Airlines and other aircraft operators frequently outsource some of their services. Many areas of operations, from airport services to aircraft rental and maintenance, can be – and are – outsourced.
Choosing an in-house team or an outsourced provider is an important decision. With COVID-19 issues and ever-changing geopolitical landscapes, aircraft operators are carefully evaluating the best strategy to help them meet returning customer demand. Finding the right balance of service and cost in flight planning and support services is an important part of this.
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The importance of flight support services
While essential to operations, flight planning is a function that often goes unnoticed by customers. Long before flights take to the skies, flight planning teams are analysing many things – including relevant notices to airmen (NOTAMs), trip distance, possible routes, weather, permits required, aircraft availability, and even airport operating hours.
This is in addition to monitoring unexpected events – such as strikes by air traffic controllers, extreme weather, or geopolitical events. Many of these factors can change by the day. In addition, aircraft require ongoing maintenance and airports must attempt to meet the needs of both large and small carriers.
Getting closer to departure, flight planning is often responsible for arranging fuel and flight permits. Fuel prices can change quickly – driven by local supply and demand, as well as external events. Overall fueling cost needs to take into account time and convenience too – not just base price and surcharges.
Why outsource flight support services?
Whether to keep flight support services in-house or outsource is a major decision. Many operators have strong, experienced internal teams in some or all necessary areas. In many cases, this is considered a competitive advantage.
Not all operators can – or want to – build such internal teams. They may not have the time or resources to develop such a team, or simply may need expertise in more areas. Outsourcing can help here.
In many cases, outsourcing parts of operations will save money, but there are several other advantages as well. These include:
- Providing around-the-clock access to services and staff without having to resource internally.
- Allowing more time to focus on core businesses, revenue generation, and sales.
- Allowing the company to better control its internal costs.
- Giving access to specialist or niche skills when required – either as part of planned operations or in unexpected cases. This is especially relevant with international flight planning.
- Better management of overflight and landing permissions. Each country’s overflight rules are different and can change frequently. Outsourcing can give access to specialists in different areas, easing the process and ensuring up to date compliance.
- Optimising fuel purchases. Sourcing fuel in different locations, especially internationally, can be challenging. Outsourcing this to a specialised provider can help secure the best rates, availability, and assistance when plans change.
Changes in the use of outsourcing
There have been many changes in outsourcing options and popularity over the years. In the early decades of aviation, most airlines ran services internally. This began to change with the huge growth of the industry and the increasing availability and competitiveness of suppliers.
Low-cost airlines really expedited this growth, taking full advantage of the benefits of keeping internal staffing low and focused and outsourcing as much as possible. easyJet, for example, had 20,000 people working off the payroll by 2014. Its chief operations officer claimed in an interview with the Financial Times at that time:
“We outsource everything that we can outsource. As long as we can manage it and control it, it gets outsourced.”
Outsourcing is increasing post-pandemic
Full service and legacy airlines have had differing relationships with outsourcing, with some taking more services back internally in recent years despite the general rise in outsourcing. The COVID-19 pandemic has changed this, however. Aviation has long experienced ups and downs, but the changes over the past two years have been unprecedented.
Operators are once again realising the benefits of outsourcing with lower costs, flexible operations, and more space to focus internally on core business in such challenging times. Outsourcing addresses the shift from operators to want to lower their risk and deal with quickly changing levels of service and demand.
The events in Europe and Russia in 2022 have also highlighted the advantages of flexibility in flight support services and flight planning. Sudden and ongoing changes to airspace availability have led to many airlines needing to quickly routes and plans. Any company operating international flights can benefit from access to specialist services for flight planning, permits, fuel, and maintenance, among other areas.
Final Thoughts
Anyone involved with the aviation industry will recognize the ups and downs that the industry experiences. Outsourcing has strong benefits for many companies, especially when they are subject to such fluctuations in demand, cost, and even the possibility of operating their services. The pandemic of the past two years has highlighted this more than ever.
Access to specialists 24/7, 365 days a year, can be very helpful for flight planning and other specialised services. This could form the core of operations, or supplement internal resources. As the industry adjusts to a new way of operating post-pandemic, outsourcing will undoubtedly be key for many operators.
Sources:
Easyjet quotes in UK FT – https://www.ft.com/content/4a6ead0e-c54f-11e3-89a9-00144feabdc0
