[Arturs Erdmanis, Head of Riga Ground Handling at airBaltic]
Our bolded core values are:
[Arturs Erdmanis, Head of Riga Ground Handling at airBaltic]
we deliver, we care, we grow.
We deliver is about consistent excellence
in every aspect of our business.
We care is about our passion for the aviation.
Sustainability is at the core of the way we work.
We grow sees challenges as an opportunity
to develop and adaptation in constant changes around us.
[Ilona Petersone, IT Head of Business Technology at airBaltic]
When the Pandemic started at that point,
[Ilona Petersone, IT Head of Business Technology at airBaltic]
the majority of the company employees
started to work from home
and we've realized that we need
one joint tool for corporation and communication.
And so at that point,
Microsoft came to us with an offer:
to try Microsoft Teams for free for some time.
So, we've used that opportunity.
Very soon we've realized that
it's actually very good, convenient.
Now we can't imagine daily life anymore without it.
[Arturs Erdmanis, Head of Riga Ground Handling at airBaltic]
In spring 2021, we've started preparation processes
[Arturs Erdmanis, Head of Riga Ground Handling at airBaltic]
for this new ground handling division
here at the Riga Base Station.
Our aim was to go digital
or to be, let's say, more digital
and also to build our solutions around the smartphone.
[Ilona Petersone, IT Head of Business Technology at airBaltic]
The timeline was very short,
[Ilona Petersone, IT Head of Business Technology at airBaltic]
actually less than a year,
when we had to implement
a new system for ground handling.
And that was the moment
when Microsoft's partner Digital Mind
came into the game
and they helped us to build the first power-ups
for the shifts' planning and distribution.
We've realized that it actually works
and that it will help us.
We've started to build more around it.
Built all the needed workflows there.
So, this was really beneficial for us
because we did it in a very short time with existing tools,
saving costs, saving resources
and basically everyone was satisfied in the end.
[Arturs Erdmanis, Head of Riga Ground Handling at airBaltic]
The benefit that we see is one system.
[Arturs Erdmanis, Head of Riga Ground Handling at airBaltic]
It is more effective.
It is more flexible for the employees.
Processes have become more efficient
in terms of shift planning.
It is very convenient for all employees.
They can access their daily shift plans
on their mobile devices
They can also easily swap shifts.
[Ilona Petersone, IT Head of Business Technology at airBaltic]
Post-flight reports were made on paper in old times.
And then they were archived
and now it's all in one system.
It's one register where immediately responsible manager
can work with each case and issue.
There are photos attached there,
or even videos if there's needs of them.
[Arturs Erdmanis, Head of Riga Ground Handling at airBaltic]
Regarding the payroll,
[Arturs Erdmanis, Head of Riga Ground Handling at airBaltic]
it's been a time saving actually.
Now to export data from Microsoft Teams
into our payroll system it takes around 15 minutes.
If this is done manually,
it would take around two days.
Our company vision sees airBaltic as a sustainable carrier
in the new aviation market.
Digitalization has helped us
to become more effective.
Also, these electronic solutions help us to go more paperless.
We are saving, for each flight,
basically, one piece of paper as well.