It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane…..It’s a Hungarian Pheasant?

Ten years ago I assisted with the hosting of an official NATO event at the Czech Senate Building in Prague. Like many places in Prague, it is beautifully designed with detailed frescoes that cover the walls and ceiling along with soaring crystal chandeliers.

Occasionally I have a tendency to make sarcastic comments with a deadpan expression. Usually I just want to see if they are listening.

So while walking through this amazing hall I asked the event planner, “Are these chandeliers actually real?”

She looked at me with an appalling frown and said, “Of course! What do you think? We are in Las Vegas?”

She peaked my interest and a month later I was in Las Vegas on a short holiday before going to Los Angeles. I quickly figured out what she meant as there is no place on earth filled with so many things that just aren’t real (except all the money made by the casinos…).

While in the city of illusions, my then girlfriend Jamie and I went to see the master of illusion, David Copperfield. I love magic and this was an amazing opportunity.

In order to pick someone to come on stage, he throws a frisbee out to the audience. Whoever catches it is invited to come-up and participate in his next act. Jamie caught the frisbee and next thing she was on stage.

What happens next is something you would never hear about. She had to draw a bird and did not draw what he was expecting and he sent her back.

She had killed the trick!

Apparently Jamie could outsmart the same guy who managed to make the Statue of Liberty disappear and walk through the Great Wall of China. Regardless of our experience, he is still the master of tricking us into believing something that is not real.

Speaking of trickery, I recently was tricked by something as simple as a restaurant menu. Last week while in Prague I went out for traditional Czech food and an item on the menu caught my attention. It was called “Moravian Sparrow.” Suddenly I had an image of a real sparrow freshly killed from the woods being served whole on my plate.

Which of course begs the question, “Do I start with the wings or the head?” I would defer to Ozzie Osborne on this one.

Apparently Moravian Sparrow is a pork, cabbage, and dumpling dish (Very Czech!). How it actually got to be called Moravian Sparrow is something you will have to research on the Internet.

In any kind of business you always have to struggle with figuring out if your vendors really get the job done. You wonder if they will actually serve you what you are order. Are they too an illusion?

In the trip support company side of things, clients must wonder who is providing the handling support on-the-ground. Is it the same people they called to set the trip up? We pride ourselves on the fact that in our 175 locations it is one of our people.

This includes Hungary, where we recently proved having your own people is essential.

Petr Pazurek, our Hungarian Country Manager, was coordinating the departure of a flight for a VVIP customer in Budapest when they showed up unexpectedly with 100 freshly hunted pheasants to be put on the aircraft.

Apparently they were gifts? So much for a bottle of wine or box of chocolates.  I guess bringing a pheasant to dinner parties is now the “it” gift.

Petr immediately attempted to ice them down, but realizing that regular ice would melt through their boxes and dry ice was not easily accessible, he went into a cargo storage area at Budapest airport that had cooler boxes. He grabbed them, filled them up with ice and managed to fit the 100 pheasants into all the boxes. If anyone knows Petr, there is no doubt he had zero hesitation and was up for the challenge.

Having someone on the ground is essential. They can make magic happen with their knowledge. We get frustrated when we see a worldwide guide of airport ground handling support operations list companies that are not present in so many locations. We know for a fact (it helps when your employees have worked at the airport for 25 years) that so many of these companies are just not there.

Perhaps it helps to destroy an illusion when you have a partner company with a main office in Prague, where what you see is what you get. It is a Medieval city filled with so many original buildings that nothing is an illusion (apart from the dancing puppets on the Charles Bridge).

So what are two things I want you to take away from this blog?

Firstly, when you have your $40 million plane sitting on a ramp somewhere, you can be assured that when your customer orders Moravian Sparrow, we will make sure they get a pork, cabbage, and dumpling dish and not an actual Sparrow.

Secondly, keep tossing us a Frisbee and let us come to the stage. We will ensure that magic happens. And if we do not, then we will send you a trendy Pheasant. I know what you are thinking. Not to worry, it will arrive in a cooler.

Make no illusion about it.

