My Top Ten Euro Jet Locations

As we have now kicked off our 10 Year Anniversary celebration, we thought it be only fitting to begin a 2018 blog series of Top 10 lists.

Growing up, the adults always told me never to play favorites. Sorry to say, but now that I am in theory an adult, I will need to play favorites and pick those Euro Jet locations I have enjoyed the most.

Please note that these below locations are only places I have visited personally and therefore some equally amazing places are not listed below because I have not been there. So for those not listed, an invitation to visit along with a sampling of the local wines and beers is always encouraged.

A special mention goes out to Tbilisi, Georgia and Ljubljana, Slovenia who did not make the list, but are also wonderful places filled with a rich culture and history.

I have also intentionally left Prague off the list as it is now considered one of the top 5 must visit cities in Europe. Everyone loves Prague, and nowadays most people have been to Prague. I agree, it is an amazing place and yes it has the best beer in the world (sorry Milwaukee).

But for once I wanted to let other places in Eastern Europe shine as Prague always gets the most attention. Prague of course is our Headquarters and at the airport we have two crew lounges, a hangar, ramp car, and the very capable team of Raimonda, Veronika, Katerina, and Tomas who are led by our Country Manager Vlasta Sovak.

Now let’s begin…

10. Constanta, Romania: I have been twice to this Black Sea resort town and well…it is hard not to like a city on the beach. Like most of Romania it has a rawness to it and an independent spirit that is very much a part of the Romanian people. In Constanta our team of Silviu and Anna-Maria do a superb job manning our crew lounge and taking care of all our customers, including the many military flights that come through here.

9. Kiev, Ukraine: Kiev is of course one of the most famous cities in the world. Its ballet and music is world class, and the city itself is a beautiful place filled with stunning architecture lined up against the Dnieper River. At Euro Jet, we have one word to describe our Ukraine operation – Olga. Our Country Manager Olga Fedorchenko is as good as it gets when it comes to taking care of customers at both Kiev airports, Boryspil and Zhuliany, while also managing the rest of the country.

8. Zagreb, Croatia: Croatia is arguably the fastest growing tourism country in Eastern Europe in terms of popularity. I refer to it as a version of Italy with friendlier people and far less tourists. The capital city of Zagreb reminds me of a small German city with a lot of ancient history (as is normal throughout Croatia). Here we have our own crew lounge and the best-looking team of Brixy, Lena, and Vesna whose youthfulness continues to amaze all who meet them.

7. Sofia, Bulgaria: Perhaps the most likely choice for #7, but I really like this very ancient city. It has a great city center filled with many beautiful Eastern Orthodox Churches and the food there is amazing. I had one of my best meals ever in Sofia. Our team of Mitko and Mitko do a great job along with our wonderful Bulgarian Country Manager Nikolay. Stand by for news about our new crew office space opening there very soon.

6. Kotor, Montenegro: The actual airport lies somewhere in between the ritzy Port of Tivat and the old city of Kotor, which is where the cruise ships dock. Down the road from Kotor are some breathtaking views of the black mountain range. At Tivat Airport Euro Jet’s team led by Danilo and Darko is also home to another crew lounge and ramp car that shuttles Euro Jet crews and passengers all summer long between the hot ramp and the general aviation terminal.

5. Krakow, Poland: If you are looking for a city in Eastern Europe that looks so much like Prague, yet has less tourists and more pierogies, then Krakow is the place for you. It also has a past rich in Jewish history and is about 90 minutes away from the devastation of Auschwitz, it’s biggest tourist attraction. Our Country Manager for Poland Marcin also runs our Station at Krakow’s John Paull II Airport, named after the only Polish Pope in this predominantly Roman Catholic Country.

4. Dubrovnik, Croatia: If you are looking to stay in the perfect Italian village on the Adriatic Sea, then forget Italy and come to the absolutely stunning city of Dubrovnik. They filmed Game of Thrones here along with Star Wars, and I am sure the film crews had no trouble staying there. Get lost wandering streets that have been around for over a thousand years and indulge in their amazing Plavac or Dingac wine. Our station and crew lounge there is superbly run by Zoran who works around the clock during the summer months.

3. Bucharest, Romania: Perhaps an unlikely choice for #3, but on all my trips to Romania, I have always enjoyed myself so much in Bucharest. The food is great, the locals are extremely friendly, and my taste testing of Romanian wine was surprisingly very good. It should also be noted that Romania was the busiest country for Euro Jet in 2017, which gives them this well-deserved mention. There are two airports in Bucharest, the main commercial airport of Otopeni and the private aviation airport of Baneasa. A huge thank you to our great team of Daniel, Anne-Mary and Alexandra.

2. Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic: Better known as Carlsbad in English, this small Czech spa city about 90 minutes outside of Prague is the perfect place to film a fairytale movie. It’s most famous hotel, the Grand Hotel Pupp doubled as the Hotel Splendide in the James Bond movie Casino Royale. It is also home to one of our largest crew lounges run by our station manager Stepanka Dleskova.

And number one…

Budapest, Hungary: Budapest is arguably my favorite major city in Europe. While the tourists will continue to come in more and more, it remains a real gem of Europe. The architecture of their Gothic looking Parliament Building along with the ancient Castle on the other side of the Danube River makes for one of the most beautiful cities in the world. Our team of Petr and Akos remain outstanding in all that they do and are a huge asset to the company.

Thanks for reading and stay tuned for the next “Top 10” list which we will release in a couple weeks.

Posted by Gareth Danker on February 21, 2018.