Reference letter

 
We herewith confirm that Mr Ricardo Aresu, born on February 4th, 1981, has been employed at Air Canada as Airport Manager Zurich since November 19th, 2012.
The scope and purpose of this position was to actively support and supervise the daily operations at Airport Zurich in cooperation with the General Manager Operations and Handling Agents to ensure safe and secure services to all stakeholders.

Key functions & accountabilities
Operational, administrative and commercial responsibility including the following activities, keeping main corporate priorities, safety first and last 100% at all time in mind:

·        Supervision of handling agents at Zurich Airport concerning above and below the wing activities on a daily basis such as Passenger Services (check-in, ticket desk, concierge service, lounge service, gate handling, safety and security checks), baggage services, load control, commissary & catering, aircraft cleaning, fuel services, maintenance services 
·        Implementation and audit of Air Canada SOPs (Standard Operating Procedures) and regular follow up meetings with stakeholders internally and externally
·        Ensure high quality and safe level of customer service especially in case of irregular operations (delays, cancellations, denied boarding etc.) adhering to EU Law, Canadian Law and internal policies and procedures
·        Coordinate daily activities with SOC, dispatch etc. flight ops, crew scheduling etc. when needed (especially during IRROPS)
·        Coordinate emergency response procedures with HQ and Star Alliance Partners as well as airport authorities and handling agents. Maintain accurate manuals and participate in Emergency procedure training
·        Optimize on-time performance involving all relevant stakeholders
·        Monitor results (OTP, PAWOB, over catering etc.) and implement corrective actions where required. Work closely with HQ team to achieve goals and optimize results
·        Ensure regular communication with all handling agents in order to maintain high level of quality. Control SLAs
·        Support handling agent during training for new staff, i.e. hold product and services workshops
·        Support strategic purchasing in negotiations with handling agents in order to ensure a cost-efficient and safe operation
·        Budgeting costs and revenues, maintain budgets, cost control, accounting activities
·        Coordination with various authorities such as airport authority, civil aviation offices, slot coordination offices, air traffic control, police etc. Represent Air Canada at meetings and workshops with these authorities
·        Coordinate activities with Star Alliance Partners at Zurich Airport making sure codeshare agreements and procedures are correctly reflected. Attend SAAT meetings to defend Air Canada´s interests at Zurich airport
·        Represent Air Canada at AOC meetings and defend its interests at Zurich airport
 
 
In addition to his role as Airport Manager Zurich, Mr Aresu was also acting Airport Manager for several airports in Southern Europe from 2013 – 2015. Effective October 2015 he was appointed as acting Airport Manager for Warsaw and has also assumed the role as trainer for passenger services (check-in/gate functions), supporting the International training team located at the Air Canada Head office. In addition, since spring 2018, Ricardo has been appointed acting Airport Manager for Berlin-Tegel airport.

This position demands a high level of flexibility, independence and the ability to quickly adapt to changing and unexpected situations. Ricardo showed a very high level of those competencies and skills at all times and was a very reliable person who can be fully trusted. 
Ricardo was acting very proactively, always keeping in mind that customer service, safety and security are the key to success. Our Standard Operating Procedures have always been on top of his mind and he made sure all involved parties acted accordingly and got the training and instructions that were necessary to be able to comply with our requirements. He is a great communicator and always made sure that all relevant news and information are distributed in a timely manner to the stakeholders. Ricardo has a wealth of knowledge of Airport Operations and was an asset for the company. He always acted with a lot of integrity and entrepreneurial spirit and was an exceptional team player.

In his additional role as trainer, he has shown great coaching skills and professionally delivered his profound knowledge of the Air Canada Systems as well as our expected customer service standards to new ground handling agents. He also held refresher courses for ground handling agents in our seasonal airports.

Due to structural changes in our airport operations set-up his position was unfortunately closed down in Zurich on April, 30th 2019.
We regret to lose a motivated and professional colleague and wish him all the best for his future career.