So it should come as no surprise that the annual European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE) in Geneva this week was highlighted for me by different designs.

Yes, the standard static display took over the ramp at Geneva airport, but I am not referring to actual aircraft.

The unique design presented by each exhibitor was what was eye opening.

Walking the floor of EBACE was an exploration into the architectural wonders of how a relatively small dedicated space can be transformed into two story showcases of aircraft, conference rooms, restaurants, spinning tops, and flashing lights.

I joked that someone should install an escalator in their exhibit. Later on I found out it existed at one of the aircraft manufacturers!

In retrospect it should be no surprise as aviation blends together all the elements of luxury travel, wealth, convenience and in turn beautiful design.

While spending the week at EBACE, I walked the floor, met with others in their booths, but spent most of my time at the Euro Jet exhibit.

Our rotating Euro Jet logo at the top of the booth was an achievement in design in itself. As were the two large “E” structures that surrounded the stand.

Our champagne party demonstrated our large customer base and ability to design the perfect gathering.

We even showed off perfect design in other ways by the two ladies handing out the official EBACE water sponsored by Euro Jet at the entrance. They wore custom designed football referee outfits, promoting our ground support operation in Ukraine and Poland as we fast approach the UEFA Tournament.

With enough money it is possible to design anything.  It is easy to throw a lot of money at something to appear bigger and better.

While we pride ourselves on having a nice exhibit, it was by no means the biggest. But it was the right size for making sure our clients and potential customers had the proper attention.

What we had there as much as (if not more) than everyone else was a solid team of Aviation Professionals. Anyone who stopped by our booth was able to sit down and discuss any aspect of ground handling support. With our team, there was no aviation topic where we do not have the proper expertise.

I look at EBACE as the beginning of the busy Summer season. The conferences will slow down, flights will increase, and Euro Jet’s team of aviation professionals fueled by their experience and institutional knowledge will be ready.

Now that is something you cannot design.

Thank you to the 12 Euro Jet team members that attended EBACE and especially to our Marketing Manager Vendula Malochova, who put all the pieces together to make everything fit perfectly.

No offense to Bulgarians, but most people end up saying “nothing.”

Nestled above Greece and next to Turkey, the little known ancient country remains a hidden gem of Europe. Surrounded by beautiful snow capped mountains, the largest and capital city of Sofia boasts friendly locals and many wonderful restaurants serving traditional Bulgarian food that seems like a combination of Central European and Mediterranean cuisines.

Bulgaria’s rich natural resources like iron, copper and coal contribute to a thriving oil refinement and manufacturing sector. Its history is long and evidenced by ancient ruins across the city that date back to the dawn of Greek civilization.

Last week I spent two days in Sofia, nearly five years to the date of my first trip there.  The main purpose of my visit was to view first hand the airport operation. I was not disappointed.

Sofia is very strategically placed in between Europe and Asia as are the other cities of Burgas, Plovdiv, and Varna. These cities are frequently used by world militaries for their strategic location and their capability to run an efficient operation.

Sofia boasts not only the location, but a very well equipped airport, There is no shortage of equipment, including plenty of de-icing equipment, plenty of parking spots, and a well stocked VIP lounge (which to my satisfaction included coke light).

The airport does superb work and we hope that we can continue to encourage operators to utilize this hidden gem of an airport.

A special thank you to not only everyone at the airport in Sofia, but also to our “two Dimitry’s.” Dimitar Petkov and Dimitar Bachvarov. These are the Euro Jet managers based out of Sofia, who continue to impress with their flawless operation.

So next time you want to go somewhere to learn a thing or two about south central Europe (no, not that South Central…) think about going to Sofia, or at least stop by there on your way to Greece or Turkey. You will not be disappointed.

And who knows, you may leave an expert in everything Bulgaria.

