At Sterling Aviation, our seasoned professionals are dedicated to making your air charter flights safe and enjoyable. The private and business air services we provide are highly personalized. You will have the confidence of knowing that you are being served with quality – but you will also know the person who is delivering the service.
Sterling’s listing on the Air Charter Safety Foundation’s Industry Audit Standard Registry demonstrates the superiority of staff and operations. “As a pilot-managed company, Sterling is especially sensitive to the operational and maintenance issues inherent in aircraft management and air charter,” said Rob Gort, Sterling’s President and Chief Operating Officer, who is also a licensed pilot with more than 15,000 flight hours and a licensed Airframe and Powerplant mechanic with Inspector Authorization. “Our addition to the ACSF audit Registry places Sterling in an elite group of companies and proves to our clients that we take their safety seriously.”
Sterling is one of only 28 companies to achieve the prestigious Registered Status since the Registry’s inception in 2009.
“Safety is often invisible to our clients, but it is one of the most important services Sterling offers,” said Chris Mayer, Director of Operations and a licensed pilot with over 9,000 flight hours. “From schedulers to aircraft mechanics to pilots, our entire staff works together to make every part of the flight experience safe, efficient and comfortable. Our clients will appreciate the confidence of knowing that we’ve met these stringent requirements.”
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Rising Above the Rest
The pilots of Sterling Aviation love to fly. Their pride and enthusiasm pervade everything they do. Alvin Gonzalez says a passion for flight energizes him to “go above and beyond” expectations. “I want to see smiles on our clients’ faces.”
And, as Dave McDaniel observes, all the pilots recognize the value of being part of a company that provides full-service air charter flights. “The flight experience is our major responsibility, yet it’s only one aspect of the total Sterling Experience,” he says. “The Sterling team, right up to top management, supports us so that we can concentrate on our mission to deliver safe, comfortable and on-time air travel.”
Handling All the Details
Dispatch and Client Services form the nerve center of Sterling Aviation – coordinating everything from the initial reservation to the trip’s completion. Flight schedules are formulated, aircraft and crew assigned, FBO needs determined, ground transportation and other arrangements finalized. It’s a job that demands perseverance, creativity and a healthy dose of empathy.
As Brian Gillespie, Charter Manager, states, “We always try to put ourselves in the client’s shoes – to visualize the total travel experience.”
It also involves getting personal. “At Sterling, we feel personally responsible for all our clients,” says Amy Abele, Charter Coordinator, “That means being proactive, double and triple checking everything, always giving honest answers, and never making excuses.”
Anticipating Needs
Superb service is a fine art – requiring the innate ability to not only to hear what a client says, but also to feel all that he or she means. At Sterling Aviation, service is making sure the preferred wine label and vintage is on board. But it’s also a gentle touch of reassurance for the passenger who may be uneasy traveling by air. It’s all about creating confidence, as defined by individual client needs. “Our mission is to be in tune with our clients, alert and responsive but never intrusive,” Wendy Barranco, Senior Flight Attendant explains.
Or, as Charter Coordinator Rebecca Joy sums it up, “Clients need to know they can count on us to handle all the details, no matter how small, so that their trip will be as effortless as possible.”
Devoted to Service
Like all the people of Sterling, Greg Bach, Line Service Manager enjoys meeting clients. But he prefers that his work remains woven into the background fabric of the Sterling Experience. “When we do our work exceptionally well, we hope the client will not notice,” Greg says. “From the time they walk through the front door, to the point they get back into their car after a flight and drive away, clients should feel total satisfaction.” And it’s often extraordinary efforts behind the scenes that create this satisfaction.
“One client likes bagels from a specific bakery. Another has allergies so we make sure she has her own blanket on every flight. Once, I had to go to four stores to find a particular brand of spirits,” says Marlene Crowley. Flight Services Specialist, “Whatever a client needs, we will not stop until it gets done.”