Passion, Jet Fuel, and Some Fuzzy Slippers

One of my favorite mugs in my kitchen cabinet states “I love the Smell of Jet Fuel in the Morning.” For anyone who has worked on the ramp in aviation, you know the phrase.  This quote is all about passion.

Last week aviation enthusiasts from all over the United States converged on San Diego at the annual NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference. Unusually rainy weather and a public holiday did not stop several thousand aviation professionals from discussing their services that spanned executive jet management, catering, sedan transport, and of course flight support.

For those of you that attended you got to see some interesting marketing tactics that included fuzzy bear slippers, an angry bird game, and a promotion to win a trip to Rome. If you are interested in the trip to Rome, please visit our Facebook page at www.facebook.com/eurojet. We have one more week left in the promotion!

The great thing about Schedulers and Dispatchers is that it eliminates the massive presence and overwhelming nature of the Annual NBAA Convention. It is much more condensed, focused, and you cannot move a few feet without running into someone that you know or worked with at some point.

While standing and talking to people in the Euro Jet booth and walking the convention floor, I was struck by the multi faceted nature of aviation. With every flight, there are so many moving parts of different vendors that work to make everything go flawlessly. All those key players that make it happen were exhibiting in this one space.

It seems like those who have breathed too much jet fuel over the years, also enjoy a good time. The hottest party of the week was Rockwell Collins, who had a band that could perfectly imitate a slew of 80s hits. The Conference was then capped off by an event on the USSS Midway Aircraft carrier in the San Diego Harbor. This included an open bar, up close view of vintage fighter jets and Top Gun music playing all around.

Not too shabby.

I have had the word passion spinning in my head all week. Schedulers and Dispatchers demonstrates that aviation is not just a job. It is also a career and passion for so many.  Most of us do not work 9-5 and have weekends off. This industry is 24-7 and the term “anytime of the day” was heard many times over in our meetings.

I often joked that if I ever left aviation and went to another industry I would go work in a bank or as a toll booth worker. Fortunately I never left aviation and am still lucky enough to work in such an industry that loves a little jet fuel and can still appreciate a good 80s tune!

And now we look forward to Business Airport World Expo in France next month, where we can experience this passion once again except on a European scale. Instead of iced tea and hot dogs as a late afternoon snack, should I look forward to fine wine and frog legs?

Starbucks, Facebook, and Pristina

Unless you have been living in a cave, the following story should sound familiar…

Someone walks into Starbucks and the line is long. The line will cost them an extra 3 minutes of their precious time. An outrage! They decide to go on Facebook through their mobile application and update their status with “I hate standing in long lines at Starbucks.”

Within minutes that person whose name they can’t remember that sat behind them in High School has liked their status. Then their annoying cousin who keeps instant messaging them posts a comment recalling a similar experience.

Here is a twist. The friend from High School works at a US Corporation in Tanzania and the cousin is currently an exchange student in Japan.

Facebook has shown how a single medium can not only contribute to both political uprisings and be an outlet for petty complaints, but it can unite the world with a universal appeal like nothing we have seen since Michael Jordan and the Muppet movies.

As a company that prides itself in keeping up with the times, Euro Jet developed a Facebook page (shameless plug: www.facebook.com/eurojet) with the hopes of creating a forum where we could create an interaction between our clients, vendors, and staff in a single electronic medium (and offer a trip to Italy…).

Recently we did a promotion of our Bishkek support station on all our different social media outlets, including Facebook. This led to a brief discussion of something we have all wondered, but been too afraid to ask.

Do people in Bishkek, Kyrgyzstan tell Kazakhstani jokes?

We actually did some research on this by checking with our station in Bishkek only to find this sarcastic comment was indeed the truth. People in Bishkek make fun of the Kazakhstanis. Who knew?

Over the past couple of weeks we have been promoting our Pristina, Kosovo station. Which of course begs the question? So who do people from Kosovo tell jokes about?

Join our Facebook page and you will soon find out!

Only on Facebook can you start a discussion that links our staff, vendors, and clients in Prague, Bishkek, Almaty, Pristina, Zagreb, Budapest, Sofia and Bucharest. Throw in staff in places called Poprad, Tivat, Rijeka, Burgas, and Dushanbe and you have created what is arguably the biggest collection of employees from the world’s most obscure major cities working for one company.

