Fleet Care Program at Olbia Costa Smeralda (LIEO)
Recurring appearance care for charter operators and corporate fleets based on the Costa Smeralda
The Fleet Care Program at Olbia Costa Smeralda is a twelve-month appearance contract designed for charter operators, corporate flight departments and FBOs with aircraft based at LIEO or working the Sardinian summer season. Instead of booking individual washes and cabin cleans, you receive a service calendar built around your flight schedule: quick turns between legs, monthly interiors, seasonal exteriors and brightwork work, all under one invoice and a fixed monthly budget per tail. We coordinate directly with the handling agents present at the airport, hold airside passes for the general aviation terminal and the apron, and provide priority crew allocation plus twenty-four-hour AOG cover when a turnaround cannot wait.
05/23 · 2745 m
AIP and airport data37 ft
3 km
Olbia town centre3 on the airport
independent, no affiliationEccelsa Aviation General Aviation Terminal (opened 2009, ~4,000 m², aircraft-side wing sheltering up to B737/A320)
Why does a fleet program make sense at a seasonal airport like Olbia?
Olbia's traffic is almost entirely Costa Smeralda tourism, with July and August generating three to four thousand movements per month. Most airline routes are seasonal, and general aviation follows the same pattern: aircraft arrive in May, fly intensively through September, then leave. If you operate a charter programme or manage a corporate fleet that summers here, you know the drill—back-to-back legs, tight slots, Avgas waits that can reach ninety minutes in high season, and a ramp crowded enough that every handler juggles priorities.
A fleet programme turns appearance from a series of last-minute calls into a standing arrangement. We block crew time in advance, schedule washes and cabin cleans around your known pattern, and keep service history so you are not re-briefing a new technician every visit. When an unscheduled turnaround lands—weather divert, passenger change, AOG swap—you call one number and the crew is already cleared airside. The alternative is competing for walk-up slots during the busiest ten weeks of the European season.
What changes at Olbia Costa Smeralda during the summer peak?
The airport sits at thirty-seven feet elevation, three kilometres from Olbia town centre, with a single runway—05/23, 2,745 metres. Eccelsa Aviation operates the general aviation terminal, a four-thousand-square-metre facility opened in 2009 with an aircraft-side wing that shelters types up to B737 and A320. The terminal runs 07:00 to 22:00 local; paid extensions are available on request. Two other handling agents are present at the airport. Olbia is slot-coordinated year-round, and from the first of June through the thirtieth of September the field goes to extended hours and general aviation must file prior permission required with the operator.
For a detailing crew, summer means three things. First, every stand is spoken for; we coordinate with your handler days ahead to confirm parking and water access. Second, Olbia Ground's extended schedule—06:00 to 22:00 UTC in season—gives us a longer window, but it also means airline push-back and tug traffic all day. Third, the terminal's aircraft-side wing is useful for shaded dry-wash work on smaller types, but anything super-midsize or larger usually sits on the open apron, so we watch the morning for cold-soaked fuel and plan exteriors accordingly. A fleet programme lets us map all of this once, then adapt each month as your schedule firms up.
How does a third-party detailing crew work with the Olbia handlers?
Handlers at LIEO expect the same discipline they would from a line-service provider: current airside passes, insurance certificate on file, and advance notice so they can note the activity in the aircraft's ground-service order. We submit our crew list and vehicle registration to your nominated handler seventy-two hours before the first visit of the season; after that, updates go by email as personnel rotate. On the day, we check in at the handler's operations desk, collect any special instructions—GPU already connected, pitot covers left on, no-touch avionics panel in the cabin—and confirm stand time if you are on a tight slot.
The handler is not our client; you are. But the smoother our relationship with the ground team, the faster we set up and the fewer surprises appear in the tech log. If the aircraft is due to depart thirty minutes after we finish, the handler will want to see our kit clear of the stand and the exterior dry before they call the flight crew. A fleet programme means the handler sees the same Terso faces every month, learns our routine, and stops treating each visit as a new vendor audit.
What does the twelve-month calendar actually include?
We build the calendar in the first week of the contract, using your flight schedule, your aircraft's current condition, and the operational rhythm of the base. A typical super-midsize on a charter certificate might receive a quick exterior wash and vacuum every second flight, a full cabin detail each month, a single-stage polish in May before the season opens, and a second polish in October before the aircraft repositions. Brightwork—nacelle lips, leading edges, belly panels—goes on a separate cycle, usually twice per season, because it requires more stand time and is best done when the aircraft will sit overnight.
Every visit generates a short photo report and a line in the service history. If you operate three tails under the programme, you receive one invoice per month covering all activity across the fleet. The fixed budget is calculated from the agreed calendar; if you add an unscheduled wash or cancel a monthly interior, we true up at quarter-end. The twenty-four-hour AOG cover is included: if a bird strike needs decon or a belly panel needs an emergency clean before a Part-NCC audit, the call goes to the same mobile number and we pull a crew from the roster.
Who holds the airside passes and the insurance, and who briefs the cabin crew?
Terso holds all airside passes for Olbia Costa Smeralda; our crew are escorted only when a new technician is in training and has not yet completed the airport authority's safety course. Insurance—public liability and aircraft-on-ground cover—is lodged with Geasar and renewed annually; your handler will have a copy on file. We also carry our own water and power kit, so we do not depend on GPU or potable-water trucks unless the aircraft system requires it.
