Los Angeles, California – On Thursday, July 1st, 2010, Total Airport Services (TAS) expanded its cargo warehousing aviation services at Los Angeles International Airport (LAX) by adding Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) to its list of customers. TAS is now NCA’s sole warehousing service provider in California having also provided service to NCA in in SFO since November 2007.
TAS had a “picture perfect transition” said Tim Harvey, TAS General Manager. “We’ve assembled a highly experienced team,” added Harvey “and NCA has been extremely pleased with the improvements in customer service.”
NCA is one of seven carriers that will be adding the Boeing 747-800 to their fleet of cargo aircraft later this year. The new 747-800 will be the largest and most fuel efficient 747 ever built. “TAS looks forward to the arrival of NCA’s new aircraft and we’ve already begun plans to continue to work with NCA here and other locations,” said Denny Eichenbaum, TAS Senior Vice President of Business Development.
April 2nd, 2009 – Today, TAS held its Grand Re-Opening Ceremony at its new facility in Newark, New Jersey. The new facility will house TAS warehousing operations for Lufthansa, Air India, and LOT/Polish Airlines and represents about 60% of TAS existing business in Newark.
Jay Allbright is the new General Manager for TAS in Newark. Allbright has 12 years experience in the aviation business and over 30 years of management experience. He has served as a manager, trainer, and quality assurance controller with Evergreen Aviation. As an aircraft ramp manager he was responsible for handling up to 32 aircraft daily. As a warehouse manager he operated the largest logistics hub supporting the US Postal Service anywhere. Finally, as a former Quality Assurance and Safety Director, he will fit in well with TAS emphasis on quality customer service.
Mr. Denny Eichenbaum, TAS Senior Vice President, said, “The new facility represents a tremendous opportunity for further TAS expansion in Newark and Jay is the perfect individual to make it happen. The facility has additional warehouse space available for new carriers and is seen as a big improvement from the old facility.”
April 1st, 2009 – TAS added its 11th air freight carrier in Chicago today as we began handling Cargolux Airlines at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Cargolux is a Luxembourg based, all cargo carrier currently operating in nine major cities in the continental United States. Chicago is their largest operation.
With the addition of Cargolux, O’Hare International Airport is also TAS busiest ground handling operation. Handling mostly Boeing 747s, TAS may handle as many as 70 aircraft per week and quite routinely has as many as 5 aircraft on the ground at the same time, all representing different air carriers.
Why the dramatic growth in operations in less than two years for TAS in Chicago? “I’d like to think of it as a combination of our impeccable service and a tremendous track record by an outstanding team of individuals at this location”, said Gerald Kolasch, TAS Vice President of Cargo Services. Adding, “the dedication and professional attitude of the staff here is amazing.”
“We have worked hard to become the leading service provider for cargo carriers at O’Hare”, adds Daniel Malinowski, TAS Director of Ground Handling at O’Hare International Airport. To reinforce this point, Malinowski points to the March 2009 issue of Ground Support Worldwide magazine. In that issue, TAS was highlighted for their 99.3% on-time performance in Chicago for its 55-70 aircraft per week schedule including the winter months.
San Francisco, March 11th – The first flight of Cathay Pacific’s new 747 cargo aircraft handled by TAS touched down at 04:00 am this morning right on schedule. The folks in San Francisco performed flawlessly and an hour later the aircraft was launching off into the darkness. The ground crew then immediately turned to handle NCA’s 747 that arrived just as Cathay’s flight was departing. That aircraft was also handled without a glitch and departed even before the sun came up.
Ralph Eichenbaum, TAS General Manager, said that the operation’s success belongs to the crews. “Supervisors Gary Lohr and Sylvia Lee have done a fantastic job in preparing the team to be ready for the first flight for Cathay,” said Eichenbaum. “Gary even went to Chicago to train with the Cathay crew in ORD so SFO was ready. And it was an all out effort to make sure things went well with William Burse and Richard Christman also on hand to help out.”
Cathay will have three aircraft per week for now with the possibility of expansion later this year. NCA has as many as six aircraft per week and both carriers flights are able to park right behind the warehouse TAS operates. After unloading the aircraft, it’s a short trip into the facility where the crew then breaks down the freight and gets it on its way.
Congratulations to all of the staff and team in San Francisco for a great start and a successful operation.