Euro Jet is the only company in the world that makes sure the handling you get in Tivat and Poprad is the same as Prague and Warsaw.

So next time you are going into a Starbucks and the line is too long. Could you please do me favor?

Have someone take a picture of you.

Then upload it, make sure you tag yourself, write a really long comment using lots of three letter acronyms, post it and wait for the likes and comments.

The people in Bishkek tell me that the Kazakhstanis do this all the time.

Ringing in the New Year with Tuna Tartar, KFC, and Slurpees

WASHINGTON, DC JANUARY 1st, 2012

During the last quarter of 2011, I logged 22 days working out of Prague in the Czech Republic. While I was fortunate to have a KFC across the street to eat dinner every night, the realization also kicked in that my arteries can only last so long.

So I decided to cook. For full disclosure purposes, “cook” in my personal dictionary is a loosely defined term. I consider making myself a cheese sandwich and popcorn “cooking.”

So in order to cook one needs ingredients. Well fortunately in addition to KFC, there is also a Billa grocery store across the street. What is Billa like? Well think Whole Foods minus the sushi bar, or the cold cuts, or the fish market, or half the selection.

Okay, bad example.

Think 7-11 minus the Slurpee machine.

So I ventured into Billa. I started in the fruit section (I know what Apples and Bananas look like) and then ran into a problem.

Nothing was in English!

It also did not help that no one spoke English (to their credit I have this same issue at 7-11).

So what did I do? Well I ended up purchasing all American products based on familiar logos. Similar to why I ventured to KFC, I knew the brand and went with what I knew.

Fast forward to New Years Eve this year. This is the one time I do in fact cook and make my favorite dish. I labored for two hours (no exaggeration) making a tuna tartar, ceviche style. It is complex and includes so many different ingredients that all the components of it fuse together to make-up one delicious appetizer.

I was not sure how popular the tuna tartar was going to be. My nearest competition was a platter of pita and hummus. The odds were against me, as the tuna didn’t look like your standard raw tuna, since it was blended-in with an assortment of avocado, jalapenos, scallions, and much more. However I confidently told everyone there to just give it a try.

Before I knew it, this was the most popular dish and they were all coming back for more.

The pita and hummus gathered dust the rest of the night.

If something tastes good, people will come back for more. The hardest part is just getting someone to try it. Human nature will never err toward going with the unfamiliar. If we don’t fully understand something, and if there is no one to guide or translate, then we automatically go with what we know and are comfortable.

As I go around the United States selling Euro Jet, my biggest challenge will be confronting potential clients that use the brands they know and are afraid to try something new.

I welcome the challenge because once they try our product, they will realize all the hard work and attention to detail that we put into every trip. And they will come back for more.

On that note, I just download an application on my ipad that can translate Czech into English. So next time I go to Billa, I will be well prepared and soon may be a loyal customer to a brand I never knew…

Happy 2012!

Euro Jet’s Man of the Year

Euro Jet’s Man of the Year.

Euro Jet’s Man of the Year

What are the three most important historical events of the 20^th Century? I would pick the assassination of Arch Duke Ferdinand, the invasion of Normandy, and the fall of Communism.

While we keep saying goodbye too fast to the Greatest Generation that led the Normandy invasion, we also had to say farewell this week to a legend of history.

As I wrote in my last post, former Czech President Vaclav Havel died on Sunday. We have lost a giant of the 20^th Century.

A playwright, he led the Velvet Revolution that not only brought Democracy to Czechoslovakia, but was part of a movement (led first by Poland and Hungary) that caused the total collapse of Communism in Eastern Europe.

He did it with a combination of intellectual artistry and peaceful protest.

Like Nelson Mandela, he went to jail for his dissident views, but once he became President he forgave his oppressors and focused on making his country safe, secure, and economically strong.

Prague is the center of commerce for Eastern Europe.  The economic strength of the Czech Republic, its accession into NATO, the EU, and independent military are all role models for the rest of the region.

