Fleet Care Program at Zurich (LSZH)

Why choose a fleet program instead of ad-hoc bookings at Zurich?

Ad-hoc detailing means negotiating stand time, crew availability and handler coordination every time you land. For aircraft that return to LSZH weekly or monthly, that friction adds up. A Fleet Care Program removes it: your service calendar is agreed in January, updated quarterly and shared with your operations team and the FBO. When your aircraft arrives, the handler expects our crew, the stand is reserved and the work begins as soon as the chocks are in.

You also gain budget certainty. Each tail number carries a fixed monthly fee covering scheduled quick turns, interiors and seasonal exterior work. AOG requests—decon after a dust storm, emergency cabin refresh before a charter leg—are covered under the same priority-access terms, billed separately but dispatched without delay. One invoice, one contact, no surprises.

What changes at Zurich that affects detailing for based fleets?

Zurich sits at 1,417 feet, nine kilometres north of central Zurich, and operates three runways: 16/34 at 3,700 metres, 14/32 at 3,300 metres and 10/28 at 2,500 metres. The airport enforces one of the strictest night curfews in Europe: 23:30 to 06:00 with no routine exceptions. Any movement during those hours requires a special permit. For slot allocation, arrivals are restricted from 23:00 to 06:09 CET and departures from 22:46 to 05:44 CET. That means aircraft overnighting at LSZH are on the ground from late evening—precisely the window we use for longer detailing work.

The General Aviation Center operates from 06:00 to 22:00 daily. Handling agents present at the airport coordinate apron access, GPU and airside escort. Because Zurich is slot-coordinated, turnaround timing is tight during the day; fleet programs let us schedule cabin work overnight and exteriors during planned downtime, avoiding delays. Swiss winters bring road salt, de-icing fluid and cold-soaked surfaces; spring and autumn see pollen and industrial fallout from the Rhine valley. A recurring service calendar ensures bellies, nacelles and leading edges are cleaned before contaminants bond to the paint.

What does the twelve-month service calendar include?

Every Fleet Care Program begins with a quarterly planning session. You share your flight schedule, maintenance windows and appearance priorities; we build a service calendar that assigns quick turns after short legs, monthly deep interiors during longer overnight stops and seasonal exterior washes when the aircraft will be on the ground for forty-eight hours or more. The calendar is a living document: if your schedule changes, we adjust the plan and notify the handler.

Typical calendar for a super-midsize jet based at LSZH:

• Fortnightly dry wash of fuselage, wings and tail after European sectors;
• Monthly cabin service: galley degreasing, lav deep-clean, leather conditioning, carpet extraction, sidewall wipe-down;
• Quarterly exterior rinseless wash including belly, gear bays and nacelles;
• Bi-annual single-stage polish of leading edges, winglets and cheat line;
• One full decon and brightwork detail per year, scheduled during heavy maintenance or summer downtime.

Service history and photos are uploaded to your operations portal within twenty-four hours of each visit. At the quarterly review, we compare the calendar against actual flight activity and adjust the next three months.

How does priority AOG cover work under a fleet program?

AOG detailing requests—bird strike residue before a charter departure, smoke smell in the cabin after a diversion, de-icing fluid stains on the belly before a client leg—are dispatched ahead of ad-hoc bookings. Because your tails are already in our system, we know the aircraft type, OEM cabin materials, handler preferences and airside-pass requirements. When your chief pilot or dispatcher calls, we confirm crew availability, coordinate with the FBO and mobilise within the hour if the aircraft is on stand.

AOG work is billed separately from the monthly program fee, but the response is the same: priority crew allocation, direct handler coordination and no minimum call-out charge. For charter operators, this means you can accept a last-minute leg without worrying whether the cabin will be ready. For corporate flight departments, it means your principal never boards an aircraft with visible dirt or stale air.

What recurring work makes the most difference for fleets at Zurich?

Two areas degrade fastest on aircraft operating from LSZH: the belly and the cabin air quality. Zurich's apron is treated with de-icing chemicals from November through March; Type I and Type IV fluids, mixed with runway rubber and hydraulic mist, form a grey film on belly skin, gear doors and nacelle interiors. Left for a month, that film hardens and requires a decon rather than a simple wash. Scheduled quarterly belly cleans, timed after the winter season and again in spring, keep the contamination manageable.

Inside, recirculated air and short turnarounds between legs mean galley spills, lav odours and carpet soil accumulate faster than crews notice. Monthly deep interiors—galley degreasing, lav disinfection, leather conditioning, carpet extraction—prevent the cabin from crossing the threshold where a passenger comments. We also clean static ports, pitot covers and no-touch avionics bays as part of the exterior calendar, so your tech log stays clean and your maintenance team isn't chasing cosmetic squawks.

How does invoicing and contract renewal work?

Each tail number in the program carries a fixed monthly fee, invoiced at the start of the month and covering all scheduled work in the service calendar. AOG requests, additional exterior washes outside the calendar and any work on aircraft added mid-year are billed separately at standard rates. You receive one consolidated invoice per month, with line items for each tail and a summary of completed services.

The twelve-month program renews automatically unless you notify us sixty days before the anniversary. At the nine-month mark, we schedule a renewal review: you tell us which tails will remain based at LSZH, whether flight activity is increasing or decreasing, and whether you want to add services—brightwork maintenance, seasonal decon, pre-sale detailing—for the next year. If a tail leaves the fleet or moves to another base, we pro-rate the final month and close the contract with no penalty.