From inductions to fire training to vehicle & driver permitting, the licence and training schemes offered by airports and aviation training companies are many, varied and entirely necessary. Airports cannot operate without a skilled workforce – you only need to look at the current staff shortages and subsequent delays and flight cancellations to see this – but, while training is a fundamental part of an airport’s daily activities, many airports are running at a loss when it comes to the training they provide. So, is there a way that loss-making airport training can be turned into profit? We think so.
Why are airport training schemes losing money?
To put it bluntly, the reason airport training schemes are losing money is driven by the significant administration overheads incurred managing the relatively low value, but high volume, of transactions that are associated with training. Many airports and aviation training companies invoice for training and permits after the fact. These invoices can subsequently be forgotten, brushed aside, or not attributed to the right department. What’s more, the invoices that are paid are usually subject to lengthy delays – leaving airports, at least temporarily, out of pocket for the training that they’ve provided. Believe it or not, in our forward-thinking industry, there are even airports that still use cash payment.
And it’s not just invoicing that’s the problem. Many staff simply don’t turn up to the training that they’ve signed up for. A lot of training is offered free of charge to the end user so if something crops up, they can easily duck out, leaving empty seats that aren’t invoiced or paid for.
All in all, training, while a vital part of an airport’s function, can leave a bitter taste in the mouth. However, there is another way. Modern training systems such as AIRDAT’s Passport training management and competency system is designed to help mitigate these issues entirely and could help to turn a loss-making airport training venture into a cost neutral or profitable one.
What can airports do differently to turn airport training into a profit?
It takes a small team to manage the airport training administration and invoicing process – creating invoices, taking payment, chasing payments as well as taking details and creating data logs takes time and energy. This is time and energy that many aviation training departments don’t have the resources for. While the volume of staff undertaking training is high, the financial value of some individual training is relatively low, meaning airports are reluctant to hire a dedicated team to take on the role. Thankfully, there are services such as AIRDAT’s Billing Services that can take the headache away from airport managers and aviation training providers.
How can AIRDAT’s Billing Services reduce airport operating costs?
In effect, AIRDAT’s Billing Services provides the team you need to chase and handle all your vehicle permits, driver permits, operating licences and training schemes but at a fraction of the cost of hiring in-house personnel. The team currently work with almost 3,000 aviation training companies and manage over £2million in potentially missed fees annually. By using AIRDAT to take control of your training billing processes, you could reduce operating costs and increase profit.
How can a billing system monetise training?
A billing team can manage the full billing process for permits, operating licences and training. With AIRDAT’s Billing Services we will chase & manage invoices and pay you in one simple monthly payment, providing detailed reporting as well as dedicated support when you need it.
How can airports charge for no shows?
AIRDAT’s Passport System now includes a “missed course” feature which allows you to create a charge against a free course should a candidate fail to show up. Not only does this have the potential to increase profits but it can also reduce the amount of empty seats and go a step closer to guaranteeing a full house. This feature is highly flexible too, training providers can choose which courses incur a missed course charge from in-person, webinar, practical and competency-based courses. You’ll also have the ability to set cancellation terms and choose how many days in advance a participant can cancel their training.
The final word
AIRDAT’s Passport is built for up-front payment so users will pay for the course before any training or licensing is undertaken. It can be cost neutral, or profit generating, as many products can be installed and run at zero cost with funding from third parties, as we’ve done with Luton Airport, Gatwick Airport, Heathrow Airport, Manchester Airport and many others! In short, AIRDAT Passport System puts you in control and allows you the opportunity to turn a loss-making training system into a profitable reward – whilst improving training and compliance standards.
