“Once you’re in this industry, it’s part of you… No other industry has the same vibe”, says Laura Buckmaster, FPI’s latest addition to their UK headquarters team. “It’s exhilarating!”

FPI couldn’t agree more, which is why Laura’s coming aboard is a perfect fit for FPI as a company as well as FPI’s clients touching the greater London region.

FPI’s UK team, headquartered in Luton Airport, has been managed by Alan Owen and Lukas Kendera since the inception of FPI.

The UK is one of the busiest regions of the world for General Aviation, and the January 2025 addition of Laura occurred a mere 18 months after FPI’s specialty UK team expanded by bringing Ashley Punter on board as well. Both seasoned professionals are UK Supervisory Representatives with FPI, and both are a testament to the ever-increasing demand for quality, supervisory private aviation handling in the area.

“Since the year 2020, our UK aviation handling business has been growing 20% year over year. We’ve continued to recruit top talent to not only sustain our growth, but more importantly to continue offering the white glove services our clients expect,” states Alan Owen, Senior Manager, FPI UK.

(Ashley Punter, Alan Owen, Laura Buckmaster, Lukas Kendera:)

“Our specialty is that we’re a fully dedicated service management firm for our clients, which is especially valuable at notoriously busy London airports,” Alan continues. “While FBOs and regular handling agents are dealing with numerous flights and related issues, the FPI UK team are focused only on your aircraft operation.”

FPI UK generally covers all of London, and special arrangements can be made for them to physically cover airports further afield, such as in the Midlands, Scotland, and Ireland.

“We make ourselves available to be personally on-site to supervise, especially if there are specific challenges with operating at those locations,” states Ashley, who brings over 18 years of aviation-specific experience to the table. “Having dedicated, concierge attention is an asset to any aviation trip.”  

Laura, with 17 years of customer service experience (including over 8 years specifically in aviation), concurs, “I especially love private aviation because of the personal touch we can have on every aircraft, every day. Each crew, operator, and aircraft are individual and unique. ‘No’ is simply not an answer we give — Rather, it’s ‘How can we best provide for the customer’s wants and needs while exceeding their expectations every single time?’ ”

(Ashley Punter, Laura Buckmaster:)

A 30,000 meter view of the UK team’s services include:

• Tasks beyond typical FBO services, including securing landing slots, flight plan filing, and Eurocontrol slot timing “adjustments” (which greatly minimizes departure delays due to extremely tight European AirNav slot restrictions). 
• Staying in constant touch with established local airport handling organizations, including off airport catering, ground transport, hotel, and other service vendors.
• Being registered to cover the UK Air Passenger Duty (APD) tax required by all operations into the UK. (Operators only need to ensure your company is registered with FPI to represent them for this mandatory requirement.)
• Continuously developing their relationships with regulators, airports, and the CAA to stay ahead of the curve in order to deliver the latest and most accurate news, information and changes so that you are prepared well in advance of your flight. 

As noted in prior Connections editions, FPI’s Compliance teams have also been helping clients stay abreast of any new or updated regulatory requirements affecting the UK region, such as:

• The Electronic Travel Authorization (ETA) requirement, which is now required of most visa free travelers to the UK and will be required for everyone by April, 2025.
• The General Aviation Reports (GAR) requirement, which changed how international arrivals and departures are processed (effective as of April 2024).
• And of course, any obligations imposed on EU travelers passing through the UK by the new eu-LISA “EES” system (anticipated to be in full effect by April 2025).
• And many more regulatory tasks as they arise.

“It cannot be overstated to name all the special (“behind the scenes” ) services that our UK staff provides for our clients,” declares Tom Balousek, FPI’s Founder. “The UK team is such a prominent part of FPI, and their turnkey local support extensively separates us from most all of our competitors.”

The refreshed sense of optimism and excitement is especially strong at FPI’s UK headquarters this New Year season, a season already buzzing with the sense of a fresh start and renewed energy.

Considering the UK office’s growth in personnel, service locations, and services over the past many months, it’s no wonder why the typical “aviation buzz” is in full effect with this crew!

Please do not hesitate to reach out to FPI should your travels swing through the UK region… The UK team is geared up and ready to take off into a dynamic new year in service to your operations and handling needs.

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

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