Ground Game

In the unlikely scenario of being in our aviation program and never having flown commercially, you might question what happens inside the airport or inside the airplane.  How to airplanes know where to park?  How do passengers get to the airplane?  What happens on the other side of the cockpit door?  This scenario is exaggerated but it sheds light on the fact that working in this industry is more than taking off and landing into the wind.  I am not discounting the program; just introducing this blog post about ground operations, its history, and my prediction for its future.

Ever since the Montgolfier brothers got their paper balloon off the ground in 1783, someone was on the ground facilitating manned flight.  As history progressed whether it was spinning props, loading mail, or putting out fires, ground operations employees are needed to make flight operations successful.  Today’s ground operations employees are essential to safely and efficiently receiving and dispatching(pushing out) each aircraft.  These employees work above wing to facilitate passenger handling and below wing to service the aircraft make possible the safe loading of bags and freight.  Ground operations employees make up the largest group of employees for most airlines.  At United, close to 30% of their 87,000 employees work directly in ground operations.

Generally, ground operations employees are hired from outside the industry and trained in-house.  The level of training is focused on their direct job duties and compliance with the regulations.  One area of training that is important for pilots is the Ground Security Coordinator (GSC).  49 U.S.C § 1544 requires that most schedule and charter operators have a GSC.  The GSC acts as a liaison with between the airline and outside agencies and works directly with the flight crew on any security matters.

The future of ground operations is about providing the service at the lowest costs.  Air carriers are continuing to push the envelope of outsourcing the below wing, ramp services.  The next downturn in the industry could see a large air carrier with its entire ramp service contracted out.  Contract employees are paid at a much lower rate with little or no benefits.  Passenger service jobs are also being contracted out but the greatest threat is automation.  Check-in kiosks have greatly reduced queues at ticket counter.  Airline apps allow passengers to rebook flights directly from their phone.  Delta is even testing automated boarding gates that will eliminate any need to interact with any ground operations employee.

Ground operations is still a large source of jobs especially for managers.  These jobs are in demand and are a great way to “get your foot in the door”.  In addition to knowing more about job opportunities, ground operations are essential to any flight.  It is important that the flight and management student know more about ground operations and how it will affect their work environment.