News

The Worst Snowstorm since 1916 Plummets
Reno/Tahoe International Airport

RENO, NV- Three feet of snow fell on the Reno/Tahoe International Airport over a five day period, the most amount of snow the area has seen since 1916. It was an especially unwelcome development to Air Serv Corporation, which started up its new operation at the Reno/Tahoe International Airport on December 1, 2004 for their customer, American Airlines.

"It didn't take us long to get our feet wet before we literally had to dig in and get the job done," said Bob Bass, the acting general manager for the Air Serv operation. Bass was working as a Trainer at the Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky International Airport when Mike Hill, Regional Manager, asked him if he would start-up the operation in Reno until the current General Manager, John Young, could come on board. "I chose Bob to take on this challenge because he has the reputation of getting the job done right the first time. However, no one knew at the time just how big a challenge it was going to be" said Hill.

It started snowing the Wednesday before New Years Day. By the time the last airplane was parked Thursday night it was knee deep. "We unloaded the last flight without beltloaders because we could not get them to the plane. We had to use the Push Tractor to pull the bag carts to the claim area," Bass reported.

The airport plows could not get close to the aircraft, so the ramp crew had to dig a path by hand to push the aircraft off the gate Friday morning. When the gates where clear of aircraft, the airport did what they could to keep the gate areas clear of snow, but runways and taxiways were their main focus.

"Everyone kept telling us that it didn't snow in the Valley. It reminded me of the storms we got in Chicago when I was growing up." said Bass. "Getting to and from work was a challenge for several days. Whoever could get their car out would pick up those that couldn't. I had a great team working for me. No one complained. We all knew we had to get the job done and that's what we did."

Air Serv Corporation provides American Airlines with baggage cargo handling, cabin cleaning, aircraft pushback, lavatory cleaning and de-icing service. Reno is the first

de-icing operation Air Serv has started up. With newly purchased equipment, it was tested right from the start of the contract.

Air Serv, one of the fastest growing companies in the United States, has 4,300 employees serving 25 airlines in 19 markets in the U.S. and Great Britain, offering services such as skycap, baggage handling, wheelchair services and customer service. Founded in May 2002 by aviation service leader Frank Argenbright Jr., the company holds major contracts with leading aviation companies, including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines and Fed Ex

For more information, please contact: Chris Schroder, Schroder PR, 404.872.7289, chris@schroderpr.com Visit their web site at www.airservcorp.com .