Cabin briefings happen once, at the start of the contract. We meet your cabin crew or your chief pilot, walk the interior, note any aftermarket materials or owner preferences—cream leather that cannot take solvent, a galley panel that scratches if you look at it wrong, a divan that must be vacuumed in one direction—and photograph the details. That briefing document lives in the service history; every technician reviews it before boarding. If your cabin crew change mid-season, we ask for a fifteen-minute walk-through to confirm nothing has been re-upholstered or moved. The goal is that your crew never need to repeat themselves.
What happens if the aircraft repositions mid-contract or the program needs to pause?
Fleets move. An aircraft might spend June through September at Olbia, then winter in the Alps or reposition to the Caribbean. The twelve-month programme is a calendar, not a chain; if one tail leaves the base, we shift the remaining service budget to the other aircraft in the fleet, or we pause that tail's line and resume when it returns. You are not paying for visits that do not happen.
If the entire fleet repositions—say, a charter operator closes the Sardinian season in October and moves to Innsbruck for ski—we can extend the programme to the new base, provided we hold or can obtain airside access there. The service history and the photo archive travel with the aircraft. The monthly invoice continues; only the airport and the handler details change. If you prefer to close the contract at the end of the season, we issue a final report, archive the records for two years, and mark the fleet for priority re-activation if you return the following May.
Questions operators ask about Fleet Care Program at Olbia Costa Smeralda
What is the minimum fleet size for the programme at Olbia?
One aircraft qualifies if it is based at LIEO or flies a recurring schedule through the season. The programme is designed for fleets, but a single tail on a predictable pattern—charter certificate, corporate shuttle, or FBO management contract—will benefit from the fixed calendar and priority AOG cover. We calculate the monthly budget from the agreed service frequency, not the number of aircraft.
Can we add or remove services mid-season without renegotiating the contract?
Yes; we true up the budget at quarter-end based on actual visits. The calendar is a plan, not a mandate. If you want to skip a monthly interior because the aircraft has been in the hangar, or add an extra wash after a Saharan-dust event, you call or email and we adjust the schedule. The fixed monthly budget is recalculated quarterly to reflect real activity.
Do you coordinate directly with our handler, or do we need to brief them each time?
We coordinate directly once you nominate the handler and provide the aircraft registration. At the start of the contract, you tell us which handling agent to work with and provide the tail number and any standing instructions. We submit our crew list and insurance to that handler, then manage day-to-day scheduling—stand requests, water access, GPU—without needing you in the loop unless something changes.
What counts as an AOG request under the twenty-four-hour cover?
Any unscheduled appearance need that affects dispatch or passenger readiness. Bird strike decon, hydraulic-fluid cleanup, a cabin spill before a charter leg, or a belly panel that must be cleaned for a pre-purchase inspection—all qualify. You call the mobile number, we dispatch a crew, and the visit is logged against the monthly budget or billed separately if it falls outside the contract scope.
How do you handle water restrictions during the Sardinian summer?
We use rinseless wash for exteriors unless the aircraft is heavily soiled and the handler confirms water access. Olbia does not publish a blanket water ban, but individual handlers may restrict hose use during peak hours or drought periods. Rinseless wash is our default for quick turns; if you want a traditional rinse—after a long positioning leg through weather, for example—we confirm with the handler and schedule the wash for early morning or late evening.
Does the service history transfer if we sell the aircraft mid-contract?
Yes, with your permission we provide the new owner a PDF archive of all visits, photos and notes. The service history is your property. If the aircraft changes hands, we can supply the documentation to the new operator or broker to demonstrate care and maintenance of the cabin and exterior. We also offer to brief the new owner's team if they wish to continue the programme under a new contract.
Can we include multiple bases in one fleet programme, or does each airport need a separate contract?
One contract can cover multiple bases if we hold airside access at each location. If your fleet splits between Olbia and, say, Cannes or Geneva, we build a single calendar with base-specific service lines and one monthly invoice. The fixed budget is calculated per tail per base, and the AOG cover applies wherever we have crew and airside passes.
What happens if a slot delay or weather pushes our departure and we cannot wait for the wash to finish?
We pause the work, secure the aircraft and the stand, and resume when you return or at the next scheduled visit. Operational needs come first. If you are called to the aircraft mid-service, we stop immediately, stow all kit, ensure no panels or ports are open, and clear the stand. The partial visit is noted in the service history, and we either complete the work on your next arrival or roll it into the following scheduled service.
Do you provide the same crew each visit, or does the team rotate?
We assign a primary two-person crew to your fleet; a backup crew provides cover during leave or peak periods. Consistency matters, especially for cabins with aftermarket materials or owner-specific preferences. Your fleet is assigned a lead crew who learn the aircraft and build a relationship with your pilots and cabin staff. A second crew is briefed and holds the service history so that summer leave or overlapping visits do not force you to work with strangers.
Is there a discount for adding a second or third tail to the programme?
Yes; the monthly budget per tail decreases as the fleet size grows, because we can schedule crew more efficiently. A three-aircraft fleet at the same base allows us to batch certain tasks—brightwork, gear-bay cleaning—and reduce positioning time between stands. The discount is built into the fixed monthly budget and is transparent in the contract; you will see the per-tail rate drop when you add the second and third registrations.