Image source: www.wallpapersweb.com

Image source: www.wikimedia.org

Image source: tottusinpari.blog.tiscali.it

We were also excited to be featured in the April edition of EBAN magazine. Below is a link to the article and  then the parts of the article where our colleague Attila Papai is quoted.

http://www.ebanmagazine.com/mag_story.html?ident=10527

Excerpt from article:

Euro Jet Intercontinental provides ground handling support at airports throughout eastern Europe, including Poland and Ukraine, and so brings a wider perspective to events. “In 2008 during the same championship in Austria, Euro Jet coordinated 86 movements in Bratislava as an alternate to Vienna on the day of the final match,” says Attila Papai. “In Poland both slots and parking will be challenging. Even permit applications are complicated, so operators should really trust an expert who can coordinate everything for them.”

“With so many private aircraft converging at once, it is always going to create challenges to get everyone in as close to their desired schedule as possible. The need to go to the matches via private aviation creates even more traffic than normal.”

In Poland, ATC flight plans will be compared with cleared airport slots. In the event of any discrepancies a warning message will be sent to the flight plan originator. Unresolved discrepancies may result in the suspension of the flight plan. Further-more there will be limitations in ground times in Poland ranging from 30 to 90 minutes depending upon the aircraft ICAO category. Crews must remain on board during the ground time in order to quickly refuel and be flexible with parking spot changes.

“These limitations are, however, not applicable to aircraft carrying the football teams,” says Papai.

Euro Jet assumes that the quarter-final, semi-final and the two final games will attract the most private jets. According to its previous experience, the number of landings per event and per airport (including alternate ones) could be between 120 and 160, including ad-hoc passenger charters. “But considering the location of the match cities in this case these numbers could be much higher,” adds Papai.

“We will all be working non-stop! Our staff might have the football up on the screens in our operations control centre and perhaps our ramp agents will see some on breaks between flights. But those will be few and far between. We look forward to watching the re-runs, in between catching up on sleep!”

“Right now in Ukraine the first priorities will be given to the flights which transport the leadership of the football associations, team flights and possible diplomatic flights,” says Euro Jet’s Papai. “For other operators we recommend they send us their estimated schedule and request as soon as possible to get them on a priority list. “

One issue that has come up is limited hotel availability in Ukraine, however we are working on ways to accommodate crews as soon as rooms get released.

“Also, Ukraine recently decided to participate in daylight saving time which means that there could be approved slot times that were applied based on UTC and are not the correct local times. We will be checking this and making sure it is all done correctly.”

However, last week the venue moved East to what has become the fastest growing place on earth for private aviation.

China.

The static display was in full force and a buzz last week at the Asia Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE) at Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai.

Over 100 exhibitors and thousands of attendees gathered in Shanghai to learn more about the Asian market with a strong focus on China. The show had been cancelled the past few years, though this year there was no chance of that happening.

Asia has seen business jet deliveries increase a staggering 133 percent over the past four years.  All of this occurring during the worst global economic slump in 70 years. In the year 2000, Gulfstream had zero aircraft based in China. Today they have over 80. Furthermore, a third of all new Gulfstream aircraft are on order in Asia.

My co-worker Attila Papai and I spent two weeks in Hong Kong and then Shanghai seeing first hand the evidence of the world’s fastest growing region for aviation.

Here are some observations from the trip:

1. The majority of private aircraft in Asia are all managed by companies based out of Hong Kong. Though several management companies are fast establishing themselves in mainland China.
2. The Chinese are halfway to having seat belts in taxis. They have the straps, but no buckle.
3. Unlike the United States and Europe where aircraft tend to be managed by many different companies with 5-10 aircraft, the Asian market tends to have about six key management companies with on average 25 aircraft in their fleet and plans for rapid expansion by the end of this year.
4. The Shanghai Hilton has arguably one of the greatest breakfast buffets in the world. There is nothing quite like a breakfast buffet with a quality miso soup and corn flakes.
5. Due to its long distance from major cities and the practical desire to limit fuel stops, most aircraft in Asia are Heavy Jets.
6. Unlike fortune cookies, Dim Sum is not just an American idea, but an actual traditional Chinese meal.

