A Million Times in the Friendly Skies

Sometime early next year I will reach the one million mark.

Unfortunately it is not the thing with the word one million I have dreamed of my whole life.

Instead it is one million miles flown on United Airlines.I started flying United in the late 90s after an abysmal experience with TWA, which a few years later would be bought by American Airlines.

United at that time was at the top of its game and thriving.

In 2004 I really increased my United flying and by 2005 I was a 1K member and would remain so on and off for the next 10 years. The 1K membership requires 100,000 or more miles be flown in a calendar year. This year they added an additional rule where at least $12,000 must be spent while traveling this amount.

Sadly even though I remained a loyal business traveler with United, I have watched its product steadily decline, and saw an especially sharp decline after the Continental merger.

For full disclosure purposes, United Airlines is a customer of ours and none of which I write here I would not share with them. Despite my constructive criticism, I remain a loyal frequent flier of nearly 20 years.

Ultimately their product got so bad that just a month ago their CEO resigned immediately and the new CEO issued an apology that essentially said our product is lousy and I am committed to fixing it.

On the one hand their product had certainly declined in terms of service, food, upgrades, and price flexibility; but on the other hand, my flights tend to all be on time and their inflight entertainment system is excellent.

So what does it mean to hit 1 million miles?

Well for starters I will have Star Alliance Gold Status for life. This allows me the choice of any middle seat I want on any flight, unlimited pretzels, and permission to get up and use the bathrooms during turbulence.

I will also receive free medical check-ups for illness related to deep vein thrombosis.

Sarcasm aside, the real answer is I do get some free checked bags, priority boarding, and international lounge usage. Plus the word million associated with my last name.

At Euro Jet, you don’t have to fly a million miles or worry about having your service and perks slowly get taken away year in and year out.

What you get is a company that every year strives to do its best to give our customers more and more.

Our partnership with the NATA Safety first program is a real time example of this and our commitment to being your trusted partner.

Thank you to our friends at Business Airport International who recently ran this great article on us. It sums up so much of what we try to achieve every day.

Below is the piece and anyone out there who uses Euro Jet a million times, let me know.

I owe you a bag of pretzels..From the October 2015 edition of Business Airport International

Euro Jet Intercontinental has become the first flight and ground support company in Eastern Europe and Central Asia to have its handling agents certified for National Air Transportation Associates (NATA) Safety 1st training.

The two companies have formed a strategic partnership that will see all of Euro Jet’s agents participate in the full eight-module training course offered by NATA, the 30-40 hours of which take over a month to complete.

“NATA Safety 1st is committed to promoting safety and efficiency through our unique mix of online and hands-on practical training,” commented NATA president and CEO Thomas L. Hendricks. “We are proud to work with the professionals at Euro Jet to help them achieve their training and safety goals.”

“As soon as Euro Jet was established over seven years ago, it was an immediate goal to have a team of global handling agents who had the added knowledge of NATA Safety 1st training,” explained Gareth Danker, director of global sales and marketing at Euro Jet. “Shortly after the company was founded, we did a training course for many of our handling agents on the key components of Safety 1st. However, this was not enough and we wanted to go to the next level, which made it mandatory for all our agents to participate in the full training course.”

The NATA Safety 1st program was designed and put together by a representative team of primarily North American handlers, fuelers and other safety professionals from the aviation industry. For over 20 years the program has been continuously improved to provide a superior level of expertise to its participants.

“Euro Jet recognizes that private aviation is only 25 years old in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. It is in its infancy compared with that of the USA. So why not learn from the experts on how to ensure our quality of service matches that of a top FBO in the USA? For us to be the best, we need to learn from those who have the experience and expertise and can train us to be the top handling agent in our region,” Danker added.

The company will introduce the training over the long-term and all its handling agents will be provided with detailed knowledge on every aspect of daily handling operations, including towing aircraft, fueling, movement of equipment, passenger movements on and off aircraft and securing aircraft. “Every step of the way our agents will now have the knowledge to ensure that even more things are done properly and that there are no glitches,” said Danker.

The biggest challenge for Euro Jet will be getting all its agents properly trained step-by-step, and the company will rely on its most experienced handling agents (those with over 30 years’ experience) to mentor some of the younger agents. Euro Jet anticipates having everyone trained within a few months.

Danker added, “All our agents have received the required training by their respective airport and civil aviation authorities as well as Euro Jet, but it is our belief that in aviation you can never stop learning. Ground handling, safety and customer service are limitless in their scope of knowledge, minute details and changing rules and regulations. Continued training is essential to ensuring you have the best team out there.”

“If we keep training our agents properly thorough such programs as NATA Safety 1st, then they will be better informed, have an even higher level of aviation expertise and be ready to handle any issue. In our opinion, when you provide the customer with the best possible quality of service, they will recognize that and use you again. There is no greater reward for a business than having a return customer,” he concluded.

What is Safety 1st?

The NATA Safety 1st program consists of numerous online and in-person ground handling training programs as well as resources and other safety products designed to assist aviation businesses to be safe and successful. The Safety 1st Professional Line Service Training is the core of the program and consists of eight rigorous online training modules and exams coupled with in-person hands-on training and practical exam resources to empower training on a local level. More information on Safety 1st training can be found at www.safety1st.training.