Global Trek Aviation started off as a small company with a lot of experience, but they turned it into an award-winning operation. Global Trek Aviation is a high energy, vibrant and highly experienced FBO provider at Belfast International Airport and Cardiff International Airport, who have made a name for themselves going the extra mile to look after customers’ needs.

“We’re a multi-award-winning full-service FBO provider for Northern Ireland, located at Belfast International Airport, and for Wales based in Cardiff International Airport,” says David McColm, Managing Director and founder of the firm. “We’re a Fixed Based Operator that provides all services in-house, as we have always felt that it’s not possible to guarantee a service unless you do it yourself, so we’ve invested significantly in providing every service.”

The company started in 2015 with a single private jet centre facility that they outgrew shortly after their first year. By 2018 the company was designing, investing in and building a larger and more luxurious Private Jet Centre facility, with high tech IT and entertainment systems, while reducing the carbon footprint of the building and making it as environmentally friendly as can be.

This work was then replicated as Global Trek Aviation worked with Cardiff International Airport, emulating what they had done in Belfast to provide Cardiff with a very large, environmentally
friendly, state-of-the-art private jet centre.

MAKING THE MOST OF TALENT

As the market leader in Northern Ireland, Global Trek has been able to recruit and retain the best talent and have made the most of this by investing in professional training and industry best practices. Powered by collective knowledge and excellence from a team that has a wealth of experience working across the industry and the world.

“I have decades of experience in the industry so I knew individuals who were the best in their field, and as we’ve grown, we’ve invested in our people and that has been evident in the welfare and training we provide,” McColm says.

“We’ve not had to go out and recruit, people approach us looking for employment and we’ve been able to handpick the best and most passionate people, and that’s further helped us grow. We have had 100% retention over the last five years. We invest in people not just with in-house training but through internationally recognised qualifications. All staff go through NATA safety-first training, and we put the whole team through Gulfstream training so they understand how to service gulf stream aircraft among many other courses we invest in with external parties.”

BUILDING A BRAND

But while nobody could deny they brought experience and expertise to the market; Global Trek was still an untested brand when it started out.
“We started out as a brand new start-up in a competitive marketplace,” McColm admits. “But we grew to become the market leader in what we do in Northern Ireland within 12 months. Our lead has continued to grow year-on-year as we always do better than the year before.”

The team is already preceded by an enviable reputation.
“Our motto is ‘beyond your expectations’. The feedback from our clients confirms we’ve achieved this. We operate away from the main terminal buildings, providing everything in-house with unrivalled levels of comfort and convenience,” McColm says. “Our dedication to professionalism is evident through our keen safety standards and customer-focused strategy.”

Of course, growth brings its own challenges, especially for a company that started out as such a small, close-knit team.
“The challenge with growth is the management of those providing the services. As you expand there’s more need for delegation, but every element of the organisation has to meet the same standards,” McColm says. “That is very easy to do on a one-to-one basis but when you’re geographically spread across several locations that can create unique challenges.”

Fortunately, from the very beginning, Global Trek was preparing for this eventuality.
“We built robust communication system from the start, to let us grow safely and in a robust manner,” McColm points out. “We invested in the right infrastructure and invested in our team to provide world-class service. That has contributed to our growth.”

It’s growth that McColm would like to see continue into the future.
“We’ve been extremely fortunate thanks to the hard work and dedication of our team,” he says. “We’re always welcome new opportunities so we want to continue that expansion if we can.”

STICKING TO YOUR STRENGTHS

While Global Trek might be moving into new locations, however, McColm is adamant that the company will continue playing to its strengths.

“We specialise in nonscheduled aircraft movements. We’re specifically set up for fuel stops at Belfast International. This is for flights that stop with us before crossing the ocean, and we’re one of the busiest and most successful locations for that to happen,” he says. “In Cardiff, the business is more of a mixture with more destination-based business, with people coming into South Wales. We’d welcome any opportunity to go to another regional airport, essentially an airport that may want to increase their traffic levels. We are proven to drive business growth at airports because we focus on what we’re good at.”

What they’re good at is providing excellent service through a team of NATA Safety 1st trained and certified staff that have completed comprehensive company training on all areas of the operation.
“We value our reputation,” McColm says. “I’ve been in the business two decades. Our commercial director was previously the Key Account Executive for one of the world’s largest FBO chains, our
Chief Operations Officer has more accolades to mention, demonstrating that our people come with a wealth of experience.

That’s how we’ve been able to start up and become a market leader – with a great deal of industry experience and excellence within our ranks.”