LOADING
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Staff Interviews

A model of advanced handling for the world.

Koki Nakashima

Joined NRTAS in 2012

General positions
  • Ground Handling
  • New graduate recruiting
  • Taking parental leave
blue grade

Becoming a Master Instructor in my 10th year.

In Ground Handling, I was mainly involved in loading and unloading luggage and cargo for international and domestic routes. I gradually built up my skills and became an instructor in my third year at NRTAS. I was then selected to be a master instructor after seven years of as an instructor. Only 55 people nationwide in the ANA Group serve as master instructors, and as one of them, I was  an employee of both ANA and NRTAS.

Each department also has its own instructors. The position of master instructor is one level above them and is also involved in the ANA Group’s overall operations. We work at Narita Airport as well as overseas airports, teaching local staff as part of our mission to uphold and improve the safety quality of airports serviced by ANA flights.

NRTAS’ master instructors work at airports in Southeast Asia and the United States, and I have visited Los Angeles and Singapore in this role. One challenge in instructing staff is that they actually do not work for ANA but for a company that ANA has contracted to perform handling for ANA aircraft overseas. While having them comply with the global ground handling regulations, it’s very difficult to control the extent to which they comply with ANA’s even more rigorous regulations. In some countries, people think that as long as on-time departures and safety are achieved, ultimately it’s fine. I have worked hard to accommodate these different outlooks while getting people to satisfy ANA’s regulations as much as possible.

Solving issues at Narita with support beyond just NRTAS.

ANA Group staff perform handling operations based on a manual that contains the ANA Group’s own regulations and procedures. This manual serves as the basis for ANA’s high-quality handling. Master instructors also have the authority to change the contents of this manual.

As a master instructor, I led the first major revision of the manual in 10 years. I identified many areas of improvement that I had often seen but had not clearly defined. I proactively proposed the improvements at a meeting of all of the master instructors in Japan. Specifically, we updated the manual to make its language clearer and to make it easier to use, by getting rid of information that had become outdated with the times and by changing the wording in some areas to prevent any misunderstanding. I was able to help improve work efficiency and operations quality for the ANA Group as a whole and later on also received appreciative feedback from coworkers who said the manual was now easier to understand.

Becoming a master instructor has broadened my perspective from just international routes at Narita Airport to the ANA Group as a whole. The more I turn my attention to Narita Airport, the more I see issues that cannot be solved by Narita Airport alone. Working beyond the boundaries of my own company to solve them is exciting and gives me a real sense of purpose.

Increasing my expertise and expanding my career.

Including my time as a master instructor, I’ve worked in ground handling for a total of 12 years. I felt like I had done everything in ground handling that I could and wanted to gain a wider range of experience, so I applied for a general position. I currently work in the Human Resources Section of the General Administration Division.

The Human Resources Section engages in student recruiting, and I focus in particular on communicating the appeal of ground handling jobs. Unlike Passenger Services, ground handling jobs are not as well known by the general public. Many students learn about these jobs for the first time in our briefing sessions, and I try to honestly communicate to the students my experience and what I’ve found rewarding and fun as well as what is difficult. I think I was able to get the opportunity to work overseas after becoming a master instructor because Narita’s international route handling has earned such a good reputation, and I try to show students that they can also have this future goal.

After gaining experience in the Ground Services Division, you can continue your career path as professional staff, become a master instructor like I did or even aim for the position of airport director. There are also opportunities to work in Passenger Services, as a mechanic and in operations management. I emphasize to everyone how NRTAS offers many ways to advance your career and improve your skillset. But even if you want to eventually move into a general position, concentrating fully on the work in front of you and increasing your expertise in various positions will expand the career options available to you.

Many men take parental leave at NRTAS.

I was the first man in the Ground Services Division to take parental leave. I’ve taken parental leave twice so far, the first time for one month and the second time for two months. I don’t see parenting children only as a mother’s job and think fathers should also be actively involved, so I decided to take parental leave. A lot of men work in Ground Services, and I think many of them were unsure of how to react the first time I took the leave. It took some courage on my part as well. But taking parental leave became more commonplace afterward, and now men are actually encouraged to take it. I’m glad that me taking parental leave helped prompt this change and make NRTAS even more worker friendly.

People work at NRTAS for a long time, so I want to focus on making sure that the company is worker friendly in addition to offering rewarding work. Parental leave is one example of this, and we are always making improvements to try and create better working conditions as well as actively incorporating feedback from employees. I hope that students can find the work life and the personal life that is right for them and thrive in their work.

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One
Day
Schedule
A typical day’s schedule
  • airport tour duties

  • 08:30

    Check email and the schedule
    After coming to work, I check my email and my schedule for that day.

  • 09:00

    Final check of the venue and goods
    I go to the tour location and make a final check to ensure that everything I need is ready.

  • 09:45

    Reception and orientation
    After working the reception desk for the tour, I conduct an orientation for the participants.

  • 10:30

    Guide for the airport tour
    I lead the students on a tour of different parts of the airport.

  • 12:00

    Informal discussion
    Students and employees have an informal discussion, and we answer students’ questions about Narita Airport and what our work is like.

  • 13:00

    Lunch

  • 14:00

    Meetings, checking paperwork, phone support
    I attend internal meetings, check paperwork and answer phone calls.

  • 17:00

    Next day’s preparations
    I prepare for tomorrow’s work and go home.

  • 17:45

    Leave work

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Favorite
Places

My favorite parts of Narita

  • Conference Room 613
    Usually I can’t see outside where I work, so being in this conference room with its good views of the aircraft and ground handling operations feels exciting.

  • Spot 54
    I like watching the send-off for the Flying Honu.

  • Vehicle performing a pushback
    The view from the passenger seat offers a taste of how amazing this operation is.

World Map
世界最高のチームをつくる。