Please review the case below.

After-which you are to do the following:

(a) Introduce the article (summarize)

(b) Describe how the article relates to the class.

(c) Discuss the issue(s)

(d) Provide an alternative solution to the problem

This submission should be at least three to four paragraphs to cover the talking points.

Servicing Passenger Planes

Robert L. Crandall
Former CEO—American Airlines

Before takeoff and after landing, you’ve probably noticed lots of people and various types of vehicles and equipment busily moving around on the ground outside with no apparent game plan, particularly at larger airports. Actually, all that activity is carefully orchestrated, and because the people involved are an important part of our team, I’d like to tell you what the hustle and bustle is all about.
When a flight lands and approaches the terminal, ramp personnel guide the aircraft to its parking position and after it comes to a stop, put chocks under its wheels. As soon as that’s been done, other workers hook up ground-based power and air conditioning.
Electric power comes from what looks like a large, industrial strength extension cord plugged into the lower portion of the nose section. Heated or cooled air goes into the cabin via the big yellow hoses that run from the airplane either to the terminal, in cities where we have central air-handling facilities or, in others, to mobile air-handling units.
On the airplane, meanwhile, flight attendants open the door and as passengers begin deplaning, a mechanic squeezes past them to get a debriefing from the cockpit and check to see if any
maintenance work must be done.
Once all deplaning passengers are off, the cabin cleaners go into high gear on most flights, cleaning our seatback pockets, tidying up the cabin, cleaning the lavatories, doing a light vacuuming, repositioning safety belts for each seat’s next occupant, and so forth. (A more thorough cleaning is done each night.)
Simultaneously, out on the ramp, our people are unloading baggage, freight, and mail from the airplane’s belly compartments and beginning the process of sorting by various categories and destinations. In addition to the bags and cargo that have reached their destination, which must be delivered promptly to passengers and shippers, some must be transferred to other American or American Eagle flights, and still others must be transferred to other carriers. Complicating matters further, baggage, freight, and mail are often handled in different facilities on the airport
property.
If a meal has been served or is planned for the outbound flight, catering trucks pull up to service the First Class and main cabin galleys. Another special truck services the lavatory holding tanks, and in the midst of all this, mechanics are dealing with any problems reported by the crew and doing their own walk-around inspections.
Once all that is complete, customers start to board the aircraft for its next flight and everything happens in reverse. Ground workers start loading baggage in the forward belly and freight and mail
in the rear. Fuel trucks pull up to refuel most flights. The airplanes must be “watered” as well; fresh water is pumped aboard from either a water truck or servicing equipment built into the gate itself. During cold-weather months, deicing trucks add another element of ramp activity as they spray fluid on the airplane’s wings and fuselage.
Most of the work on the ramp is done by our own people, principally fleet-service personnel, but there are also various services, like catering, which are performed by contractors. All this simultaneous activity can create conflicts. Baggage carts unloading the forward hold can encroach on the ground space needed by the trucks catering the First Class cabin, for example, and fuelers perform their function in the space needed by those unloading freight and mail. The ramp crew chiefs are the conductors, orchestrating the entire production, overseeing the detail, and seeing to it that all gets done without mishap—and on time.
It’s a delicate balancing act, and although our customers rarely come in contact with the folks working on the ramp, they are an important part of a team that aims to serve every customer well and keep our operation running safely and on time.

Answer rating: 100% (QA)

aIntroduce the article summarize The article entitled Whatever Happened to Quality was published in the March 7 issue of year 2008 in the Industry Wee... View the full answer