Winter 2022

Gateway to Mallorca

Gateway to Mallorca

Working from its newly refurbished FBO at Palma de Mallorca Airport, Mallorcair is looking forward to expanding its well-established customer offer, as Sales & Safety Manager Xavier Mudoy reveals

The Mallorcair FBO is located well away from the main Palma de Mallorca Airport (ICAO: LEPA) buildings in a dedicated general aviation area. Does this provide easy access to ramp space?
We are located inside the general aviation terminal, adjacent to the ramp where most of our traffic is parked. The FBO can accommodate around 50 aircraft, although the largest, and those staying for a longer period, may park in other areas.

What aircraft types do you see?
We are most familiar with the Citations, but we also see Embraer products, while Gulfstream, Challenger and Global models usually represent the big jets.

What facilities can passengers expect to find at the FBO?
We have free high-speed Wi-Fi available for all customers. They also have access to drinks – soft and alcoholic, including wine and champagne – and we offer snacks. Our VIP bathrooms have showers, and we have a private meeting room and big screens on which passengers can watch any sporting event or film. We began offering free ice cream two years ago and this has become a major attraction, especially for crews and children.

What facilities do you offer crews?
They have a choice of beverages and snacks, and we have tables where they can meet or have lunch. Wireless printing is available as required for those briefing on our computers or their own.

What aircraft handling facilities do you offer, and do you operate your own ground support equipment (GSE)?
Aircraft cleaning, toilet and water services, catering, security, maintenance and hangarage are available, most of it using our own capability and the remainder subcontracted. Our equipment includes ground power units, aircraft tugs, baggage belts, tractors and trolleys. Other GSE is provided through agreements with the major handling providers at LEPA airport.

What is your fuel provision? Is sustainable aviation fuel available?
We are evolving the fuel situation, but LEPA does not allow us our own fuel truck, so we rely on the existing fuel suppliers, working with them to ensure good service and good prices. We also have a contract with Air bp, through which we offer fuel at very competitive prices.

Covid seriously affected the industry and remains a challenge in some regions. Spain (and Europe more widely) were badly hit. How did Mallorcair work through the crisis and how is your business looking now?
Although 2020 was difficult for everybody, Mallorcair never closed completely. We kept the FBO open as an essential business and kept all our customers updated on the Covid situation and the legal requirements for entering Spain.
We also had some based aircraft that needed maintenance and we handled a few movements, including ambulance, transplant and repatriation flights.

The two months when general traffic was permitted were very busy, but overall, 2020 was very bad for business. We had a good year in 2021 though, as traffic picked up because so few commercial flights were available.
You have a network of trusted suppliers through which you offer VIP services across Spain. How are they selected and how do you ensure they maintain the standards your customers expect?
We only work with the best. They may cost a little more, but we know this is the only way to ensure service meets our standards. Aire Catering; Marques VIP Transfers; Melia; Iberostar; AC Marriot, for hotel bookings; and Europcar and SIXT for car rental, are just some examples among many. They know what we need and how we want things done.

What can you say about your FBO staff?
Our core team has been with us many years, some as long as three decades. We work hard to attract new talent and retain it, because we understand that really knowing our customers is key.

Are you aviation enthusiasts?
Yes, of course. Mallorcair was established at a time when general aviation in Europe, and in Spain, was just beginning. We have grown with it and general aviation is now a very important part of LEPA’s traffic.

You have an aircraft charter offer. How does it work?
Our broker department takes care of this side of the business, working on demand. We consider ourselves more like ‘aircraft finders’ since this is not our core business but rather an area where we like to assist our clients. Mallorcair also works with charter companies to help meet clients’ needs.

What’s next for Mallorcair?
We have almost finished completely refurbishing the FBO facilities. Once this is done, we will focus on acquiring more GSE, to make us more autonomous and able to provide even better service to our customers. Our staff remain our most important asset, their wellbeing and training our primary goal. We were already IS-BAH Stage 1 certified and we will work to get Stage 2 accreditation soon.

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