Fleet Care Program at Milan Malpensa (LIMC)

How does the service calendar work around flight schedules at Milan Malpensa?

We build the calendar in the first week of the program. You share your flight schedule—legs, turnaround windows, overnight stands, maintenance slots—and we map quick turns, monthly interiors and seasonal exteriors into the gaps. For aircraft that night-stop regularly, we schedule cabin work after the last inbound; for those on short turnarounds, we slot a rinseless exterior or belly decon while you refuel and restock.

The calendar lives as a shared document. When your schedule shifts—charter amendment, repositioning leg, unplanned AOG—you notify us and we adjust the next service window. Priority crew allocation means the same team learns your aircraft: cheat-line masking on the Challenger, no-touch avionics zones on the Global, the exact cabin materials the OEM specifies. Each visit is logged with date, stand location, work completed and photos for your tech log and SMS records.

Quarterly reviews let us recalibrate. If winter deicing has left more residue than expected, we bring forward the next polish. If utilisation drops, we defer a service and keep the monthly budget flat. The aim is appearance management that requires no thought between visits.

What changes at Milan Malpensa for a fleet program?

Malpensa sits at 768 feet elevation, 49 kilometres north-west of Milan city centre, with two parallel runways each 3,920 metres and H24 operations. The airport is slot-coordinated; PPR and handler coordination are required for every movement. Five handling agents are present at the airport, operating from the Milano Malpensa Prime terminal—a dedicated business and general aviation facility opened in July 2019, located between Terminal 1 and Terminal 2 on a 50,000-square-metre apron with an adjacent 5,000-square-metre hangar for executive jets.

For a fleet program, this means we coordinate directly with whichever handler you use, securing airside escort and apron access for every scheduled service. The 1,400-square-metre terminal offers crew facilities while we work; the apron layout allows us to reach your stand without towing. Winter at Malpensa is cold and wet—November through February sees frequent freezing fog and Type I/IV fluid applications—so we schedule hydrophobic treatments and brightwork protection in October, then plan post-winter decon and polish for March.

Summer heat and the proximity of the Alps create afternoon convective weather; leading edges and nacelles collect bug strike and dust from the surrounding plain. A rinseless wash every four to six weeks during high-utilisation months keeps the airframe clean without triggering the airport's occasional apron water restrictions during dry spells.

What is included in the fixed monthly budget?

The monthly invoice covers all scheduled services for that tail number: quick turns (dry wash, belly decon, gear-bay rinse), one full interior detail per month, and the seasonal exterior work—single-stage polish in spring, hydrophobic reapplication before winter, brightwork treatment twice a year. AOG callouts for appearance issues—fluid staining after a missed decon window, bird-strike cleanup, spill in the cabin—are included at no additional charge, provided they fall within the program period.

You also receive priority crew allocation, meaning the same two- or three-person team every visit, and a dedicated operations contact who knows your fleet, your schedule and your handler. Service history and photos are delivered within 24 hours of each visit, formatted for your SMS or tech log. The quarterly appearance review—conducted via video call or in person at your operations base—includes a walk-around photo set, a condition report for paint and cabin materials, and recommendations for any work that sits outside the program scope, such as paint correction or seat re-dye.

What is not included: major paint correction (multi-stage compounding), full aircraft deice (Type I/IV fluid; that remains with your handler), and any work requiring hangar access beyond the standard scope. If your aircraft needs those services, we coordinate them separately and invoice outside the monthly budget.

How do handlers at Malpensa work with a third-party detailing crew?

Handlers at Malpensa expect third-party crews to arrive with their own airside pass or to be escorted by the operator's representative. We hold permanent airside authorisation for LIMC, so we meet your aircraft on stand without requiring handler escort, which reduces turnaround time and handler fees. We notify the handler 24 hours before each scheduled service, confirm the stand assignment and GPU availability, and coordinate any apron movement if the aircraft is towed post-service.

If you prefer the handler to remain involved—for example, to supervise access or to integrate our work into a larger turnaround—we brief them on the scope and timing. Most handlers at Malpensa are accustomed to third-party appearance crews; the process is smoother when we communicate directly with your flight ops or chief pilot, then loop in the handler as needed. For AOG requests, we coordinate in real time: your call triggers our dispatch, we notify the handler of our arrival, and we begin work as soon as the aircraft is chocked and the apron is safe.

What happens during the quarterly appearance review?

Every three months we walk around each aircraft in the program—either on stand at Malpensa or at your main base if the fleet is elsewhere that week—and document the condition of the exterior and cabin. We photograph the fuselage, leading edges, belly, winglets and brightwork under daylight, then review the cabin for wear on seats, sidewalls, galley surfaces and lavatories. The photo set and a written report go to your operations team within 48 hours.

The review identifies anything that has changed since the previous quarter: paint oxidation, new chips or scratches, fluid staining that did not fully release during the last decon, cabin materials showing wear beyond what monthly detailing can address. We discuss whether the service calendar needs adjustment—more frequent exteriors during a high-utilisation quarter, an additional interior mid-month if charter activity has increased—and whether any work outside the program scope should be planned, such as a deep polish or a seat refurbishment.

The review also confirms that the fixed monthly budget still reflects your utilisation. If one tail has flown less than expected, we defer a service and keep the budget unchanged; if another has flown more, we add a quick turn and adjust the invoice for that tail only. The goal is a program that adapts to your operation without requiring constant renegotiation.

Why choose a fleet program instead of booking each service individually?

For operators with aircraft that return to Malpensa regularly—once a week, twice a month, or based full-time—individual bookings create administrative overhead: separate invoices, separate coordination with the handler, separate airside access arrangements, and no continuity of crew. A fleet program collapses that into one monthly invoice, one operations contact, and a team that knows your aircraft well enough to spot a new scratch or a cabin stain before you do.

The fixed budget makes financial planning simpler. You know the monthly cost per tail; there are no surprise invoices after a busy charter month or a winter with heavy deicing. Priority AOG cover means that if an appearance issue threatens a departure—fluid staining, a cabin spill, a bird strike—you call one number and we dispatch immediately, at no additional cost.

The service history and photos provide documentation for SMS audits, insurance surveys and pre-sale inspections. Over twelve months, the cumulative record shows how the aircraft has been maintained, which is useful for resale value and for demonstrating due diligence to regulators or underwriters. For flight departments managing multiple tails, the program scales: each aircraft gets its own calendar and budget, but all are managed under one contract and one quarterly review.