DAS HANDLING BAGS ETIHAD CONTRACT IN ENTEBBE
(Posted 04th May 2015)
DAS Handling, Entebbe’s second and much smaller handling company, has reportedly bagged the business of Etihad, which commenced flights last week.
Predominant handling company ENHAS would not comment on factors or circumstances which led to Etihad taking that decision but sources usually in the know have suggested that as DAS also handles Kenya Airways, a company Etihad has operated codeshared flights with from Nairobi to Entebbe, this may have made the difference.
Kenya Airways years ago switched from ENHAS to DAS when they had a spat with the owners of East African Airlines, several of which reportedly were also major shareholders in ENHAS, and as a result did KQ in a tit for tat pull their business at the time over EAA’s attempt to muscle in on their slot times.
Personal experience though also suggests that DAS has issues like their regular failure to put baggage labelled with priority tags – indicating premium passengers’ luggage – first on the carousel when offloading suitcases from the arriving aircraft. This is something they were told time and again and have yet to figure out how to live up to such perhaps small but important expectations of the most sought after passengers of their most important client. With Etihad now another major client, the other main Gulf carriers Qatar and Emirates are also handled by ENHAS, no doubt will such loopholes in quality service need to be plugged if the new business relationship is to prosper and last.
