Welcome Aboard, Zach Cox!

Flight Services & Systems would like to announce that Zach Cox has been named as Operations Manager for the Seattle-Tacoma International Airport locations. He will be working closely with newly appointed General Manager Brandi Ellison.

Zach started his aviation career as a finance intern for Hawaiian Airlines in 2014. He also worked as a Ground Service Agent for Alaska Airlines and Airport Services Supervisor for JSX Airlines. Zach is a graduate of Hawaii Pacific University with a Master’s in Business administration and Marketing as well as a bachelor’s in Economics. Welcome to the FSS team, Zach!

FSS Employee Spotlight: Michael Abdulkarim

Accounts Receivable Specialist
Michael Abdulkarim

Flight Services & Systems would also like to recognize Accounts Receivable Specialist Michael Abdulkarim. Michael has done a fantastic job with our collections. He has been working with our general managers and business partners to collect past due accounts. In the last two months, Michael has collected $2.5 million with $1.3 million coming in May alone. He has taken a lead role on our P&L calls where he has been more proactive and involved with our general managers and the collection process. As Michael continues to grow in his responsibilities, he has become an important member of the FSS team.

FSS Employee Spotlight - Ann Doucette

PWM Customer Service Representative Ann Doucette

Portland International Jetport (PWM) Operations Manager June Thompson wanted to spotlight Ann Doucette. Ann started with FSS in October 2019 as a customer service representative for Southwest. Her outgoing personality and people-first mentality have helped her become an outstanding customer service representative. However, that’s not the reason June wanted to spotlight Ann.

Ann stepped up to help her fellow employees during the COVID-19 pandemic. One day each week, Ann cooks for the entire FSS staff at PWM. She’s made everything from meatball subs, mini cheesecakes, cherry and apple strudel, Mexican Shepard’s pie, to mac n’ cheese. This alone with an amazing thing to see happening, but Ann takes it a step further. Ann makes sure there is enough for the PWM team who have families to take home. This awesome act of kindness, compassion, dedication, and caring is something that we would love to recognize. Thank you, Ann!

FSS Announces Winners for the Spruce Up for Spring Contest

Flight Services & Systems kicked off the spring season with a challenge to our General Managers with a Spruce Up for Spring contest. The contest was for the best-looking ground service equipment (GSE) and was extended to cover breakrooms, office spaces, and other areas of our operations. The contest started on March 15^th and recently ended on May 15^th.

An example of before (top) and after (bottom)
 from Palm Beach International Airport

Our corporate leaders provided a few guidelines for the General Managers to follow. They were to apply a fresh coat of paint to the GSE fleet with the result looking good from 25 feet away. They also could not cover up the FSS logo or asset numbers. For the breakrooms and office spaces, the guideline was simple: make it look and function better than before.

The General Managers and their teams went to work. They provided corporate with before photos and continuously documented their progress along the way. At the end of the contest, members of our corporate staff judged the photos, and here are the results:

• 1^ST PLACE and $1000 PRIZE - Palm Beach International Airport (PBI)
• 2^nd PLACE and $500 PRIZE – Huntington Tri-State Airport (HTS)
• 3^rd PLACE and $250 PRIZE – Chicago O’Hare International Airport (ORD)

The checks will be made out to the General Managers and Operations Managers. They will decide how the prize money will be used. FSS would like to thank all of the stations for participating. Great job, team!

Congratulations to Brandi Ellison

Brandi Ellison
SEA General Manager

Brandi joined FSS in April 2020 as our Operations Manager at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport. She was recently promoted to General Manager. Brandi comes to FSS with a wealth of aviation experience and knowledge. She started her aviation career in 2007 as a flight attendant for United Airlines. As her career progressed, Brandi held several managerial positions where she developed her professional customer service and leadership skills.

She is also expanding her aviation knowledge. Brandi is currently enrolled at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University where she is studying Aviation Business Administration and Management. She is expected to graduate in December 2020. Flight Services and Systems is excited to have Brandi onboard.

Congratulations to Jimmy Dillard and Zach Jackson

Jimmy Dillard
CHS General Manager

Zach Jackson
SAT General Manager

Flight Services & Systems is proud to announce that General Manager Jimmy Dillard of our San Antonio International Airport location will be taking over our Charleston International Airport location. Jimmy has been with FSS since 2019. He proudly served in the U.S. Air Force as a Supply Technician. While serving in the Air Force, Jimmy honed his administrative and management skills.  His strong background in aviation and management will be a welcomed change to the Charleston location. Our Charleston team is excited to have Jimmy onboard.

We’re also excited to announce the promotion of Zach Jackson to General Manager of our San Antonio International Airport. While learning his new responsibilities, Zach is showing his leadership and communication skills to his fellow employees. FSS is very optimistic about what the future holds for Zach and the San Antonio team.

FSS Employee Spotlight - Carla Gamble

Carla Gamble
Field Trainer

Flight Services & Systems would like to highlight Field Trainer Carla Gamble. Carla has been working in our Charleston station since March. Since arriving, Carla has transformed an underperforming station into an outstanding one. She has been training our new employees while making sure our current employees are up to date on their training. She has also been keeping them informed of any changes, such as work schedules, due to the coronavirus. Carla has drastically improved the functionality of the Charleston station through regular communication with her teammates including safety meetings and daily briefings.

During these trying times, her leadership and poise have been a welcoming change at the station. Many employees have commented on how Carla has made the team feel more like a family. We can’t thank Carla enough for her hard work and dedication, and we can’t wait to have her back in our corporate office.

FSS Employee Spotlight - Carl Stepic

Carl Stepic
FSS Corporate Controller

Flight Services and Systems would like to recognize Corporate Controller Carl Stepic. Since arriving at FSS in February 2020, Carl has been working diligently on finding ways to cut costs and has impeccable accounting practices. Whether it’s working with our auditors, business partners or corporate needs, Carl’s ability to look at the big picture while still keeping the fine details in focus is outstanding.  His work recently found a way for FSS to save thousands on our telecommunication. His professionalism and communication have been a welcomed sight to our corporate offices. We cannot thank Carl enough for the amazing work he is doing.

General Manager Spotlight – Sherrie Erwin

Sherrie Erwin
IND General Manager

FSS would like to recognize the amazing work that General Manager Sherrie Erwin as been doing at our Indianapolis International Airport Station. Since arriving at IND, Sherrie has turned the operation around and stabilized it. This is the third station that Sherrie has worked in for FSS.


Because of her leadership, Sherrie has improved the station's scorecard with Alaska Airlines. At the end of last year, FSS had a score of "D" which is not only below Alaska Airlines' standards, it's below our standards as well. Sherrie recently received the scorecard for the first quarter of 2020 and FSS scored "A". FSS is seeing the potential for station growth at IND because of Sherrie’s leadership and ability to meet important metrics. We can't thank her enough for her devotion and dedication to FSS and our vision.

FSS BOS Employee Displays Amazing Honesty

Candice Eatherton
FSS BOS and Volpe Supervisor

On the evening of March 24^th, Volpe Supervisor and FSS Boston Logan International Airport employee, Candice Eatherton, was returning wheelchairs near baggage claim. As she was returning the wheelchairs, she spotted a Rolex watch. She did the right thing and reported it to Massachusetts State Police. FSS would like to thank Candice for her honesty and for setting the example.