October 11, 2021: The global general sales and service agent (GSSA), ECS Group today launched and announced itself as an “augmented GSA,” an enhanced GSA concept based on four key pillars: new abilities, technology, commercial, and sustainability.

“ECS Group is reorganising and taking the archetypal GSA structure to a whole new level. With rapidly increasing digital platforms and developments, ever more complex commodities and regulations, and a growing emphasis on the UN Sustainable Development Goals, it is clear that companies which do not or cannot adapt to these changes will struggle to survive,” reads the release.

Adrien Thominet, chairman and CEO of ECS Group, said, “Over the course of the past almost quarter of a century, serving hundreds of airlines of all shapes and sizes across the globe, ECS Group has developed a huge and diverse skill set, and it is this that we have now structured to form our innovative Augmented GSA concept.”

“Though we already began developing a number of the individual components during the past 2-3 years, the devastating effect of the pandemic on the aviation industry recently has increased the problems that our concept is designed to solve. As smaller and medium-sized airlines begin to ramp up again, they may face a number of organisational challenges, many of them related to lack of staff. ECS Group can lift the burden to whatever extent the airline wishes. Our Augmented GSA concept goes far beyond the traditional sales activities,” he added.

The new abilities pillar contains 10 single modules such as the established Total Cargo Management (TCM) solution which covers all operational requirements, a data-scanning service, or a quality and safety management component, for example. With the technology pillar, ECS Group enables process efficiencies across the transportation chain through specially developed, in-house digital solutions, while the commercial pillar makes use of these technologies to provide solid business figures and ultimately greater financial success. The sustainability pillar tackles environmental, diversity, and social responsibility issues in various approaches.

The four pillars, as well as their individual components, can be selected as required, enabling the airline partner to configure a completely individualised support structure. Over the course of the next weeks and months, ECS Group will introduce the pillars and components in greater detail, along with their new brand names.