An airline entrusts its turnarounds to providers at dozens of stations it cannot see. Yet its punctuality, its passengers’ experience and part of its costs depend on what happens at the foot of the aircraft. Airline ground operations quality too often relies on after-the-fact reports, periodic audits and email threads after each incident.
Turnpilot gives ground ops, quality and procurement teams a direct view of their own flights, at stations run with Turnpilot.
What airline teams live with today
Ground ops managers
They learn about a delay once the aircraft has left, then wait for the station’s explanation. During the turnaround, there is no simple way to know whether loading is on track or whether a bag risks being left behind.
Quality managers
Audits, such as ISAGO-type audits, give a snapshot at a given moment. Between audits, a station’s service quality is judged on aggregated indicators and incident reports, without the detail of what actually happened.
Procurement and SLA teams
Ground handling contracts, often built on the SGHA, set service levels. Checking them flight by flight is hard: delay codes are disputed, services rendered are justified after the fact, and every station reports in its own way. Comparing stations or providers on a common basis remains a manual exercise.
What Turnpilot brings to airline ground operations quality
- Your flights, nothing more — The airline portal shows each airline its own flights and nothing else. Data from other airlines served by the same station stays separate.
- The timeline of every turnaround — Every step carries its time and its source. You see what was done, when, and what was missing.
- Evidence behind delays — With SLAs and delays, every coded minute has its chain of evidence. Discussions about attribution rest on facts, on both sides.
- Time-stamped images — In case of damage or a dispute, time-stamped images help establish what happened: see cameras and evidence.
- Baggage and loading — Baggage and hold loading helps the station get the count right before the holds close, and so leave fewer bags behind.
Concrete uses for the airline
Follow a station in real time
During a sensitive turnaround (first departure of the morning, tight connection, replacement aircraft), the ground ops manager follows progress from the office, without calling the station again and again.
Investigate a delay
After a delayed departure, the time-stamped timeline of the turnaround is available. It helps separate what falls under ground handling from other causes, and discuss it with the station on common ground. For more on reading delay codes, see our article on IATA delay codes.
Manage quality between audits
Delay indicators can be tracked over time, station by station. When several of your stations are run with Turnpilot, you find the same indicators everywhere, which makes comparisons possible and performance reviews more factual.
Verify services rendered
Services actually delivered are recorded. Billing rests on observed facts, which limits disputes in both directions.
A tool that also serves your provider
Turnpilot is first the ground handler’s control tool: the handler uses it every day to keep your turnarounds on time. The airline gains transparency; the handler gains the ability to demonstrate the quality of its work. The contractual relationship rests on shared facts rather than competing versions. If you would like to propose Turnpilot to your providers, see the ground handler solution.
Your data, kept separate
Each airline sees only its own flights. Data remains the customer’s property; access is set by role and by organisation. Images serve operations and evidence, with no identification of individuals. The principles are set out on the security and data page.