Walking through the dispatch centers and touring the Asian private aircraft offices, one thing that struck me was how similar it is to an American or European dispatch center. No matter where in the world, dispatch centers all tend to look the same with some minor variations. Aviation is truly a global industry with Asia being no exception.

We look forward to continued growth in the Far East and collaborating with the different companies and coordinating their flights in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

Congratulations to NBAA on its success at ABACE. We hope it will continue for many years to come.

Buckle up Asia (or at last pull the strap down) it is going to be quite the ride.

My last trip took me around Europe to Cannes, France, then back to the Euro Jet office in Prague followed by a weeklong trip in Switzerland covering Zurich, Bern, and Geneva.

I arrived in the town of Cannes the night before the Conference. My train had broken down for 45 minutes in some rural part of France where no one spoke a word of English. Luckily for me the train started working again as I do not speak a word of French (other than Bonjour, Merci, and Not Possible).

The town of Cannes, France is world renown because every Spring it hosts the famous film festival. We stayed at the Hotel Renior (the Monet was sold out) located across from the festival site. Appropriately enough, our lobby was decorated with movie memorabilia, though no sign of French Impressionist paintings.

Cannes played host to the second annual Business Airport World Expo. Last year it was hosted at Farnborough Airport outside London for the first time. This gathering brought together aviation professionals from all different sides of the industry, including Operators, FBOs, trip support companies, and fuelers. Euro Jet was just one of a handful of ground handling support companies, the rest tended to be FBOs.

The foot traffic at the Conference was slow, but the quality of people who displayed was very high. If someone had not recently attended Schedulers and Dispatchers in San Diego, you would be concerned by the sluggishness of the attendance in Cannes. However Schedulers confirmed that Aviation is alive and well.

From my personal point of view, the Conference needed to be in a better location with an airport nearby or easily accessible by car from many different European points. Cannes is not the right location. Nice is the nearest airport, but is a considerable drive with traffic (we tested it out). Aviation is a profession that works people hard at all hours. In order to get people to go to the Conferences, they really need to be in centrally located places where they can pop in and out. Though Cannes is a beautiful place and finding an excuse to go there is not the worst idea.

My co-workers and I drove 12 hours over two days back to Prague. Fortunately the weather held up and I went for a great walk that Saturday around the Medieval city just wearing a sweater as it was 55 degrees Fahrenheit (a stark contrast to 2 degrees just two weeks prior). That Monday the road trip resumed as we drove 5 hours to Zurich to begin a round of operator meetings.

Over the next 3 days, my co-worker Attila and I met with 10 different Swiss Operators that represent over 400 aircraft flying around-the-world. As someone who has traveled around the United States and conducted many meetings, I was intrigued to observe the differences.

1. You do not come early. Come right on time. In the United States you are expected to be early and then you wait. If you are not a little early, it is a sign of disinterest.
2. We ran late a couple times and people were fine with that. Run late in the US and it is once again a sign of disinterest and your meeting is cancelled.
3. Most people dressed very causally, but still maintained a trendy European style. It was as if everyone shopped at Banana Republic. I need to learn how to do that.
4. People were genuinely friendly and engaging. Not to say people in the United States are not, but this was a different level and more enthusiastic than I am used to.
5. Everyone wore a very nice watch. Well we were in Switzerland…
6. The Swiss like their food. Steak Tartare and Veal seem to be crowd pleasers and also an indication of which side of the border we were on.

I had been told Geneva and Zurich are two of the most expensive cities in the world. No kidding! By the end of the trip I was just not looking at the prices. While I was still looking a fish dish (Salmon…) with French Fries at a cheaper restaurant was $45. The soup was $17. Do not even ask what the Lobster cost….

Next stop is Hong Kong and Shanghai for ABACE (Asia Bace). Keep reading this blog for more updates.

Stand-by for more travel updates and please feel free to comment. I would really like to encourage people to post any observations between doing business in Europe and the United States.