Sadly, the US media has largely ignored his death. They have missed out on commemorating an extraordinary life and the lessons learned from how peaceful protest and intellectual movements can lead to Democrary (a very relevant issue in 2011).

I hope this post will reach at least one person who will read online a story about this great man and think about how we can emulate him and always be thinking about promoting independent thinking, creativity, and free will.

Undoubtedly most publications will award the “Man of The Year” to Steve Jobs. In my opinion it should be Vaclav Havel. While he didn’t develop gadgets that have drained our wallets, he instead led a revolution and gave freedom to millions.

Plus who needs Apple when you have far more important companies, like Pilsner Urquell?

Veselé vánoce a šťastný nový rok. Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Thank you President Havel

WASHINGTON, DC – December 18, 2011

The Czech Republic lost today what George Washington was to the United States and Nelson Mandela to South Africa.

Vaclav Havel died this morning at the age of 75 in Prague, Czech Republic. He served as President of the Czech Republic for over 10 years, and prior to that he was responsible for the dissident movement that caused the collapse of Communism in Czechoslovakia and the development of both the Czech and Slovakia Republic as separate countries.

In November 2002, I worked on the NATO Prague Summit where I coordinated several events surrounding the Summit. President Havel was of course the host of the Summit and this was the perfect end to a momentous career. At the Summit’s end, the Baltic and Balkan countries would be invited to join NATO.  With memories of the Warsaw Pact fresh in everyone’s memory, this was truly an historic occasion.

Our first event to start the Summit was on the top floor of the Kampa Museum where President Havel was our keynote speaker. We had initially set it up for him to walk up the stairs to the top floor of the event. Back then his health was not great and we were told that an alternate solution needed to be arranged as it was too many flight of stairs. So we had a broken elevator fixed and everything was in place.

When President Havel arrived, he had a small motorcade with a tight knit team of security and staff. He got into the elevator, the staff rushed up the stairs to meet him, the elevator did not break down and the doors opened at the top. He got out.

Then suddenly there was pandemonium. He was rushed back onto the elevator and off it went, with his staff and security running back down the stairs.

Turns out the staff did not realize there was no bathroom on the top floor.

Due to the confusion of restroom locations, he ended up starting about ten minutes late. Regardless, it was a memorable speech. Very long, detailed, and passionate. I was very lucky to be there and to hear such a legend speak so brilliantly.

The world has lost a great man. While we mourn his loss, we celebrate the freedom, the culture, and overall the legacy he leaves behind.

Thank you President Havel.

Is Bishkek The Next Shannon?

Ninety nine percent of the world has never heard of Bishkek.

A strong argument can be made that the future of aviation lies in a place called Bishkek in the little known country of Kyrgyzstan. It has fast become the gateway city for flights from Europe and from Asia into the Central Asia region. Right now it is a very strategic airport for US Military operations into the region due to its proximity to Afghanistan.

Euro Jet has expanded in Bishkek to a team of five led by the very capable Andrey Lim. I met Andrey two weeks ago in Prague and he is a real professional. He has worked for the airport for many years and knows every aspect and person there.

In the Texas they like to say, “Don’t mess with Texas.” In Bishkek, they say “Don’t mess with Andrey.” They even have a little Texas drawl there (but no big belts…yet).

Euro Jet is serious about investing in key strategic locations and Andre and his team are no exception.

Keep your eyes and ears open in the aviation world, because like Shannon has become synonymous with “fuel stop” – Bishkek is next on that list.

See our article on our website [http://bit.ly/tAA1uk] or go to facebook.com/eurojet – become our friend and explore all the interesting items that we have on this site.

Peace, Love, and Chicken Tikka Masala

POSTED IN FRANKFURT, GERMANY – DECEMBER 10

Last Saturday, December 3 was the annual Euro Jet Holiday Party. Any doubters about the global presence of Euro Jet would have been proven wrong. It was truly an International gathering with staff in attendance from the Balkans to the Baltics mixed in with Ukraine and Kyrgyzstan.

