3 min read
The FBO is not the terminal you know
Private aviation leaves from a separate terminal, the FBO, with its own entrance and its own parking. It is almost never where the commercial terminal is, and arriving at the wrong gate of a large airport costs twenty minutes.
Confirm the exact address the day before. It is the most common mistake and the easiest to avoid.
Fifteen minutes, not two hours
For many domestic missions, 15 to 20 minutes before departure at the FBO can be used as guidance. It is not universal: airport, operator, security and international requirements may need more time, and the final itinerary controls.
The departure time works in your favour: the aircraft leaves when you are ready, within the window agreed with control. What does not move are slots at congested airports, and there it pays to be punctual.
Waiting and returning
If the aircraft waits a few hours for you at the destination, that is quoted. If it stays the night, there is crew accommodation on top. A same-day return usually works out better than two separate legs, but it is worth deciding beforehand.
Who meets you
At the FBO there is ground staff who already have your name and the aircraft’s. There is no desk to find: you walk in, identify yourself and go through to the lounge. They load the baggage while you wait, and in most cases it never has to come out of the car.
The crew introduce themselves before boarding. That is the moment to mention anything that affects the flight: if somebody is a nervous flyer, if you have to land by a particular hour, or if the dog gets anxious on take-off.
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