Less stressful, more sustainable – how to edit out complex travel logistics for shoots overseas.
Filming is as never simple as ‘lights, camera, action!’ or even ‘cut and print’ – phrases as outdated as the methods they evoke. Alongside the industry’s technical advancements, the same innovative focus should be applied to a production’s travel plans.
Getting everyone and everything in situ – on time and in budget – can feel like logistical mayhem, especially when shoot schedules need to flex. Add multiple productions and destinations into the mix and its positively migraine-inducing. Here are 4 easy ways to make your next trip more streamlined, in multiple ways.
Flight Manoeuvres
1. Coordinate your entire crew onto one aircraft
You need total flexibility to fly to your shoot’s own schedule. Getting the full unit there in one go makes economical sense, not to mention the positive environmental impact too. Chartering allows you to fly everyone as close as possible to your filming location, as directly as possible. This requires gaining access to private terminals, most being unavailable to regular, scheduled services.
Naturally, in more remote destinations, runway length might dictate the travelling party be split across more than one aircraft. But organising for your group to still arrive together, refreshed and ready to roll, together with staging- and crew equipment, sets everyone up for - dare we say - a flying start.
All In The Edit
2. Cut down on multiple flights
With so many factors in play, multiple flight bookings can seem inevitable. Often, your production cast and crew are based across the UK, or internationally. It can be virtually impossible to find flights from all those local terminals to arrive at one chosen destination in the same week, let alone at the same time.
Furthermore, many airports near the best filming locations are not well serviced, with no direct flights or seats are booked out in high season. What you need is an expert on the inside to liaise all the touch-points between pick-up and touch-down – with no restrictions – to make every journey seamless. The result is less waste in terms of time, expenses, CO2 and everyone’s good humour.
More Haste, Less Waste
3. Don’t let sustainability targets hold up your timeline
When a filming window is closing, meeting sustainability targets can feel like a secondary – or insurmountable – part of the decision-making process. Carbon offsetting is still a viable option, yet forward-thinking partners are collaborating within the aviation industry to pass solutions on to you.
To save time while still supporting your company ESG targets, look into Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) schemes, such as we offer at Air Partner. Your flight’s impact is quickly calculated and accurate environmental attributes are added to your booking in one seamless payment. To avoid greenwashing, you receive official certification to support any related claims you make in your sustainability reporting.
A Weight Off
4. Leave airline streamlining to the experts
With an Account Manager looking after all the details, assessing options and alternatives on your behalf in real time, the stress of managing the logistical nitty gritty is off your hands. When all your flights are supported by a 24/7 operations team, last minute cast movements or heli-transfers are swiftly dealt with. It helps to not be charged for any changes, which is why Air Partner does just that.
Having decades of Film & TV industry expertise means smoothing the way beyond the aircraft doors too. Pre-arranging with Customs to sign off carnets for fuss-free equipment transportation makes a real difference. It also helps to be provided with live departure and arrival messages for every flight, knowing that weather, slots, permits and industrial action are being monitored by aviation experts around the clock. With real-time tracking, you are always in control of your cargo delivery when there’s no time to lose.
Co-piloting For Complex Itineraries
Trusted by the TV and film sector since 1961, Air Partner specialises in seamless aircraft charter solutions for productions large and small. From quick-hop location recces, right through to promo tours on branded aircraft, we oversee all the details to provide comprehensive flight solutions for every stage.
Minimising the complexity for you is what we do best, but we do maximise on:
• A ready pool of aircraft seating from 30 - 400
• 1,250+ safety-vetted and verified partner aircraft
• Over 1,700 aviation professionals in 19 locations worldwide
Before you take on the ever-changing burden of travel itineraries for your next production, speak with one of our aviation specialists.
