Professional Pilot, May 2018

The ramp at JMK Mikonos Greece consistently fills up during peak travel season so bizav operators will likely need to reposition for overnight parking Mikonos is one of the tourist island jewels in the Mediterranean perennially popular with GA during summer months siderations when planning EU ops Airway slots are essential to ensure your routing is fileable with CFMU and youll need to submit flight plans so that both airway and airport slots line up Obtaining airport slots is not problematic at most airports in Europe other than more congested destinations such as ZRH GVA and FRA Frankfurt Germany says Wells At these busier locations youll need to be aware of slot availability peak hours and special events that may be going on At times it will be difficult to coordinate last minute schedule changes FRA is one of the more difficult locations in terms of obtaining and revising airport slots ISPs point out that airport slots in Europe have become more transparent lately in terms of whats available and whats not but there can still be issues If a new operator to the EU runs into trouble its often slot related says Kang If passengers expect to depart at 10 30 but your slot time is 10 25 you must file for 10 25 Slots need to exactly match filed time or it can create problems If you miss a slot you may be stuck on the ground for a while Escalating costs With increasing GA traffic volumes EU handling and parking costs have been on the increase Operating costs to Greece for example have doubled recently And many Central and Eastern EU locations which were not as expensive a few 70 PROFESSIONAL PILOT May 2018 years back are now priced more in line with other areas Prices at what had been bargain locations seem to have pushed up to match more developed locations affirms Fuller Certain popular airports have become very expensive notes Kang To park a G450 at LTN London UK for 3 days and 2 nights can run 8000 including ground handling charges Similar stays at many other airports in Europe will run you over 5000 This is not a part of the world to try to travel to on a tight budget Be aware of what youre paying for cautions Jeppesen Supervisor Vendor Relations Mark OCarroll Ground handling and parking charges have been on an upward trajectory across Europe he says In monopoly situations charges are often higher along with in some cases lower levels of service Ask questions in advance to fully understand the charges youll be facing Dont forget that crew accommodation options may be limited and could be highly expensive during peak periods and popular local celebrations If you have an inkling you may be headed to a region of Europe during peak season arrange parking and crew accommodations as early as possible recommends LeDuc Preferred hotels may sell out and you may need to get creative to find any adequate accommodations For the best choices many operators routinely book accommodations 2 to 3 months out and 12 months out in the case of the annual Davos event Summary Operating to the EU often seems deceivingly easy and straight forward and it often is But issues do come up and things can go sideways from time to time You may encounter a stubborn slot issue when revising schedule SAFA inspectors may turn up at an inopportune moment with their clipboards at the ready fuel uplift issues could be encountered or you may need to reposition last minute thereby losing non refundable hotel deposits Consider the benefits of working with a well connected ISP particularly if this is your first GA trip to the region If you do not deal with this operating environment on a regular basis theres potential to run into local issues and or potential operating delays says LeDuc And if you dont have a support provider working in your corner you could end up being treated like the stepchild should a problem come up Youll always benefit from having a partner on your side whos available 24 hours While the EU is not necessarily a challenging operating environment ISPs can add value in so many ways in terms of planning and executing European ops Editor at Large Grant McLaren has written for Pro Pilot for over 20 years and specializes in corporate flight department coverage