Aircraft Detailing at Avignon Provence (LFMV)

What changes at Avignon Provence for a detailing crew?

Avignon Provence sits at 124 feet elevation with a single paved runway—17/35, approximately 1,880 metres—serving business aviation; two grass strips handle ultralights and are irrelevant to our work. The airport positions itself as entirely adapted to private and business aviation, with its own FBO terminal and hangars, which translates to shorter taxi times, predictable stand allocation and handlers who expect third-party service providers on the ramp.

Because the field is not slot-coordinated and customs clearance is available on request, scheduling a detail around an arrival or departure is simpler than at congested international hubs. The dedicated business-aviation terminal—a 120-square-metre facility with an executive lounge, opened in March 2009—means passengers and crew have a comfortable place to wait while we work. We coordinate directly with the handling agent to confirm GPU availability, apron access and any local water-use restrictions, then bring our own equipment and consumables to the stand.

Which services make sense for a transient super-midsize or heavy jet at Avignon?

Transient aircraft typically book a Quick Turn if the jet has flown in from a dusty or salt-air environment and needs a flight-ready reset: cabin vacuum and wipe-down, lavatory and galley, windows inside and out, all completed while passengers clear customs or take a meeting in the terminal. If the exterior shows streaking, bug strikes or exhaust staining, an Exterior Dry Wash using waterless or rinseless chemistry restores the finish without requiring a dedicated wash pad.

For an aircraft remaining on the ground overnight or longer, a Full Interior Detail—leather conditioning, veneer polish, deep-clean carpets and sidewalls, galley degreasing—pairs well with Brightwork Polish to bring leading edges, nacelle lips and exhaust cones back to a mirror shine. When the paint itself needs correction, a Complete Detail combines exterior decontamination and single-stage polish with the full interior package and cabin disinfection. Ceramic Coating is scheduled as a standalone visit, usually in conjunction with a longer maintenance event, because it requires cured paint, controlled humidity and a minimum two-day weather window.

How does recurring fleet care work at this Provence base?

Aircraft based at Avignon—whether under private ownership, a fractional program or a charter certificate—benefit from a Fleet Care Program: a twelve-month appearance plan that spreads the work across scheduled quick turns, monthly interior maintenance and quarterly exterior correction. We build the calendar around the flight department's operational rhythm, slotting detail days into periods when the aircraft is already on stand for line maintenance, crew training or simply between trips.

Each visit is logged in a shared schedule, and we issue a photo report and a tech-log entry so the chief pilot has a record of work completed. Because Avignon is a smaller field with predictable handler routines, we can often secure the same stand and the same time of day, which makes it easier to manage consumable inventory, crew transport and any special requests—nitrogen for gear-bay cleaning, steam for galley degreasing, or a climate-controlled hangar slot if the owner wants ceramic applied indoors. The program rate is fixed for the year, invoiced monthly, and includes emergency call-outs for bird strikes or belly staining discovered during a pre-flight walk-around.

What documentation and reporting do you provide after a detail at Avignon Provence?

Every job closes with a timestamped photo report—before, during and after—uploaded to a shared folder or emailed directly to the flight-department manager. The report includes images of any pre-existing paint defects, corrosion spots or cabin wear that we noted during the walk-around, so there is a dated record independent of the aircraft's formal inspection cycle. For work that touches the exterior—dry wash, polish, ceramic—we also provide a tech-log entry with the products used, the areas treated and the recommended re-application interval, written in the format the authority or the OEM expects.

If the detail is part of a fleet-care contract, the monthly summary lists all visits, consumables used and any deferred tasks—perhaps a section of cheat line that needs wet-sanding, or a cabin panel that should be removed and sent to a specialist. That documentation supports the chief pilot's own records and makes it straightforward to demonstrate to an auditor or a prospective buyer that the aircraft has been maintained to a consistent appearance standard.

What does the handler expect when a third-party detailing crew arrives?

Handling agents at Avignon are accustomed to line-maintenance engineers, caterers and cleaning teams working on the apron, so the process is well understood: we notify the handler twenty-four hours before the visit, confirm the stand number and GPU availability, and present our airside passes on arrival. If we need an escort—because one of the team's credentials is still in process—the handler arranges it at the same time as any other ramp movements.

The handler expects us to bring our own equipment (pressure washers, vacuum, polishers, consumables), to observe their safety protocols (hi-vis, hearing protection in the engine-run area, no work under an active GPU without permission), and to leave the stand clean. We do not use the aircraft's own potable water for exterior washing unless the captain explicitly authorises it; instead we carry our own deionised supply or use a waterless product. At the end of the job we check in with the handler, confirm that the aircraft is released back to the crew, and leave a copy of the photo report and tech-log entry in the cockpit or with the handling agent for forwarding.

Can you detail an ACJ or BBJ on the ramp at Avignon, or does it need a hangar?

Most detailing work—quick turns, dry washes, interior cleans, even brightwork polishing—happens on the open stand. Avignon's 1,880-metre runway accommodates the MTOW of an ACJ319 or a BBJ, and the apron has space for larger aircraft, so there is no operational barrier. The limiting factor is weather: if we are applying a ceramic coating or performing multi-stage paint correction, we need stable temperature, low humidity and no risk of rain or dust for the cure period, which usually means moving the aircraft into a hangar.

The airport's business-aviation infrastructure includes hangars, and we coordinate with the handler to reserve space when the scope of work demands it. For a straightforward exterior wash and full interior detail, the ramp is perfectly adequate; we simply check the forecast, schedule around any predicted precipitation, and use quick-detailer products that are not sensitive to ambient conditions. If the aircraft is already inside for avionics work or a phase inspection, we take advantage of the controlled environment to complete the detail without weather risk.