
unit led to the sale of a 50% stake to Laker Airways (Services), an associate company of former Gatwick
London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...
-based UK independent airline Laker Airways
Laker Airways
Laker Airways was a wholly private, British independentindependent from government-owned corporations airline founded by Sir Freddie Laker in 1966. It originally was a charter airline flying passengers and cargo worldwide...
which was a contemporary competitor of Dan-Air.
Gatwick Handling's official appointment as an airport concessionaire
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
occurred in early-1972 following the signing of an agreement between the British Airports Authority (BAA), Dan-Air and Laker Airways. Under this agreement, the BAA licensed Gatwick Handling to conduct ground handling operations at London Gatwick
London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...
on behalf of third parties.
In addition to assuming responsibility for handling all Dan-Air and Laker flights at Gatwick, a growing number of third-party airlines appointed Gatwick Handling their handling agent at the airport.
Laker Airways's demise in early-1982 brought about a change in ownership that initially saw D&N gain 100% control of Gatwick Handling and the subsequent sale of the 50% stake previously owned by an associate company of the defunct airline sold on to US
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
carriers Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines, Inc. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines by a merger approved on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world...
and Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
.
In the late-1980s, Gatwick Handling extended its geographical coverage of the UK to other airports, leading to establishment of GH Manchester and GH Stansted respectively.
Dan-Air's takeover by British Airways
British Airways
British Airways is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom, based in Waterside, near its main hub at London Heathrow Airport. British Airways is the largest airline in the UK based on fleet size, international flights and international destinations...
(BA) in late-1992 divided Gatwick Handling's ownership between Northwest
Northwest Airlines
Northwest Airlines, Inc. was a major United States airline founded in 1926 and absorbed into Delta Air Lines by a merger approved on October 29, 2008, making Delta the largest airline in the world...
and Delta
Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a major airline based in the United States and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. The airline operates an extensive domestic and international network serving all continents except Antarctica. Delta and its subsidiaries operate over 4,000 flights every day...
.
In 1994, Gatwick Handling extended its geographical coverage to Ghana
Ghana
Ghana , officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country located in West Africa. It is bordered by Côte d'Ivoire to the west, Burkina Faso to the north, Togo to the east, and the Gulf of Guinea to the south...
in West Africa
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of the African continent. Geopolitically, the UN definition of Western Africa includes the following 16 countries and an area of approximately 5 million square km:-Flags of West Africa:...
. To give it a more international image, the company abbreviated its name to GHI (for Gatwick Handling International).
In 1998, Go-Ahead Group
Go-Ahead Group
The Go-Ahead Group plc is a rail and bus operating company that was created following the privatisation of the UK's train and bus industries. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-Early history:...
replaced Northwest and Delta as GHI's owner.
In 2000, Go-ahead merged GHI with its other UK aircraft ground handling operations, Midland Airport Services, British Midland Handling Services and Reed Aviation, under the Aviance UK
Aviance UK
Aviance UK was an aircraft ground handling agent, operating at 15 airports in the UK and many more, as part of its alliance, worldwide. It was a subsidiary of the Go-Ahead Group, a rail, bus and aviation services provider across the UK...
brand.
History
As a private, unsubsidised airline that for most of its existence mainly operated low-margin, predominantly seasonal charter flights due to government restrictions on scheduled services, Dan-Air needed to minimise overheadOverhead (business)
In business, overhead or overhead expense refers to an ongoing expense of operating a business...
s to ensure its profitability. One way to do this was to outsource
Outsourcing
Outsourcing is the process of contracting a business function to someone else.-Overview:The term outsourcing is used inconsistently but usually involves the contracting out of a business function - commonly one previously performed in-house - to an external provider...
its ground handling to a third-party handler.
In the late-1960s, Dan-Air contracted its ground handling at Gatwick to Airbourne Aviation, an independent handler owned by a Mr Herbert Snowball, whose staff manned the airline's ground handling unit at the airport.
