Praise indeed for the outstanding standards of quality and security at Eurowings.

In an atmosphere reminiscent of the Eurovision Song Contest, Peter White, chief auditor for the five-man SH&E auditing team, announced the results to the participants. “Here are your results.” Then a pause, a new PowerPoint page and the caption “zero findings – you did it again!” White went on to say, “This makes Eurowings “wunderbar”!” followed by applause. Not from the Eurowings team, however, rather from the IOSA team and Lou Sorrentino, senior vice president of the consultancy firm, whose team for the audit also included an IATA observer. After the result it was clear that Eurowings had become only the second airline in the world to receive a so-called “renewal audit” without any findings and in so doing extend the IOSA licence two years after it was first given, with distinction and without any hitches.

The senior vice president underlined in his speech the fact that the IOSA audit offered very few possibilities for differentiation. “By completing the IOSA audit and being registered as a graduate in the corresponding list, all airlines are put on an equal footing – it is impossible to distinguish which airline has done something really exceptional.” This was the case of Eurowings. He praised the enhanced atmosphere of quality and security, the cooperative and friendly contact between colleagues, the high level of professionalism of all who took part, on the ground and in the air, as well as the entire company’s flawless preparation for this all-encompassing quality and security audit: “I have never seen anything like it!” This was confirmed by Rosanna Martinelli, who accompanied the audit as an IOSA quality assurance auditor: “You’re all just amazing, one of a kind!” The IATA representative said that the team clearly confirmed the “zero findings” result of the first audit. And this even considering standards were used that wouldn’t be compulsory till 2008. Eurowings is thus the first airline in Germany and Europe to successfully come through this tougher audit. Globally only one other airline has done so. The Eurowings IOSA team were justifiably proud of themselves. Those taking part hadn’t expected applause from the examiners so there was initially stunned silence rather than jubilation.

Accountable Manager Peter Kranich thanked the previous speakers for their praise and passed on the praise to the whole IOSA team by saying, “I followed the proceedings in the audit week very closely in the daily debriefing sessions and heard the unqualified praise for the two flight crew auditors.” They told him how professional and safety-conscious the flight crews had been. Peter Kranich said, “We can be proud and should say so here. I’m also very proud of my colleagues gathered here today. In their own areas of expertise, through their professionalism, through the procedures they draw up, the thousands of pages of manuals they write and the processes they implement, they create the conditions for our successful operations. And for that reason I offer you my emphatic gratitude!

”The “exam stress” is finally at an end thanks to the successful completion of the IOSA audit. Enrolment in the IOSA, which runs out on 11th November, is thus extended by two years. “But we don’t want to rest on our laurels, we want to be even better and continue to work on maintaining the IOSA mindset”, Michael Roell said, who was in charge of coordinating preparations for IOSA in the specialist divisions for the QM team. Once again Eurowings has emphatically underlined its professionalism and this quality and security audit. All this came against the backdrop of the need to drive forward numerous other large projects, as well as IOSA, in other operational departments.