Opinion ID: 784946
Heading Depth: 4
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Dynair/Swissport

Text: 40 Air France contracted with Dynair (which later changed its name to Swissport) to provide ground handling services at SFO, such as ramp and towing service, baggage handling, and aircraft cleaning. Dynair did not service Air France exclusively, and its employees would rotate from plane to plane and carrier to carrier so as to fill up an entire workday. Dynair charged Air France based on the type of aircraft involved, though Air France would occasionally reimburse the handling company for extra help if requested or approved. If a flight was delayed beyond a one-hour grace period, Air France was subject to additional charges for Dynair's employees' time. A Dynair executive explained that this arrangement was needed because Dynair scheduled its employees to service a number of carriers, and if one carrier was running significantly behind, the delay could present a substantial problem for Dynair in meeting the demands of its other customers. 41 Dynair owned all its own equipment, with the exception of the pallets which held the luggage that were actually loaded onto the airplane. Dynair would decide how many employees were needed to service a particular flight. With the exception of cleaning the airplanes, most services were provided on the tarmac, not on Air France property. Dynair employees were on the Air France aircraft approximately 30 minutes a day. Air France was not responsible for hiring, firing, disciplining or paying Dynair employees. Dynair employees received no benefits from Air France. 3 42 Air France provided very specific information about how to clean its planes, and Air France employees checked the planes after cleaning, communicating any problems to the Dynair supervisor. Air France also provided detailed information about how its aircraft should be loaded. Air France required that at least one Dynair employee be C2 certified, that is, trained in load control and maintaining the proper weight and balance of the baggage and cargo loaded onto the aircraft. Dynair generally trained its own employees, but if a trainer was not available, sometimes Air France conducted the C2 training. As with the cleaning crew, Air France had an employee monitor the loading of baggage and communicate problems to the Dynair supervisor.