To keep pace with the growth of Dan-Air's Gatwick operation and to keep the airline's contract, as well as to win more third-party business at the airport, Herbert Snowball partnered Messrs Metcalfe and Foukes to form a new company named Gatwick Handling. Poor results forced Gatwick Handling to cease trading and go into liquidation within a short period of time, putting Dan-Air and the other airlines who had given the now-defunct company their ground handling business at Gatwick in a difficult position. To secure the check-in desks Dan-Air had contracted from Gatwick Handling and to minimise additional costs arising from its handling agent's failure, as well as to avoid confusing the travelling public who had already been informed by tour operator
Tour operator
A tour operator typically combines tour and travel components to create a holiday. The most common example of a tour operator's product would be a flight on a charter airline plus a transfer from the airport to a hotel and the services of a local representative, all for one price. Niche tour...
s and travel agents to report to Gatwick Handling for check-in, Dan-Air's parent D&N agreed with BAA and the failed company's other creditors to continue trading under the same name in return for settling outstanding debts.
Dan-Air's requirement for additional check-in desks at Gatwick resulted in discussions about the formation of a new joint handling company with fellow independent airline and airport resident Caledonian Airways
Caledonian Airways
Caledonian Airways was a wholly private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations Scottish charter airline formed in April 1961. It began with a single Douglas DC-7C leased from Sabena. Caledonian grew rapidly over the coming years to become the leading transatlantic "affinity...
, whose expansion had led to a requirement for more check-in desks at the airport as well. Although talks between both parties made good progress, the latter backed out of a deal following its successful bid to take over British United Airways (BUA) in late-November 1970. As Britain
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
's biggest independent airline and leading independent scheduled carrier, as well as Gatwick's largest resident airline, BUA already had a well-developed ground handling infrastructure at the airport. This enabled it to handle all of its own flights in-house and provide ground handling services to third parties. For Caledonian
Caledonian Airways
Caledonian Airways was a wholly private, independentindependent from government-owned corporations Scottish charter airline formed in April 1961. It began with a single Douglas DC-7C leased from Sabena. Caledonian grew rapidly over the coming years to become the leading transatlantic "affinity...
this meant that it no longer required the services of a third-party ground handler at Gatwick. As a consequence of Caledonian's change in circumstances, D&N needed to find a new partner who was willing to co-own the yet to be formed joint handling company. An expression of interest from Laker Airways founder and majority owner Freddie Laker
Freddie Laker
Sir Frederick Alfred Laker was a British airline entrepreneur, best known for founding Laker Airways in 1966, which went bankrupt in 1982...
, who wanted his airline to attain a greater degree of autonomy at its home airport, ended D&N's search for a partner to share control of a joint handling company.
BAA agreed to award the new company a concession
Concession (contract)
A concession is a business operated under a contract or license associated with a degree of exclusivity in business within a certain geographical area. For example, sports arenas or public parks may have concession stands. Many department stores contain numerous concessions operated by other...
to become one of the airport's appointed ground handlers. This was followed by the official signing of the contract in February 1972. Signatories included Dan-Air managing director Alan Snudden, airport director David Livingstone and Freddie Laker. The contractual period for the licenceBAA operated a strict licensing regime for ground handlers at Gatwick to avoid a proliferation of companies and destructive competition covering Gatwick Handling's appointment as an airport concessionaire was ten years. That arrangement afforded Gatwick Handling security of tenure to invest in new ground handling equipment to enable Gatwick's airlines to serve the airport with the then latest-generation widebodied aircraft
Wide-body aircraft
A wide-body aircraft is a large airliner with two passenger aisles, also known as a widebody aircraft or twin-aisle aircraft. The typical fuselage diameter is . In the typical wide-body economy cabin, passengers are seated seven to ten abreast, allowing a total capacity of 200 to 850 passengers...
.
