When a National flag carrier discovered its flying programme was suddenly going to be disrupted by a period of Industrial Action, there was only one
call necessary - a Smart one.
Within 30 minutes of the initial request, Smart Aviation's 24 hour duty office had identified several aircraft
available, operated by Air Via, one of our most valued partners. Air Via operate a large, modern fleet of Airbus A320 aircraft, perfect for this last
minute operation and our colleagues there are renowned for their flexibility, outstanding response time and willingness to go the extra
mile.
Within hours the first aircraft was airborne, and on its way to assist our client. Shortly after, a further three Air Via aircraft were
mobilised, heading for the clients base, a complex feat of logistics which involved calling out over 40 pilots, cabin attendants and engineers, to fly
at short notice to operate this programme.
Having exhausted the available fleet of Air Via, Smart arranged for a further two aircraft to join
the airlift, over the weekend. As of Friday night we were planning to operate 62 sectors; meaning potentially over 11,000 passengers will fly on an
aircraft provided by Smart to cover the weekends disruption.
*** Stop press *** over the weekend our 24 hour duty team has confirmed a further
two days flying, consisting of another 44 sectors.
The total operation is now running at 106 sectors, with a potential number of passengers
to be carried now running at just over 19,000.