Should an airline be headquartered at an airport
Most startups place their HQ at or near their main airport to keep a close eye on operations. It can also give combined advantages. Sample the DUB based flight crews used to meet up at the Ryanair hq and transport in a van directly to the planes, needing no extra office space within the terminal.
Ryanair management used to walk or drive up to the airport complex frequently and many of their top management where known to be very hands on. Sample during the baggage handler strike of 98 they where all handling suitcases. In fact every male employee in the White House (nick name for then Ryanair HQ) was. And most of hq staff had airport airside passes hither and tither. Even after the move to larger premises the DUB airport main terminal is less than a 5 minute drive away.
Airlines like Norwegian on the other hand seem to have missed that the Oslo airport have moved from Fornebu to Gardermoen at the opposit end of the city. Not only that but they are paying rent at what is rumoured to give a 8% yield on a building ownd by their founder, former ceo and largest shareholder. This might have been ok when their target was to be truly multinational airline with most of their flights between foreign airpors far away. whether it is as suitable now when their main and nearly onlyline of operations i out of Oslo airport is a different question. It certainly distances with litle possibility of frequent daily visits and hands on management and adaptibility.
Not to mention that with the buy out clause and price Norwegian have for its hq it could easily have done a quick buy out and sell through a match up with a property mogule. One way of rising cash they seem to have forgotten about. Maybe the link up to the founder is still to strong.
Distancing from the real hustle and bustle of what constitutes and airline reduces the company's ability to be agile. This comes to fore when the market gets turned upside down. Norwegian have been slow to adapt cabins to social distancing. They have also been unable to capitalize on the booming freight market. They have actually not at all been able to utilize for anything the part of their fleet that has possiblilty for containerized freight, the 787. While other airlines have been busy not only flying them but adapting them to fit even more freight. As a result Scandinavian postal freight to/from the US is going by boat, taking 2-3 months even for birthday presents posted. And from China what before was airfreight goes with train via Russia.
Maybe distancing from operations is the new way of running an airline. Look again at Ryanair. They no longer have a Chief Operations Officer having ejected their Director of Engineering and Chief Pilot from the top table years ago. Nor Ground Ops or Flight Attendants that are about 50% of the staff of the company are represented either.
And not only for airlines. Boeing have long since moved their hq several hours flight away from their main seat of production. With the concequenses that have had. One lead to assume that the economists that run these companies prefer the neareness to their own kind and not the troublesome engineers and others with hands on experience that tends to ask questions about practablility and security of decisions.
Ryanair management used to walk or drive up to the airport complex frequently and many of their top management where known to be very hands on. Sample during the baggage handler strike of 98 they where all handling suitcases. In fact every male employee in the White House (nick name for then Ryanair HQ) was. And most of hq staff had airport airside passes hither and tither. Even after the move to larger premises the DUB airport main terminal is less than a 5 minute drive away.
Airlines like Norwegian on the other hand seem to have missed that the Oslo airport have moved from Fornebu to Gardermoen at the opposit end of the city. Not only that but they are paying rent at what is rumoured to give a 8% yield on a building ownd by their founder, former ceo and largest shareholder. This might have been ok when their target was to be truly multinational airline with most of their flights between foreign airpors far away. whether it is as suitable now when their main and nearly onlyline of operations i out of Oslo airport is a different question. It certainly distances with litle possibility of frequent daily visits and hands on management and adaptibility.
Not to mention that with the buy out clause and price Norwegian have for its hq it could easily have done a quick buy out and sell through a match up with a property mogule. One way of rising cash they seem to have forgotten about. Maybe the link up to the founder is still to strong.
Distancing from the real hustle and bustle of what constitutes and airline reduces the company's ability to be agile. This comes to fore when the market gets turned upside down. Norwegian have been slow to adapt cabins to social distancing. They have also been unable to capitalize on the booming freight market. They have actually not at all been able to utilize for anything the part of their fleet that has possiblilty for containerized freight, the 787. While other airlines have been busy not only flying them but adapting them to fit even more freight. As a result Scandinavian postal freight to/from the US is going by boat, taking 2-3 months even for birthday presents posted. And from China what before was airfreight goes with train via Russia.
Maybe distancing from operations is the new way of running an airline. Look again at Ryanair. They no longer have a Chief Operations Officer having ejected their Director of Engineering and Chief Pilot from the top table years ago. Nor Ground Ops or Flight Attendants that are about 50% of the staff of the company are represented either.
And not only for airlines. Boeing have long since moved their hq several hours flight away from their main seat of production. With the concequenses that have had. One lead to assume that the economists that run these companies prefer the neareness to their own kind and not the troublesome engineers and others with hands on experience that tends to ask questions about practablility and security of decisions.
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