Room for improvement: there are significant gaps between the best and worst turnarounds
LISBON, PORTUGAL – Assaia, an industry leader in AI-enabled turnaround management, has launched their first ever Turnaround Benchmark Report, analyzing how turnarounds impact airports’ and airlines’ overall performance.
Three important findings from the Turnaround Benchmark Report clearly demonstrate the importance of holistic turnaround monitoring and management:
- There is a 41 minute difference between the best and worst turnaround performances, potentially costing airlines and airports billions of dollars a year and delaying passengers
- The best performing airlines and airports can deliver three more turnarounds per day than the worst performers
- Avoidable APU usage costs the same as the profit from 11 passengers and produces 86kg of CO2 per flight
Max Diez, Assaia CEO, said, “We all know the industry operates on wafer-thin margins. Fuel prices are currently going up, which makes everyone nervous. And just in the past few weeks, we’ve seen disruption and delays caused by technology outages, bad weather, infrastructure failures, industrial action and staffing issues.
“Airlines and airports need to find all the efficiencies they can. Every aspect of airport and airline operations is monitored and managed to the highest degree. The exception, until very recently, has been the turnaround. Because it is made up of many activities performed by multiple entities, it has been very difficult to get a complete picture of the entire operation. And without measurement, effective management is impossible.”
The Turnaround Benchmark Report provides information on-time performance, the efficiency of catering, fueling, unloading and loading, and pushback connections. It also examines the environmental implications of turnaround operations, focusing on auxiliary power unit and pre-conditioned air usage. Short-haul flights are the focus of this first report, because inefficient turnarounds can have a bigger impact by leading to cancelled flights and frustrated passengers at the end of the day.
Diez concluded, “The results are based on analysis of the worst-performing third, the middle performing third and the best-performing third. The differences between the best and worst performers demonstrate very clearly why monitoring and holistic management of turnarounds is so important.”
Assaia applies Artificial Intelligence Computer Vision technology to provide airports and airlines with complete visibility of turnaround operations. The resulting automated monitoring delivers complete visibility of the hundreds of tasks carried out by scores of people at the turnaround. This enables airports, airlines and ground handlers to free up gates faster, increasing efficiency, reducing delays, improving safety and cutting CO2 emissions.
Vicky is the co-founder of TravelDailyNews Media Network where she is the Editor-in Chief. She is also responsible for the daily operation and the financial policy. She holds a Bachelor's degree in Tourism Business Administration from the Technical University of Athens and a Master in Business Administration (MBA) from the University of Wales.
She has many years of both academic and industrial experience within the travel industry. She has written/edited numerous articles in various tourism magazines.