While watching a hodgepodge of Eastern Europeans get down to the YMCA (apparently an International crowd pleaser), I was struck by the open seating arrangement. The Romanians and Bulgarians sat together, the Financial Team sat together as did the Operations team. Traveling in packs is not just a freshman year of University phenomenon. 

But joking aside, here is something that was really interesting…….

I am in my mid 30s and studied political science in University. Do the math and that means I attended school in the mid to late 90s. Google the biggest International news story of the 1990s and it is no doubt the Balkan War. Certain rouge entities proved (as would Rwanda at the same time) that the world had not moved on from the horrors of World War II and mankind would continue to commit shameless atrocities.

And now we are in 2011. The war is over and the countries all get along. 

It was clearly evident at the table in the far right hand corner (nearest to the Chicken Tikka Masala nonetheless) where the Euro Jet team from the Balkans sat very happily together. This included country managers and staff from Croatia, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Slovenia, Albania, and Montenegro. Their languages are very similar as is their love of a sweet honey flavored liquor.

When I commented on how nice it was to see the Balkans all sitting next to each other, one of the representative from Zagreb, Croatia turned to me said “We were at war 15 years ago, but today we are all friends. We are having a good time.” 

This region has gone through so much and for so long and at one point all hope seemed to have been lost. That is all in the past and this region (Croatia is #1) is now right at the top of our flight of activity (don’t be jealous Bulgaria).

So while the dancing, the food, and the limited libations went on through the night, a little piece of modern history was highlighted. Perhaps at no better setting than a Holiday party.   

And for those who actually read this through, are you thinking what I am thinking…..Chicken Tikka Masala at a Czech Christmas Party?

Euro Jet: A Question of Trust

And so begins the first blog. I must admit that I never thought I would blog. When it became popular several years ago, it all seemed so foreign. So perhaps it is appropriate that something foreign is now part of my daily routine.

Six weeks ago I decided to become a foreigner again and join the company Euro Jet. Growing up in three countries, I never truly  felt from the place I lived. Now I return to a life split between the United States and Prague, once again feeling like a foreigner.

Why did I do it? I worked with Euro Jet for many years and was always impressed with their operation. Euro Jet is an aircraft ground support company with stations located at 175 airports throughout 28 Central and Eastern European and Central Asian countries. They can handle any aspect of ground handling in these location, including permits, landing fees, fueling, equipment rental, catering, crew hotels, ground transportation and the list goes on. The company can also provide generous credit terms to its clients.

There are many “flight support” companies out there that sell themselves as being everywhere and able to do everything. Euro Jet is proud to say that they are the only Central/Eastern European and Central Asian ground support company that physically have 200 employees on the ground meeting its aircraft every day. Furthermore they have 50 employees working out of their Prague office, coordinating the 6,000 plus yearly flights. The company also prides itself on having a 24/7 operations department that guarantees to answer all your e-mails within minutes and pick-up the phone straight away.

It was impossible for me to pass up an opportunity to promote such an amazing product.

Over the next few months Euro Jet will be expanding its social media presence. This blog will appear weekly, and include an update on Euro Jet’s current activities. In addition to the blog, we are expanding our presence on Facebook, Linked-in, YouTube, Twitter (@eurojetservice), and will unveil our brand new web site by the end of November. Clients will start getting a monthly newsletter and other regular e-blast updates, and we will continue to be present at dozens of conferences around the world. This includes being sponsors at EBACE in Geneva this Spring.

As a child growing up, the most foreign place on earth was always Eastern Europe. There was limited trust between the United States and the Eastern block countries, but fortunately and after the fall of Communism in 1989 that trust has been re-established and now the United States and rest of the world have some of their best allies within this region.

Euro Jet prides itself on its motto, “A Question of Trust.” All its invoices are 100 percent transparent (ask for back-ups, you will have have them immediately), and our operations and ground support team are the most trusted individuals in this business. In the end, after all the contracts are written and all the dotted lines signed, it all really comes down to  trust.

Let Euro Jet show you their product and allow you to feel like you belong as one of their clients. Please feel free to contact us anytime with a question, a quote request, and let us know if you want to come visit our offices in Prague. Our door is always open. We look forward to hearing from you.

And I look forward to keeping you informed….