Story ID: 513
Chauffeur Expertise Completes the Private Aviation Experience
By: Charles Alcock
Caption: Limousine provider Drivania's investment in supporting the business aviation sector has resulted in well above average growth rates.
Word Count: 766
Private aviation is all about delivering convenient, comfortable and secure transportation. But, even the very best aircraft flown by the very best operators can only get passengers from one airport to another. No trip is complete without the right ground transportation arrangements.

Chauffeur service group Drivania International has specialized in supporting business aircraft operators and their passengers for the past 15 years. With more than 4,500 handpicked drivers around the world, the Europe-based group claims to provide more than 100,000 rides each year, carrying customers to and from more than 5,000 airports.

“It took us a while to truly understand how the private jet industry works,” acknowledged Drivania founder Gerard Martret. “We decided to develop a specialized product for [aircraft] handlers, operators and owners. We found that clients in this sector have the highest expectations, anywhere, so we concluded that if we can make them happy we can make anyone happy.”

The drivers are at the core of attaining client satisfaction and Drivania selects them through a very detailed screening process that takes around 10 weeks. Martret aims to personally meet every single driver recruited by the company and each driver is personally responsible for the state of his or her car at all times. No car in the fleet is ever more than three years old.

“Criminal record checks and frequent drug tests are becoming a big debate in the ride-sharing industry, and you need solid data to support what you say about your people. You are as good as the last ride you provide.” Martret told AIN.

The chauffeurs are not employees of Drivania and work with the company under a commercial relationship through which they provide their own cars. Over and above Drivania's own €1 million insurance, drivers also carry their own cover, which is stored in the company's suppliers portal along with all other information about each driver and his or her vehicle.

Drivania's suppliers team negotiates rates with each driver and these are posted in the company's online booking portal. According to the company, the rates are competitive, given that it is a major source of work for most of the drivers.

According to Drivania, its customer support team of 32 people pays careful attention to choosing the right driver for each client’s needs and preferences. “It’s not the same driving a music celebrity who could be exposed to the press and fans, as it is driving a business traveler,” Martret explained. “And cultural differences matter too. Some drivers, for instance, are better suited to driving a Saudi sheikh and his family. They are more sensitive to issues such as that you can’t have a mirror facing the passengers. We carefully classify the skills and experience of all our drivers.”

The support team, most of which is based in the Spanish city of Barcelona, keeps the same driver assigned to a client, even if the time of a flight arrival or departure changes. Clients are sent full contact details for the driver as soon as a trip is booked.

Back in 2006, Drivania (Booth H60) made a significant investment in custom-built information technology for managing its operations. This includes the online booking portal, which gives customers full control over managing trips through a system that is mainly used by aircraft operators and brokers on behalf of their passengers. The company can also geo-locate every driver at any time. Its multilingual team contacts them four or five times during each trip, using its application to confirm all details along the way.

"Clients access their Drivania online accounts to obtain instant, all-inclusive quotes and confirm booings for airport transfers and hourly dispositions in over 900 locations around the world," explained general manager Igor Martret. "The platform saves time, enhances transparency and ultimately improves service. Our commitment also includes sending final invoices within 24 hours from service completion."

Europe is still Drivania’s biggest market, but it has achieved steady expansion in the U.S. since launching operations there in 2011. It is now targeting regions such as the Middle East, South America and China. For the first quarter of 2017, Drivania reported an impressive growth rate of 153 percent, compared with the same period in 2016, for the volume of bookings from business aviation clients

“We take full responsibility for the drivers we have,” said Martret. “If we can’t provide service safely somewhere, then we don’t provide service there. If the driver is right, everything else will be right. Good drivers bring you other good drivers.”