ZUCK

Capt's Blog: ZUCK/CKG Chongqing Jiabei International airport is the 10 busiest airport in China. Offers two long parallel runways with ILS. Modern terminals but unfortunately no dedicated FBO. Our handlers was waiting at the stand and leaving the terminal was smooth. That cannot be said for departure, because it was through the passengers terminal, security check was long and tedious even for the VIPS. Somehow the authority still cannot differentiate between private jet and airline. Lavatory services, catering and refueling can all be done without much problem. However as anywhere else in China, any changes within 24 hours is next to impossible, even departing an hour earlier! It takes about 40 minutes to the city and  that there are hundreds of bridges and mountains surrounding the city. A beautiful city with great nightlife.

Parking stand 410

Mighty Yangtze

OTBD

Capt's Blog: OTBD/ DOH Doha International Airport is the only commercial airport presently in Qatar. It is also one of the longest at 15000 ft, soon to be replaced with another one with parallel runways in 2012.  For our arrival, we were radar vectored for the ILS RWY16 and at FAF 2200 feet brings you right on top of the spectacular city high rise! After landing we were directed to the GA/VIP stand A6. Handlers and VIP limos were from Qatar air services that will whisked your pax and their bags to the VIP lounge.  Because we were night stopping we did the toilet services there before repositioning to the opposite side GA apron at E23. The ground handlers will tell you which stand and have a follow me vehicle on standby after you have crossed the active. Before departure, the handlers will meet you at one of the international departure counters then lead you through to a shuttle bus. We repositioned at A4 for departure and refueling were no fuss at all.
The city is about 45 mins away and we stayed somewhere in between at the Wyndham grand regency. Gave great rates for crews but unfortunately it's a dry hotel. We were there for only 24 hours and hope to explore more the next time around.

Coasting in from the Indian ocean.

Vip Stand A4 before departure.

Doha City!

Hotel Lobby.

VRMM

Capt's Blog: VRMM/MLE Male International airport is the main international gateway into Maldives. Always wanted to come here and in a short span of 30 hours landed here twice but unfortunately only tech stops.VRMM  is a long runway with ILS on RWY36 but since there's no taxiway, coming in during some peak hours you can expect some delays. Even for a single runway it offers a lot of STARs and SID. First arrival was a DME arc to hold for our EAT of +12 mins even after slowing down. Coming back at night for RWY 16 from the north we requested for RNAV arrival and approach which was smooth and fast. It was raining on our first arrival, marshaler and handler was waiting for us although we have to wait for a few minutes for our bowser. It was interesting to see float planes  coming in next to the runway doing steep approaches.
Except for fuel receipts no other paperwork were required and we were on our way under an hour. It was faster at night.  Hope to comeback someday for with night stops.

Wet wet morning! Final RWY 36

Outlying atolls as we departed.

What happened to sunny paradise?

YPPH

Capt's Blog: YPPH PER Perth Airport is the 4th busiest airport in Australia. For a change we had the chance to fly south of the Equator to Australia! It is also one of the easiest airport to fly into and out. From STAR we were vectored to  almost  finals without speed restrictions for our descend for the ILS. With almost a cloudless blue sky and miles of visibility, it was a great day to arrive in YPPH.

Final RWY 03

Since we were international arrival we taxied to the international side and had our handlers from Perth Flight Center waiting for us. We were given stand 414 although it does not show in the charts for this is a fairly new apron. With coordination from the helpful ground controllers and the safety car, we were led to the stand. There are FBOs but they cater mainly for domestic operations and do not have in house CIQ. Nevertheless the handlers will fast track your VIPs and crew through CIQ at the international terminal. All the servicing and refueling can be done pretty quickly.

Swan River

It will take about 30-40 mins to go to Perth CBD. Bring lots  of cash, it's an expensive city.

ZSSS

Capt's Blog: ZSSS SHA Shanghai Hongqiao is one of the 2 international airports in Shanghai and the 4th busiest in China. It is the preferred airport for GA because it is nearer to the city and the only other airport besides ZBAA in China that has a dedicated FBO.  When available, parking stands are in front of the FBO. Even so, a van will shuttle pax and crew to the very modern FBO which has in house CIQ service for international arrivals or departures. Refueling and lavatory services can be completed within the hour. Our handlers are either TAHL or FASCO. Nice international hotels are within 15 mins and another 40 minutes will bring you to the famous Bund.

Final 18L

Shanghai Hongqiao FBO

The Bund

ZUUU

Capt's Blog: ZUUU  CTU Chengdu Shuangliu is a major airport in Western/Central China. Can be busy  during rush hour and be ready to expect delays for departures. Even though there's two runways only one so far is equipped with ILS. Upon landing, lookout for the follow me vehicle. There's no FBO and pax and crew will be shuttled to the main terminal. A new terminal is being constructed. Our handlers are from TAHL, refueling and toilet services are efficient. This is an international terminal so CIQ can also be process in the terminal. If you don't need to, don't buy ice from the catering, they are atrociously expensive!

Going downtown takes about 45 minutes and there are plenty of good international hotels. If you don't want to stay downtown, the Inter Continental is a great hotel. Taxi and food are relatively cheaper than Beijing/Shanghai but beware Sichuan food is hot and spicy. Good reasonably priced food and drinks can be found at the Shamrock Pub. The Chengdu Panda research center is less than an hour from town.

The main terminal.

Kung Fu Panda......not!

ZBAA

Capt's Blog: ZBAA Beijing Capital International Airport  PEK/BJS is the busiest airport in Asia and the 2nd busiest in the world. There is a curfew on corporate jets.  No matter how many times you fly in here , you never find it getting easier! Lots of workload coming in and after landing, thankfully there will be a follow me vehicle. There are specific taxi routes and depending on which runway you landed and where you are going it could be  15-20 mins before you reach your stand. Again our handler is TAHL and we use Capital Jet FBO  the only other FBO besides ZSPD in mainland China for the moment. There are quite a number of stands and so far we never seem to have problems parking for a few days.  Once your door is open a custom/immigration officer will come on board to do a quick check of manifest, pax and crew. A van or minibus will shuttle pax and crew to the FBO. CIQ is done in house and again security is very strict. Bags are scanned in and out and certain items can be taxed. Do not forget things inside your aircraft, if you have to come back to get it you will be charge security fees.
Refueling and toilet services are quite efficient. Expect long delays when departing especially during 'rush hour', we have waited more than hour from initial call to engine start! Then another 30 mins before you can take off. This is all in good weather conditions and can be frustrating when your VIP pax are already onboard. Departing later in the night is much better where we encounter little delay if any.

Going into the city will take 45-60mins, for a short stay nearby airport hotels like the Langham is very good.

Parking stand and FBO in the background