The expiry of Gatwick Handling's original ten-year licence in February 1982 coincided with the collapse of half-owner Laker Airways the same month. Initially, this resulted in D&N taking full control of Gatwick Handling. However, the BAA insisted that other airlines should become additional shareholders to prevent D&N subsidiary Dan-Air from deriving an unfair advantage from its sister company's status as monopoly provider of third-party ground handling services at Gatwick Airport
London Gatwick Airport
Gatwick Airport is located 3.1 miles north of the centre of Crawley, West Sussex, and south of Central London. Previously known as London Gatwick,In 2010, the name changed from London Gatwick Airport to Gatwick Airport...
. US carriers Northwest and Delta, whose transatlantic flight
Transatlantic flight
Transatlantic flight is the flight of an aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean. A transatlantic flight may proceed east-to-west, originating in Europe or Africa and terminating in North America or South America, or it may go in the reverse direction, west-to-east...
s used Gatwick as their London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
terminal as a result of restrictions on access to Heathrow
London Heathrow Airport
London Heathrow Airport or Heathrow , in the London Borough of Hillingdon, is the busiest airport in the United Kingdom and the third busiest airport in the world in terms of total passenger traffic, handling more international passengers than any other airport around the globe...
implemented in the Bermuda II
Bermuda II
Bermuda II was a bilateral air transport agreement between the governments of the United Kingdom and the United States signed on 23 July 1977 as a renegotiation of the original 1946 Bermuda air services agreement...
UK–US bilateral agreement
Bilateral Air Transport Agreement
A bilateral air transport agreement is an agreement which two nations sign to allow international commercial air transport services between their territories....
and whose ground handling in London had been contracted to Gatwick Handling, each acquired a 25% stake in the ground handler in 1983 and 1984, respectively. These moves ensured Gatwick Handling's continuity and stability. They also resulted in the new shareholders replacing the former Laker representatives on the ground handler's board of directors
Board of directors
A board of directors is a body of elected or appointed members who jointly oversee the activities of a company or organization. Other names include board of governors, board of managers, board of regents, board of trustees, and board of visitors...
with their own people.
To reduce its dependence on Gatwick and to take advantage of new business opportunities at other UK airports in the late-1980s, Gatwick Handling established GH Manchester and GH Stansted to begin ground handling operations at Manchester and Stansted
London Stansted Airport
-Cargo:-Statistics:-Infrastructure:-Terminal and satellite buildings:Stansted is the newest passenger airport of all the main London airports. The terminal is an oblong glass building, and is separated in to three areas: Check-in concourse, arrivals and departures...
respectively. (The former took over the operations of Manchester Handlingnot to be confused with Manchester Handling Limited, an existing provider of aircraft handling services at Manchester Airport, an associate company of Dan-Air formed in the mid-80s.)
Another change in Gatwick Handling's ownership occurred, when BA acquired D&N along with some of the assets of Dan-Air for £1
Pound sterling
The pound sterling , commonly called the pound, is the official currency of the United Kingdom, its Crown Dependencies and the British Overseas Territories of South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, British Antarctic Territory and Tristan da Cunha. It is subdivided into 100 pence...
in late-October 1992. As the UK flag carrier
Flag carrier
A flag carrier is a transportation company, such as an airline or shipping company, that, being locally registered in a given country, enjoys preferential rights or privileges, accorded by the government, for international operations. It may be a state-run, state-owned or private but...
handled all of its Gatwick flights in-house and did not require Gatwick Handling's check-in desks, this resulted in disposal of the stake it had inherited in the ground handling company to remaining shareholders Delta and Northwest in 1993, thus dividing the ground handler's entire share capital between the two American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
carriers.
A new international expansion strategy
Strategic management
Strategic management is a field that deals with the major intended and emergent initiatives taken by general managers on behalf of owners, involving utilization of resources, to enhance the performance of firms in their external environments...
that saw Gatwick Handling launch its first overseas ground handling operation in Ghana, West Africa, in 1994, replaced the by then official Gatwick Handling International name with its abbreviated form GHI.
GHI's ownership changed again in 1998, when Delta and Northwest sold out to the Go-Ahead Group.
Following GHI's merger with Midland Airport Services, British Midland Handling Services and Reed Aviation in 2000, all of Go-Ahead's UK aviation interests rebranded as Aviance UK.