Story ID: 322EBACE
Euro Jet Reaches the Decade Mark
By: Curt Epstein
Caption: Specializing in trip support to the former "Eastern Bloc" countries, the company has seen significant growth in its 10-year existence.
Word Count: 447
European business aviation flight support specialist Euro Jet is celebrating its 10th anniversary this year at EBACE. The Prague-based company was founded to provide ground handling for private aircraft at airports in Eastern Europe, through the Balkans, and into Central Asia, where traditional FBOs are scarce to nonexistent.

“Many of [those airports] are still state-run,” said Gareth Danker, the company’s director of global sales and marketing. “Their priority is dealing with the commercial airlines.” While Euro Jet started out providing support to just a handful of business aircraft, today the company has multi-lingual, NATA Safety 1st-trained staff in 32 core countries from Albania to Uzbekistan and expects to serve more than 8,000 flights this year at approximately 200 airports.

While the company operates what Danker describes as “virtual FBOs” at those locations with staffers fluent in the native language meeting the incoming flight and coordinating services, Euro Jet operates its only full-blown FBO at Prague Vaclav Havel International Airport, where it has a dedicated 1,500-sq-m/16,000-sq-ft hangar capable of sheltering the latest large-cabin business jets, two VIP passenger lounges, a crew lounge, its own Lektro tug, and Mercedes ramp transport. Nearby is Euro Jet’s 24/7 global operations and support center, which has a staff of 75.

It also operates crew lounges in Bucharest and Constanta, Romania; Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic; Poprad, Slovakia; Tivat, Montenegro; Dubrovnik and Zagreb, Croatia; and it has just opened new lounges in Belgrade, Serbia; Sofia, Bulgaria; and Warsaw. All of these locations offer comfortable seating, Wi-Fi, computers, printers, and snacks.

“We have great partnerships with local airports throughout our core locations, which allows us to really get things done quickly and efficiently,” said CEO Charlie Bodnar. “Over the past 10 years, we have become a one-stop shop for many private aviation companies looking for the right partner in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.”

Beyond the standard ground-handling supervision, the company also assists with the permitting process and the procurement of catering, as well as vetting hotels and ground transportation providers in those areas, to ensure that customers receive services to the standards they expect.

While the company recently expanded its services into Pakistan, it remains dedicated to its core region, according to Danker. Yet it offers third-party trip support in the Middle East and is considering expanding northward into Scandinavia.

With a presence at EBACE since 2009, at this year’s show the company (Booth C63) is highlighting its services in Russia, ahead of next month’s FIFA World Cup. It has also launched a hotel reservation division to help customers find discounted lodging rates, primarily in its base Eastern European region.