Ground transportation is often overlooked or seen as less than a priority when trips are being planned. However, smooth transitions are crucial components of seamless missions. Here are some tips to ensure your executives and crew are always on- if not ahead of – schedule.
Transportation is seldom at the forefront of an operator’s mind when working with an ITP. The need for transportation is usually overshadowed by the aviation-centric aspects of a trip. In fact, in the grand scheme of things, it is a small and obscure component to a trip that is seldom given a second thought – that is until the crew arrives at the aircraft an hour late. A missed pick-up can lead to issues with duty day, slot assignments, and above all – the executive’s schedule.
Most service providers will have access to an enhanced transportation solution. Ideally, this would be in-house so that services on the ground are seamlessly coordinated with flight operations. Most service providers will use a third party, and while this may not be ideal, there are some basic things that all service providers should be doing to ensure that your crew and executives are not left out in the cold:
1. Advanced details: You should be provided with a confirmation that includes, at a minimum, the driver’s name and number and the vehicle information.
2. In-position call for arrival: 30 minutes before the arrival of the flight, your service provider should be contacting the driver to verify that:
They are the confirmed driver
They are driving the confirmed vehicle
They have checked in with the FBO to announce they are there to pick up the passenger
They are waiting in a designated location with any predetermined signage
3. Confirm departure pick-up time: Many times, the passengers will arrange the departure pick-up time with the driver directly. Your service provider should be contacting the driver to find out what the departure pick-up time will be.
4. In-position call for departure: 30 minutes before the scheduled pick-up time, your service provider should be contacting the driver to verify that:
They are the confirmed driver
They are driving the confirmed vehicle
They have checked in with the hotel to announce they are there to pick up the passenger
They are waiting in a designated location
They know where to drop the passengers off
Most people don’t realize that this value-added service is available from their service providers for not much more than they are paying already. We recommend that you talk to your service provider and see what transportation and security services they offer that will provide you with the peace of mind that comes when everything is taken care of.
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UAS Operations | - 10/06/2016
Mitch Launius
Instructor Pilot for 30 West IP
Mitch is the CEO of 30 West IP where he is also an instructor providing pilot training on international procedures. With an illustrious career of over 34 years in the cockpit, Mitch has acquired over 13,000 hours of flight time flying worldwide, with over 9,000 hours of this in Challenger and Gulfstream aircraft. He is an experienced safety officer and was also an IS-BAO project manager for a fortune 500 flight department. He has presented on Safety and Operations topics at the NBAA International Operators Conference and the Canadian Business Aviation Association Convention and is currently on the NBAA International Operators Committee and serves as the North Atlantic Regional Lead. Mitch is also a member of an FAA working group on General Aviation International Authorizations and Tabletop Exercises (GIATE). He was recently selected to represent IBAC as a member of the ICAO Personal Training and Licensing Panel (PTLP) and was also recently named as a 2020 recipient of the NBAA Tony Kern Professionalism in Aviation Award for his contribution to the business aviation community.
Henry ‘Duke’ LeDuc
Director Of Operations, Americas, UAS International Trip Support
Duke has been a dearly respected member of UAS Americas team and the UAS global family for more than five years. A safety-oriented, FAA-licensed aircraft dispatcher, he oversees all of the operations of the elite UAS Operations Team. With twenty-five years of experience in aviation overall with more than fifteen years of experience in international flight planning and VVIP trip coordination, he is responsible for the development of the dispatch training program and involved in the strategic development of UAS Americas. With a myriad of rich aviation experience behind him, he has extensive experience in worldwide operations with both corporate and charter environments, including seven years as Operations/Dispatch Manager in an industry-leading, Fortune 500, IS-BAO Stage III Certified corporate flight department. Duke is frequently asked shares his knowledge at major industry events and is currently serving on the NBAA’s International Operators Conference (IOC) Planning Committee.
Dudley King
President and Founder, FlightBridge
Dudley is the Founder and President of FlightBridge, which he established in 2011 and has been focused on technology solutions for the private aviation industry since 2006. Since he graduated from Dartmouth in 1988, he has worked with an array of companies listed anywhere from VentureWire to the Fortune 100. A rare blend of executive, entrepreneur, and consultant, Dudley’s executive roles have included acting CIO positions for several companies and tech advisory services to CEOs trying to rebuild their technology organizations or looking for an external, professional point of view. Highly skilled at deeply understanding his customer’s business challenges and drawing from a long and varied experience in information technology services, Dudley excels at designing technology solutions to solve their problems.
Dr. Paulo Alves
Global Medical Director, Aviation Health, Medaire
Paulo has extensive experience in medical advisory in the aviation industry. As a cardiologist, he provides technical guidance and analysis for MedAire’s MedLink medical advisory service and is MedAire’s liaison with civil aviation regulators and industry associations. Paulo worked with Varig Brazilian Airlines for 23 years, 10 of which were spent as General Medical Manager. A member of the MedAire Medical Advisory Board, Paulo is also President of the Ibero-American Aerospace Medical Association, a member of the International Academy of Aerospace Medicine, a member of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Safety Committee, a Fellow of the Aerospace Medical Association (AsMA), and a Fellow of the Civil Aviation Medical Association. Throughout his illustrious career, Paulo has held industry leadership roles including Chairperson of the AsMA’s Air Transport Medicine Committee, President of the Airlines Medical Directors Association, President of the Brazilian Society of Aerospace Medicine and was a member of the IATA Medical Advisory Group from 2002 to 2006.
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