The top ten positions were tightly scored, but the one thing they all had in common was an innate understanding of customers and an appreciation of their business. They bring crew too, not just passengers.

Some clients enjoy visiting the Costa Smeralda so much that they insist on taking 100 kilos of homemade ice cream back on their jet with them. Facilitating such requests is the remit of the Eccelsa Aviation FBO team.

As passengers become ever more demanding, many handlers are developing the ability to predict what clients want before they ask for it. At the very least they are learning that they need to go beyond the traditional scope of handling operations to meet the increasing complexity and number of requests per client, which could be anything from faster ground transport options to individualised allergy-aware catering.