Prague-based MRO and charter operator ABS Jets has thrice been to LABACE as a visitor, taking the opportunity the fair presents to connect with Brazilian customers for which it provides trip planning and support to Europe and other locations. Having come and seen, ABS Jets has jumped in with both feet in 2022, not only exhibiting (Booth 1006), but becoming a member of ABAG, the Brazilian Association for General Aviation, which organizes the show, and works year-round for the sector.
“We have previously visited [LABACE] and it definitely is the place to be,” said ABS marketing manager Petr Wessnitzer. “Being located far away from the market in the middle of Europe means we have to travel on a frequent basis to Brazil to meet and take care of our customers. LABACE is a chance to meet many of them in a short time. Even though ABS Jets provides a broad [range] of services…our main focus for LABACE will be flight support.”
ABS Jets’s Brazilian connection goes back to at least 2004 when it began operating Embraer Legacy jets at Václav Havel Airport in Prague. Its FBO there was in 2021 the first in Europe to be awarded Stage 3 registration under IBAC’s International Standard for Business Aviation Handling (IS-BAH). The company has grown to more than 250 people and added a base at M.R. Štefánik Airport in Bratislava. ABS Jets specializes in aircraft management, rental, maintenance, handling, flight planning, and hangarage, and it provides MRO services for the Embraer Legacy and Phenom families in Prague.
Wessnitzer said the company’s connection to South America strengthened as it “gradually continued to provide flight support to the [Embraer] factory, then focusing on other individual clients in Brazil as well.” The support to Embraer was “basically the flight support and logistics behind their executive jets demonstration fleet missions around the globe.
“Demand is typically connected to complicated and long-haul missions far away from the continent. Special events such as the Olympic Games or [Soccer World Cup] mean we always have something demanding to work on." ABS reps at LABACE 2019 said that the 2018 World Cup in Russia meant 100 flights from Brazil alone. They also mentioned arranging flight support for a Legacy owned by an unidentified Central American president.
