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Breeding Ground of a Unique Aviation Culture Where Synergy Creates Results

28/01/2015 by Aviation Times

The experiences of Thierry Barré, the technical director of ABS Jets in Prague, reflect the development and growth of a company steadily progressing to become a major global player in the business aviation industry.

 
“When I came to ABS Jets in Prague about a year ago, I felt somewhat like an alien in a new world and it was a challenge to get used to the differences. But, I took on this challenge and enjoyed it all along,” says Thierry. The nutshell version of his background is that he comes from the West, French national, 25 years at the technical department of Luxair, specialized in Embraer aircraft, and speaks English, Portuguese and, of course, French. In 2012, he was invited to join ABS Jets. After taking on his responsibilities, he made the technical division of his new employer go through a series of reassessments and upgrades of all internal processes and procedures.

“It is as if synergies turn up and create positive triangles. For instance, I see aptitude, attitude and latitude joining here at ABS Jets. Outstanding technicians who are treating customers like shareholders of the company and the result is feedback from customers making it a point to tell us “You know my aircraft better than anyone else!” What evolves is that customers tell other aircraft owners and operators that if they have an issue with their aircraft, no matter where they are, to contact ABS Jets. What happens almost automatically is something that any marketing or business development daepartment wishes for: word of mouth recommendation. The customer confidence spreads to other services that ABS provides like flight planning and dispatch. And vice versa, of course. In other companies everywhere, much time and effort is spent on creating strategies of how and what to do; here things come together logically and naturally. I believe that the secret is not how to write company policies and rules, but rather how you give talents and craftsmanship a natural chance to unfold. Ruling is not the formula; guiding and encouragement are.”

Thierry Barré’s international engineering expertise and his own attitude to adapt enables him to bring different industry and business cultures together. He explains: “For instance the American aviation company culture doesn’t hold the recipe for optimal success in this region. The unique opportunity here at ABS Jets is that we create a new culture by merging what was developed in the west, the existing know-how and mentality of this region and its people, and the willingness to find new solutions. It creates an interesting situation where companies in the West may learn something from us. I don’t think much of West and East clichés. Mind that the Czech Republic was always recognized for having some of the best fine-mechanics in the world. What I have experienced myself, and it is seen in the results at ABS Jets, that when you bring two cultures together in harmony, you will end up with an optimal result that exceeds any standards of performance.”

Teamwork is one of the most important factors of becoming a benchmark company in the industry, as one will understand out Thierry’s comments on this subject: “The attitude of the team is important. Working as a team is stressed in any organization in the world, be it industry, sport or a philharmonic orchestra. What does it really mean in practice? The ABS Jets team works as a cohesive group that wants to make things move, it believes in growth and it strives for progress. Yet, each individual in the team takes an assignment personally and works on it with dedication and passion. It is the attitude, enthusiasm, and harmony that create high quality and state of the art performance. That is exactly what the customer expects.”

Cdr. Bud Slabbaert