Professional Pilot, October 2018

Civil Aviation Captain Charles Pace This arrangement worked so well that in 2013 VistaJet opened an operations center followed by the relocation of their worldwide corporate headquarters in 2016 Malta has become the primary location for company oversight pilot and crew training customer service maintenance and IT Head of Operations Control Center OCC Tamas Hornyeki supervises the OCC and coordinates as he describes the arrangements and logistics behind the scenes to make sure the flights happen from the initial feasibility checks when a request comes in all the way through to the completion of the flight He echoes van der Meers assertion of the solution driven approach We have 50 people here in the OCC all with the goal of satisfying our clients There isnt a no button in our software there is always a solution From the OCC every request for VistaJet aircraft across the globe is processed and can be monitored during all phases of flight to assure a seamless experience for their customers as well as the crew We average 75 flights per day with some days exceeding 100 Hornyeki adds It takes having the right people in place to assure the needs of our clients are met A key to keeping the customers happy is keeping them in the air Making sure this is done safely is one of the jobs of Deputy Accountable Manager 46 PROFESSIONAL PILOT October 2018 Cliff Berrington The tasks of overseeing the OCC flight operations and training fall to Berrington With over 350 pilots flying their aircraft he relies on his 4 fleet managers and 50 line trainers to hold them all to the high standards of VistaJet New hires are brought on with a minimum of 4500 hrs flight time for captains and 2000 hrs for FOs both requiring ATP ratings Once onboard they are assigned 17 days on 13 days off Simulator training is handled by CAE with Lufthansa and Bombardier facilities also being utilized When asked what sets VistaJet apart Berrington states The support team In my opinion there is none better anywhere on the planet The customer is always at the center of every decision Line Training Captain Craig Hume has been with VistaJet for 5 years and concurs with Berringtons assessment The team here is phenomenal very young in spirit They always try to find a solution for the customer and for us the crew with our schedules The opportunities for pilots here to experience the world while working for a great company are amazing The VistaJet experience Early on Flohr recognized the marketability of the similitude of his aircraft Clients made it clear they appreciated the fact that they could step off one VistaJet aircraft and on to another and not notice a difference The look the feel the touch even the smell of every single aircraft is identical The uniforms of our pilots and cabin crew are recognizable anywhere you go says van der Meer Much of the experience comes from the interaction with what for most customers is the face of VistaJet the cabin hostesses Like the aircraft the goal is to offer a feeling of consistency Assuring this objective is met falls to Cabin Operations Manager Rochelle Edmond From the Malta headquarters Edmond oversees hiring training and supervision of over 170 hostesses As with every other aspect of VistaJet very high standards are demanded Of every 100 applicants we hire 1 Edmond exclaims We are looking for customer focused team players who possess cultural awareness and can work independently With our type of clientele we also require creativity to meet the requests that may be asked of our hostesses Once accepted hostesses undergo a 2 week training program in Malta This specialized preparation includes certification for up to Level 2 from the Wine and Spirit Education Trust time with a professional chef 2 days with the British Butler Institute and a course with the prestigious Norland College early years education and childcare institute After initial instruction they are assigned to an onboard trainer for a minimum of 8 flights followed by yearly evaluation and refresher courses We strive for uniformity in our aircraft as well as our cabin crew Whether our customers are with us for leisure business or family trips our hostesses are representing Vista Jet and we want that to be the most positive consistent experience we can provide remarks Edmond All Bombardier branded fleet The consistency that has become a hallmark of VistaJet begins with Their 10 Bombardier Challenger 605s are a near perfect blend of the abilities of its longer legged siblings capable of transporting 12 passengers up to 4000 nm in the widest cabin in its class The Bombardier Challenger 350 is the workhorse of VistaJets US based portion of their fleet and is operated by Jet Aviation Flight Services They have 21 of these models currently in service VistaJets sole helicopter is this Leonardo AW109 GrandNew light twin Based in Switzerland it can take clientele directly from the airport to their final destination all in the level of comfort as the fleet of jet aircraft