Extend your flight department with FPI’s “Special Services Network” and navigate a busy Summer with ease.

With atypical events happening such as the Olympics, D-Day/Normandy Anniversary, UEFA EURO 2024 in addition to Europe’s typical Summer activity (EBACE, French Open, Wimbledon, airshows and vacation hotspots), EU aviation traffic is poised to be unusually congested from ground to skies.

To help you navigate the pandemonium with ease, this Connections edition takes you on a journey around Europe as we highlight

• FPI’s three exclusive EU resource partners, based in UK, France, and Germany
• FPI’s additional key EU teams in Spain, Greece, and Italy
• The top unique events impacting Europe this Summer

Known as the Special Services Network (SSN), FPI’s collection of exclusive and non-exclusive partners spans the globe with expertise on all trip types, whether popular routes or unusual locations, pass-through logistics or final destinations.

Meticulously built over the past 40+ years by FPI’s predecessor companies, SSN provides the highest quality support solutions tailored for your specific needs, from ground handling, to in-country POCs (points of contact), to fuel services, customs, and much more. A brief summary of the SSN purpose can be found HERE, and a list of SSN’s global trip support services can be found HERE. If your travels take you to Europe between May and September, keep this edition handy as your

If your travels take you to Europe between May and September, keep this edition handy as your “go to” resource and let us know how we can help your trip management within Europe and beyond!

FPI’S EXCLUSIVE EU TEAMS:
(Teams 100% committed to working for FPI’s clients only.)

United Kingdom —
In one of the busiest regions of the world (the UK), a truly special FPI SSN team is managed by
Alan Owen, Lukas Kendera, and Ashley Punter. With the FPI UK office headquartered in Luton
airport, these gents routinely personally cover flights going into the London area and nearby
airports, and special arrangements can be made for them to attend flights outside of the London
area, if required.

Alan Owen, Lukas Kendera, and Ashley Punter

For flights to other UK, Channel Islands, and Ireland locations, the FPI UK team are in constant touch with the established local airport handling organizations, including off airport catering, ground transport, hotel, and other service vendors. 

Having their dedicated, “concierge” attention is an asset to any aviation trip. As Alan often says, “you fly the plane and we do everything else”. For more information about the UK team services, see the previous UK Connections edition HERE.

France —
Despite France being one of aviation’s early countries, French remote and regional airports are
still lacking many specific services, especially critical for business aviation in today’s everchanging
world. For this reason, FPI France’s manager and lifelong aviation professional, Lional Cojan
dedicates his expertise to the remote four corners of France, along with the more
common primary airports.

Lionel Cojan

Similar to the scope of the UK team, Lionel’s role within FPI France is not limited to the aviation aspect of travel. Clients can count on him to stay up-to-date on local information that may be helpful, such as local strikes, special events, great places to visit, local dining and hotel recommendations, and more.

“My goal is to anticipate all of the needs of our clients. Supervision of flights is a big asset offered by FPI France as it allows us to get to know our clients and suppliers on a more detailed level. It’s a great opportunity to fly with clients between French airports in order to provide 100% dedicated, end-to-end service, to ensure all is going well for them, and often to simply provide a friendly atmosphere during travel.” (Lionel Cojan)

Germany —
On May 1st, 2023, FPI celebrated a multi-decade relationship by cementing an exclusive
partnership with a key service provider: Corporate Jet Service (CJS), a German-based Trip
Supporter and Charter Broker serving global clients traveling into Central Europe.
Having managed over 5,000 flights, CJS is experienced in all aspects of operations (air traffic
management, flight planning, handling), as well as regional knowledge.

Charly Czechan, Thomas Dammer, Thomas Vettel, Gérard Eckhardt, Shari Bert

“We have extremely strong relationships with our clients, with many having used us for numerous years,” says Gérard Eckhardt, CJS Managing Director. “Our clients appreciate knowing they’ll always be in touch with the same CJS team members with whom they’re familiar, and who in turn are familiar with their needs and preferences.” (Gérard Eckhardt)

More details about CJS’s regional expertise can be found HERE.

FPI’S ADDITIONAL KEY EU TEAMS:
(Vetted ancillary teams chosen for their excellence and lengthy history alongside FPI’s core personnel.)

