I have been working for Avinode for many years, mainly concentrating on the Middle Eastern and Asian markets; but recently Turkey was also added to my territory. This prompted me to take my very first trip to Istanbul, and in fact my first visit to Turkey. I had a fantastic time, so I would like to start by thanking all the existing and new clients that welcomed me. I know many of you were disappointed that you did not get to meet Henric this time, but I assure you he will be at EBACE in May.

I begin my trip, by making some silly, new territory mistakes. Living in Sweden I am used to the cold winter months, so I assumed Istanbul in February would be relatively warm in comparison. How wrong could I have been: it rained for the first two days and snowed the next two. My traveling wardrobe did not really suit this weather.

Then when I tried to pay the taxi driver who drove me from the airport to my hotel he pointed at the meter, it read 45. I thought €45 euro for this journey seemed rather expensive, and it took several minutes of two people talking to each other with neither one understanding a single word the other was saying to realize he didn’t accept Euros. He wanted 45 Turkish Lira (less than €20).

Another new experience was Raki, but perhaps I should not go into detail about how it makes you dance.

As for the market, my impression is that the Turkish charter business in January and February has been a little slow but it is expected to pick up considerably towards the summer months.

The Istanbul area is currently dominated by midsize and heavy jet aircraft, and several operators mentioned that additional mids and heavies were coming into the region.

Most of the operators in the area are operating the aircraft on behalf of the owners, with the main objective of flying for them and their companies, and if there is any availability left over then the aircraft can be chartered out. This is the hallmark of a younger market, and is something we have seen in many markets before. If Turkey follows the path set in other markets than the previously mentioned increase of aircraft should make charter easier by expanding the available charter fleet.

I look forward to my next visit to Turkey.

Every New Year’s Eve you toast the beginning of a new year with a glass of champagne, but for me this year’s toast was my new career, which began in January. My first day on the job consisted of new colleagues, a new office and in my case, a new industry. With my background in travel and hospitality there was some knowledge, but I didn’t fully know what to expect. My friends and family were excited and, of course, asked a lot of questions about the new job: ‘What is Avinode?’ ‘Will you fly private yourself?’ The latter answered with a ‘most likely not’.

On my first day, I was lucky to discover that I would be surrounded by remarkable colleagues who comprise an amazing team. I spent my first week getting an intense crash course for my upcoming tradeshow with Avinode, NBAA’s Schedulers and Dispatchers, which was scheduled to take place in San Diego during my second work week. On Saturday Per, Niklas, David, and I flew across the country to set up the Avinode booth. The rest of the team joined us the next day.

By 6.00pm, Sunday evening, the “Noders”, and our sister teams from SchedAero and Wyvern, were already “rocking and rolling” at the S&D 2012 Welcome Reception. It was a great opening to a fantastic show. Clients from near and far stopped by the booth to have a look at the New Marketplace or take a the new Trip Board for a test drive.
It was interesting to hear the perspectives’ of the clients and hear their opinions were about continuous improvements we’re rolling out for the Marketplace. I also made sure to take the opportunity to walk the floor and get to know the exhibitors, many of whom we appreciatively call clients. Seemingly every person I have encountered, in this industry, is highly passionate about their career path.

Now, I would have ended my blog by giving you some impressions from my return flight with a commercial airline, but thankfully things don’t always go as planned…. I received an email from Windsor Jet Management asking if I was interested in flying home with them on their Gulfstream IV. Without hesitation, I accepted.

After a week of eating, drinking and sleeping aviation this was the ultimate culmination to an amazing trade show. Aside from obvious convenience of the “boarding process,” it was marvelous to see the passion of the pilots, the new technology they work with, and to hear their expectations of 2012.

It was an amazing experience that I will never forget, and, of course, compared to this wonderful experience my typical “coach flying” experiences will never be the same.
Thank you Windsor Jet Management for making this experience possible. I have told my friends and family that this is not my every day job, but they all now seem to want to work for Avinode…

I feel like Avinode and the business aviation industry has welcomed me with a warm heart and I am looking forward to the “ride.”