Unifi evolves from a single subsidiary to a $1.8 billion global aviation services leader 

Unifi Aviation (Unifi) was created in 2018 through a joint venture between Delta Air Lines and Argenbright Holdings. CEO, Gautam Thakker, joins Transportation & Logistics International to discuss the business, and begins by describing its evolution: “The Argenbright Group bought 51 percent of what used to be Delta Global Services. This became a company called Unifi Aviation, after the completion of the integration process, offering aviation ground handling services. 

“I came into the business in 2021 with a threefold mandate, to scale the business, to make it more predictable, and to create an exceptional experience for both our employees and customers. In the last four years, we have pursued these goals aggressively, and we are well on our way to achieving the objectives.

“As an example of how far we’ve come, when the business changed ownership structure in 2018, we had around 10,000 employees and were turning over approximately $450 million. Today, through mostly organic growth, we are now close to $1.8 billion in revenue and 40,000 employees who service our customers across more than 230 stations. We’ve also increased our geographical footprint. We now have operations in Canada, and thanks to an acquisition last year, we also now have a presence in the UK and Ireland. 

“As the business has grown, we have moved past ground handling as we have incorporated more expertise into the organization. We are now a full-service aviation services provider. Our ambition is to manage the employee ecosystem in and around the airports. A lot of our employees are frontline hourly workers. As we’ve grown our service line, it enables our employees to have a career and grow with us. This not only improves our employees’ experience within the company but also benefits the business as well. By providing an exceptional environment, it enables employees to do things that they wouldn’t have been able to do otherwise. 

“This approach is central to our three-pronged strategy. Our objective is to make it hard for our employees to leave the company because of the work environment we provide for them and the fact that they love working for us. If you have happy, engaged and motivated staff, the business will grow, and the customer experience will be exceptional. Creating this experience is not only about providing career opportunities and paying people well, but it also requires removing as much friction as possible from their day-to-day tasks. This means having information about the work they do and the tasks that are important to them (like pay, schedule, PTO, training, etc.) available at the click of a button thereby reducing the number of times they need to retrieve information from different places. Aside from pay, the things people want are the ability to schedule their shifts and time off. We have developed a technology called ‘OnTheJob,’ which addresses these needs. This app allows staff to see their paycheck instantly, to see their leave balance, and also to bid for and swap shifts. Unifi heavily leverages generative AI to make the lives of our frontline employees easier, so they have more time and resources to focus on the customer’s needs.” 

Exceptional experience 

Along with creating incredible customer and employee experiences, the other key element of the company’s successful growth strategy is scalability. This provides the business with the foundations to succeed as it expands into new territories. Gautam explains: “After our acquisition and the inception of Unifi UK, we now are present in all of the major UK and Ireland airports. We are gradually expanding our service lines; for example, we have begun work in ground handling and security in the UK, while maintaining our dominant position in cabin cleaning services. 

“We are essentially building on the model that we have in the US, entering adjacent service lines to become a full-service provider in the UK as well. This approach is only possible because we have built a scalable business model. This has enabled the business to grow three and a half times over the last four and a half years. With the infrastructure we have created, we could take on another $1.5 billion of business without our costs increasing much. By developing in this way, we have the ability to keep expanding into new territories.” 

Gautam then looks ahead to the company’s ambitions for the remainder of the year and beyond: “We want to continue delivering an exceptional experience for our customers, knowing that a positive employee experience leads to a better customer experience, which ultimately drives business growth. A priority for the company over the next 12 to 18 months will be expanding service lines in the UK and Ireland to move towards a more complete offering similar to what Unifi provides in the US. We are also planning to expand into Continental Europe and open new service lines in the same timeframe.” 

Gautam concludes with a reflection on the business’ long-term goals: “Our vision as a company is to be the most respected aviation services company. We will achieve this by providing exceptional experiences to our employees and our customers, making sure that we are getting them to their destination safely and we are well on our way to making that vision a reality.”  

www.unifiservice.com