Chicago, Illinois – August 1, 2008. TAS will soon be adding four new carriers to its list of customers at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport. Alitalia, Air New Zealand, British Airways, and China Southern have all selected TAS as the ground handler of choice for their freighters flying in and out of O’Hare IAP.
Service for two of the carriers begins almost immediately while the others transition to TAS by mid-September. With these additional four carriers, TAS will be handling over 60 aircraft per week by the end of September, mostly Boeing 747s. Interestingly enough that is also over 60% of all freighters arriving and departing Chicago.
“The key to our success is our outstanding operation,” said Gerald Kolasch, VP for Chicago. “Last quarter, TAS handled 558 freighters and had a 99.5% on time takeoff rate,” continued Kolasch. That is amazing when you consider that most of these aircraft arrive and depart in the dark of night.
TAS began operations in Chicago on June 17th, 2007 with three carriers; Cathay Pacific, Kalitta, and Korean Airlines. “The first day we handled 5 flights and an additional 13 for the rest of the week,” said Denny Eichenbaum, TAS Senior VP. Adding, “We thought that was great, but this puts the company on a whole new level.”
Hartford, Connecticut – July 31st, 2008. TAS will more than double the volume of its warehouse operations at Bradley International Airport with four new carriers beginning September 1, 2008. Continental Airlines, Northwest Airlines, United Airlines, and US Airways have all selected TAS to handle their cargo in Hartford. “This is a tremendous boost for our operations and the ultimate compliment to our customer service,” said Jay Tweeddale, TAS General Manager.
Bradley IAP was the second TAS operating location to open for business when the company started over 3 ½ years ago. The TAS team there has always received high praise for their outstanding customer service and perfect safety record. TAS already handles such carriers as Southwest Airlines, Delta Air Lines and Air Canada, plus numerous shipping and freight forwarding companies.
San Francisco, California – On Wednesday, June 4th, Total Airport Services (TAS) expanded its aviation service offerings at San Francisco International Airport (SFO) by ground handling aircraft for Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA). So now in SFO, besides warehousing, ramp scrubbing, and ramp control tower operations, TAS handles NCA’s Boeing 747 freighters
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TAS had been handling all warehousing for NCA and Cathay Pacific in SFO since December 2006. The carriers had been averaging over 2 million kilos per month and were using another ground service provider for ground handling. “This will provide NCA with greater efficiency and control of their freight,” said Ralph Eichenbaum, TAS General Manager, “because NCA will have a single service provider dealing with all aspects of the shipping here at SFO.”
NCA is in the process of acquiring new aircraft and expanding their fleet. The operations on June 4th begin with two freighters per week flying into SFO, but will add an additional four aircraft per week as airframes become available. “It’s great to expand our business lines and continue the great working relationship we have with NCA,” said Jack Evans, TAS CEO. “We value the working relationship we have with NCA,” continued Evans.
In March it was announced that TAS had received top honors from Korean Air Cargo for 2007 for TAS Chicago operations. Korean Air Cargo announced that TAS had been selected as the top ground handling company throughout Korean’s entire system for the entire year.
“This is a great tribute to the dedication and team effort TAS has demonstrated in Chicago,” said Denny Eichenbaum, Senior Vice President. Adding “When you consider that we started this operation with less than 30 days notice and still be able to receive this kind of award is amazing! Now, we’re handling over 160 – 747 aircraft per month and still producing this kind of quality through one of the worst winters Chicago has seen in years, it’s even more amazing!”
Congratulations to the entire TAS team in Chicago for making this happen!
Chicago's O'Hare International Airport (ORD) cargo ramp was a flurry of activity as TAS began ground handling on Sunday, June 17th. While we generally get one new customer at a time, in Chicago TAS began handling Kalitta Airlines, Korean Airlines, and Cathay Pacific all on the same day.
"Everything went off without a hitch," said Denny Eichenbaum, Senior Vice President for TAS and the person responsible for pulling it all together. "By day three, everything was flowing smoothly and you would have thought we had been doing this for years. It's a tribute to the team we've put together and very gratifying to watch," continued Eichenbaum.
The startup wasn't without its nail-biting moments. On Tuesday night, our new General Manager, Antonio Franceschi, and his wife rushed to the hospital so Mrs. Franceschi could have their second child. Fortunately, mom, the new baby boy, and even dad are doing fine.