Spain —
Handling on-site VIP aviation solutions in Madrid, Barcelona, Malaga, Palma de Mallorca,
Alicante, Valencia, Granada, Gerona and Ibiza, the team at General Aviation Service hails as
another key partner for FPI. GAS isn’t limited to service in these locations… Similar to FPI’s
lengthy history in the industry, GAS has been providing operational and handling services for
over 45 years and is well-acquainted with all airports and handling services in Spain and
neighboring regions. With a decades-long relationship, FPI and GAS are well familiar with
working together, a great benefit to FPI clientele touching this region.

Greece —
Based at Athens Int’l Airport, Jetset offers a wide range of services directly covering 20 airports,
plus providing coordination services at all airports across Greece, notoriously one of the busiest
regions during Summer months. A boutique aviation services provider, Jetset provides 20+
years in high-class and high-performance ground-to-sky trip management services that are a
great benefit to FPI clients traveling that way during high season.

Italy —
Italy FBO (Delta Aerotaxi): From touchdown to wheels up, Italy FBO is in itself a managed
services firm focused on VIP clientele, and has known and worked with the FPI team for 15+
years. Covering all FBOs within the country, Italy FBO has responded to special requests and
customized tailored solutions in the international business aviation community for over 39 years.

Fly Service: Also, a partner based in Italy, Fly Service is an aviation handling specialty team
who has worked with FPI’s team for over 20 years. Fly Service’s Operational Control Center
creates flight solutions for General Aviation in Italian airports while supervisors support private
clients on site… a win-win combination benefitting all flight types within the region. Fly Service’s
executive handling primarily operates out of LICC (Cantania Fontanarossa Airport) / LICJ
(Palermo Airport) / LIRN (Naples Int’l Airport) / LIRI (Salerno Costa d’Amalfi Airport); however,
their services can be directly utilized in any location in the region.

Mr. Carlo Petrucci: Mr. Petrucci has worked with the FPI team since the days of Air Routing.
Although he is primarily focused on SSN support services for Rome, Mr. Petrucci is available as
a direct POC and handler for any custom-solution trip in the region. In the same manner that
many of FPI’s longtime team members have become a professional family for FPI clients, Mr.
Petrucci has also become a familiar and cherished name among FPI clientele frequenting the
Rome area.

KEY EUROPEAN EVENTS:
Europe is never short on a variety of annual Summer events, such as EBACE, the French
Open, Wimbledon, airshows, and hotspots such as Greece and Ibiza. Whether these attractions
are part of your destinations or not, your European aviation travel will be affected by the traffic
they cause.

An even greater impact on travel is expected due to three major international attractions that happen to take place this Summer in Europe:

80th Anniversary of D-Day and the Battle of Normandy (6 June, 2024) —
Although several events will take place all year, the key event will be held on D-Day in
Normandy. FPI’s team in France (mentioned above) is documenting the anticipated influence of
the event on regional airports, including strong restrictions due to VIP aircrafts. Please
bookmark FPI’s ongoing webpage HERE to stay updated on important notices and information
related to this event.

UEFA EURO 2024 (14 June to 14 July, 2024) —
Three-time winners Germany will host EURO 2024 across ten cities: Berlin, Cologne, Dortmund,
Düsseldorf, Frankfurt, Gelsenkirchen, Hamburg, Leipzig, Munich, and Stuttgart. Although West
Germany hosted the 1988 edition, this will be the first time Germany has staged the
championship since reunification, so the incoming traffic is expected to be substantial. Whether
related to UEFA or not, FPI’s German partner, CJS (mentioned above) is already actively
coordinating sensitive German-region trip management nuances and alternative solutions for
FPI clients during this timeframe. However, it’s best to begin conversations now if your travels
take you through this region in early Summer.

Olympics in Paris (26 July to 11 August, 2024)—
In case you missed it, please bookmark FPI’s ongoing resource for updates regarding the Paris
Olympics 2024 and its regional impact on travel. This link contains a downloadable PDF
compiled by FPI’s regional team in France (mentioned above) with important information related
to Olympics schedules, locations, affected airports (Paris & nearby cities), accommodations,
and noteworthy security considerations.

“FPI’s Special Services Network is the foundation of our organization and there’s no better team to consider as an extension of your flight department. Together with the entire Flight Pro International team, our goal is to be ‘Your Premier Trip Support Solution’, especially during potentially complex high traffic seasons such as Summertime in Europe,” states Matt Pahl, FPI’s President and CEO.

“We’re here to take the trip management burdens off your shoulders.”

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To learn more about FPI regarding Compliance, Operations, Regulatory, Weather, and other Special Services Network (SSN) teams, please contact our Operations staff here at Flight Pro International.

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