En Voyage - Issue #8

En Voyage
AURIGNY NEWS
STAFF PROUD OF
REPUTATION TO
‘GET PEOPLE HOME’
Steve Parrilla and Richard Pirouet
For Steve Parrilla and Richard
Pirouet, it’s Aurigny’s special
commitment to always ‘get people
home’ that has made the airline a
great place to work for so many years.
Steve, the airline’s Alderney
Station Manager, and Mr Pirouet,
one of Aurigny’s Duty Managers at
Guernsey Airport, are among staff
who have been honoured with Long
Service Awards. The two managers
have worked a combined 45 years
for Aurigny and still get a buzz out
of the daily challenges that airline
operations throw up, particularly
when the weather strikes!
Steve, a familiar face at Alderney
Airport for 25 years, started his
working life in his family’s bakery
in Alderney, and after a period in
another industry, a position came
up at Aurigny when his brother-inlaw
left. He started as a summer
temp and after six years, was
appointed the Station Manager.
In such a small community, Steve
admits there are not many people
who don’t know what he does for
the airline, but he enjoys working
at a place that is such an important
part of island life.
‘I enjoy it. I like dealing with
the public – you are the face of
Aurigny,’ he said. ‘I’ve also been
involved with our Medevac service.
For me, over many years Aurigny
has been that extra emergency
service out of the island. It has
saved so many lives. You get people
away quickly and a few weeks later
you could see them walking down
the street back in Alderney.’
Steve is often stopped in the
street, in his role at the airline, but
he is quite happy to chat to people
about work and the airline.
The same can be said for Richard,
who works at Guernsey Airport, but
regular sees customers in the high
street, who stop to say hello.
Like Steve, Richard also enjoys
dealing with the public in his role
as Duty Manager and takes pride in
the airline’s reputation for getting
customers where they need to be –
even in severe weather disruption.
‘It is a challenge. It doesn’t bother
me at all. You can be here until
midnight and customers will come
up and thank you. When you see
everyone get home at the end of
the day it can be very satisfying.
At a lot of other airlines, their first
option is to cancel because it
affects their punctuality figures. But
our first choice is to get you home.’
Richard first worked in the
growing industry, before joining
Aurigny 20 years ago. He started
as a loader and then worked
on inter-island manual checkin
at Guernsey Airport. He later
worked as a supervisor and has
been involved in training, before
becoming a Duty Manager.
Both Richard and Steve said that
the added security, following 9/11
in the US, has been one of the big
changes in the industry. Technology
had also made a massive difference
– when they first started everything
was done manually. Steve added:
‘Online is easier. People can book
24 hours a day now.’
AURIGNY’S 2017 CHARITY
WORK IN NUMBERS
During the course of 2017:
• Aurigny has supported over 50
charity events and fundraisers.
• Through this support, helped to
raise over £100,000 for various
local good causes.
• Staff have helped to raise over
£4,000 for various good causes
through their own charity efforts.
FAN-TACH-STIC EFFORT
BY OUR PILOTS
While every pilot tries their best
to avoid any close shaves, six of
ours took it a step further for a
good cause.
Pilots Ben Thompson, George
Santos, Dave Warren, Peter
Dunbar, John McGill and Sam
Benjamin all grew their very
best moustaches as part of
the Movember challenge and
managed to raise around £800
thanks to the support of the
travelling public.
Movember is the only charity
organisation tackling men’s health
on a global scale, year-round. They
address some of the biggest health
issues faced by men: prostate
cancer, testicular cancer, and mental
health and suicide prevention.
Ben said they were all too happy
to sprout some facial hair for
the worthy cause: ‘We are doing
Movember to raise funds to tackle
some of the biggest health issues
faced by men. It’s good fun raising
awareness and funds to try and help
tackle these issues. It is a very small
gesture to such a big cause and it’s
great to get involved’ he said.
10 En Voyage | Aurigny’s Magazine