The three carriers have about 18 - 747 cargo aircraft per week flying into ORD. The first week, we even had a couple of extra flights. The change in service did not go unnoticed by other carriers on the ramp who commented on the professional image displayed by the new TAS team members. "Everyone was in new uniforms and seemed to work together so well, it was obvious that there was a new operation going on," said one customer whose corporate office had gone with a TAS competitor. "We were very jealous," said the Station Manager.
Congratulations to our entire team in ORD and especially Denny for pulling together a very complicated operation on 30 days notice. After the first week, none of the carriers had taken a single delay and all of the carriers had expressed high praise for TAS operations! The entire transition was extremely well done.
On March 28th, Total Airport Services, Inc. (TAS) opened its second new operating location for the month in Atlanta, Georgia. TAS won a contract with Cargolux to provide flight and aircraft administration for all of the carrier's flights into and out of Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.
"We have been working on getting into Atlanta for a long time," said Gerald Kolasch, Vice President of Cargo. "Cargolux is a great carrier and we see this new contract as a great first step toward building our operations there."
Based out of Luxembourg, Cargolux is the eighth leading carrier in the world based on tonnage flown and is the largest all cargo carriers in Europe. Cargolux has been operating for 35 years and has a fleet of 14 B747-400 aircraft.
Jose Aguirre is the new General Manager in Atlanta. Jose was formerly with Omni Air International in Atlanta and is well acquainted with the Atlanta market. He graduated from High School in Chile and attended Northeastern in Boston, Massachusetts before entering the aviation career field.
Besides Atlanta, TAS now has operations in Hartford, Connecticut; Newark, New Jersey; Columbus, Ohio; Huntsville, Alabama; San Francisco and Riverside, California; and begins operations at Los Angeles International Airport on June 1 st, 2007.
On Wednesday, February 21, 2007, the Joint Powers Commission for the March Inland Port (MIP) made its selection of Total Airport Services (TAS) as the successful bidder for the Operations & Maintenance of MIP's new fuel farm facility located on the airport. Mr. Gary Gosliga, Airport Director for MIP made the announcement.
MIP is the former U.S. Air Force base located in Riverside, California and is now a joint use field. The Joint Powers Commission has been seeking other business for the airport and successfully attracted DHL cargo operations a couple of years ago. The cargo business is now growing and the airport needed a professionally managed fuel farm in the facility now under construction.
The fuel farm facility has been developed as a three phase project and will greatly expand the airport's fuel handling capability. Phase 1 of the project is the installation of two above-ground storage tanks and is nearly complete. Testing of the new fuel system is set to begin the week of February 26 th. Phase 2 of the project will add two additional above-ground storage tanks and is expected to be completed later this year. Phase 3 plans are still being developed, but will add the required storage capacity as the airport continues to add flights and takes on larger aircraft.
"This is a business that we have a lot of experience performing and that we do really well," said Jack Evans, CEO for TAS. MIP services the Inland Empire of Southern California and is being touted as an airport with tremendous potential to relieve some of the traffic congestion at LAX, particularly cargo traffic. DHL moved their operations to March and has just announced plans to begin flying in there six days a week. On March 26 th, they will expand their operations further with the addition of an international MD-11. "We are very excited about this new opportunity and there appears to be tremendous potential to expand into some of our other business lines as we work with the airport as they continue their efforts to grow," said Evans.
"Business sometimes works in mysterious ways!" said Harry Hoge, Regional Vice President for TAS. "Our latest successful bid on the Nippon Cargo Airlines (NCA) operation in San Francisco is living proof," continued Hoge.
On a trip to San Francisco earlier this year, Hoge had stopped by NCA to make a courtesy visit. Because of that visit and getting the TAS story out, TAS was invited to participate in a Request For Proposal (RFP) for NCA's operation at the Airport.
The RFP was released on October 20 th with a very quick turnaround. So on November 3rd, NCA awarded the contract to TAS with a startup a mere 30 days after that.
"We usually like to have 60 - 90 days for a new start," said Denny Eichenbaum, Senior VP of Business Development. Adding, "We had to pull this together fast and it required a company-wide effort to pull it off."
So on December 6 th, TAS started doing all warehousing for NCA. "It took a small miracle, besides a lot of sleepless nights", said Ralph Eichenbaum, TAS General Manager, "but we made it happen. The NCA operation has been successfully transitioned".
