Only a few years ago nobody in Poland seriously considered something like a private air taxi and it certainly wasn’t a popular solution. As of May this year, the Bartolini Air group from Lodz offers such a service. It will find an economically optimal solution that allows the customer to quickly, safely and comfortably reach their destination, regardless of whether it is a private or business flight, within Poland or in Europe.
Bartolini Air’s fleet includes both piston-powered twin-engine planes, which can operate from short and grassy airfields, and jets that can fly to any of the thousands of European airports. The company also assures comprehensive management over private aircraft.
Private air travel under the air taxi formula is addressed to anyone who wants to travel comfortably, safely and on their own terms, for private reasons or on business, both in Poland and in Europe. It’s also a solution for private aircraft owners, as it frees them of their duty to maintain the machine and meet all rigorous legal standards.
How to become a pilot?
The Bartolini Air group was founded on the basis of Central Europe’s largest pilot training
centre, which was established in Lodz in 2006 and has been thriving ever since. Currently, it trains over 200 pilots a year. Students complete over 36,000 flights in 12 months. Citizens of 56 countries have studied at the school since its inception and 95% of all students are from abroad. Training is conducted on modern twin-engine Tecnam P2006T and single-engined P2002JF and P2008JC planes equipped with electronic avionics (depending on the aircraft: a glass cockpit in the form of a Garmin G950, G500 or G3X Touch).
The training also includes simulators that perfectly represent large commercial aircraft, such as Boeing or Airbus, as well as light aircraft simulators, intended for training in instrument flight. The classes are conducted by active airline pilots, pilots of business jets and leading aviation experts. The best students are offered financing for training allowing them to obtain instructor’s qualifications, combined with a two-year employment contract as a flight instructor. During the course of this contract, as the person acquires experience, the company allows them to acquire further instructor qualifications. The next stage in one’s career is training for planes used for air taxi services, after which the person becomes the first officer on such a plane. After spending 1500 hours in the air as a first officer, the pilot is promoted to captain. Those with appropriate predispositions may receive an offer of additional office work in coordinating the school’s operations.
The school is overseen by the Civil Aviation Office and the European Aviation Safety Agency EASA. The Bartolini Air company providing air taxi services has an air operator’s certificate (AOC), which guarantees that it meets all the EASA strict requirements, identical to those imposed on the largest European airlines. Bartolini Air is also a certified technical service organisation and a sales representative for Tecnam and Daher Socata aircraft in Poland.
No more aircraft worries
The company is developing not only a private air travel offer, but also a range of services for private aircraft owners. There are currently around 30 private jets in Poland and two or three new are added every year. European aviation regulations that came into force in 2016 have significantly tightened the requirements for operators of what’s called complex aircraft, i.e. all jets and most turboprops. This has, in turn, boosted demand for professional companies providing private aircraft owners with support. It is the latter who are the target for Bartolini Air’s new comprehensive management services. These include hangar storage and technical maintenance, as well as assistance in importing and registering craft, recruiting crews and meeting technical and operational formal requirements set by the Civil Aviation Office. It’s also noteworthy that the company will start leasing the old terminal at the Lodz Wladyslaw Reymont Airport and open an FBO at that location in the summer of 2018.
Bartolini Air also allows aircraft owners to monetise their property. The company makes private planes available for charter when their owners don’t use them.
“The international airport in Lodz is a great operating base for jet airplanes—it has a long instrumented runway, 
good infrastructure with the possibility of building new hangars and dynamic management, which sees business aviation development as a chance for the entire airport”, comments Jakub Benke, Bartolini Air president and shareholder.
Good conditions for company development
At the end of June, Bartolini Air expanded its offer with flights to Europe. Travellers on board a six-seat Cessna Citation Jet can take off from 15 civilian airports in Poland and land at such as London City or Saint Moritz (or almost any other international airport).
“There are already companies that offer jet charter in Poland, but our location is our strong point. Lodz lies in the centre of the country, while allowing lower costs than in Warsaw and a wisely managed airport, which supports the development of small aviation”, says Bartłomiej Walas, the founder and president of the Bartolini Air group.
The location is conducive to the offer’s development. With the infrastructure at the airport, for example, hangar space can be expanded, which Bartolini Air does not exclude in the future.
The pilot training centre is a response to the increasing demand for professional airline pilots. Boeing estimates that in 2016–2035 airlines will have to recruit 617 thousand new pilots, including 248 thousand in the Asia-Pacific region and 104,000 in Europe. Some of them can be trained in Poland.
For the people
Apart from its business operations, Bartolini Air engages in local charity activities and supports various foundations and schools. For example, it helps charges of the City Social Welfare Centre, the Happy Kids Foundation, children from orphanages and the Stanisława Leszczyńska Lone Mothers’ Home. Its choice of fleet is also motivated by its responsibility towards the local community, as it opted for the most modern equipment currently manufactured, considering the environment and the closeness of the city. ●
All photos: Bartolini Air
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