The South American market is peculiar and challenging for a number of reasons according to Pro Sky Brasil head of operations Jorge Mateus, but there are changes that could help business aviation grow; for example the creation of a common aviation area such as exists in Europe, where air transport can occur between countries and under cabotage with facilitated permits. “This would increase the variety and competition of aircraft options for our missions,” he says, “and, as a consequence, improve quality within the market.” He would also like to see private access via FBO hangar or a private gate. “Often in small airports it’s either impossible or extremely hard to let our guests access the aircraft through an exclusive area, and private accesses would dramatically improve their departure and arrival experience,” he says.

Pro Sky performs charter on turboprops, jets or twin engine helicopters, always with two pilots on board. The company has flown missions for music bands, incentive trips, business trips for top management and VIP leisure to exotic and remote destinations. Recently it has landed in la Serena, a desert in the Atacama region of Chile; on the short air strips of the Pantanal; in Patagonia where its airports have no fuel, a tiny terminal and where weather can be harsh; in the Amazon region in Guyana and Suriname where bush flying is better than driving on unmade roads; and in the Andes where pilots need special certifications. Challenges are common says Mateus: “Planning can be last minute because temperatures are likely to vary hugely. And we have to make remote fuel stops in the Amazon in order to fly between major cities in South America, so communication can be a problem because of the poor cell signal.”

Challenges also exist outside of the infrastructure. “English is not often spoken – it is more efficient to com-municate in Spanish or Portuguese,” explains client service manager Claudio Brandão. The culture of the region is such that professional relationships tend to be informal, along the lines of ‘my word is my bond’. Verbal communi-cation is often enough to authorise any operation. “Aviation professionals in South America are, in general, very cooperative and focus on making passengers happy,” he says. “Pilots and cabin crew are always extremely friendly and usually a generous quantity of high quality catering is served. Everyone does what they can to prepare the flights and make them successful.”

He also notes that the time-zone difference is a challenge for a big slice of demand from the company’s North American and European clients. The territory of key countries such as Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Chile is relatively large with remote aerodromes and few operator and airline options.