The history of the GlobeAir call sign DREAM TEAM

From concept to reality

How GlobeAir created our famous DREAM TEAM call sign

“Dream a little Dream of…Team” – Tuesday, January 15th 2009 was the first time DREAM TEAM for GlobeAir, Europe's leading private jet charter operators, used the most creative call sign ever.

As GlobeAir’s official trademark, “DREAM TEAM” strikes air traffic controllers as one of the most creative signs which exist, considering that the majority of carriers usually use their name or a shorter version thereof. Today, we are disclosing the history behind GlobeAir’s “DREAM TEAM” with an insight into how GlobeAir’s call sign went from being a bureaucratic headache to embody GlobeAir’s most-distinguishing corporate values. Exclusively, you can also learn why GlobeAir’s DREAM TEAM is the one and only by the original words of GlobeAir’s CEO Bernhard Fragner.

What is an aviation radio call sign?

A brief history of aviation call signs

It was back in the 1930s that airlines first started using call signs. With the objective of making communications clearer thus achieving higher safety levels, call signs are used by both scheduled and unscheduled flight operators to ease communication between air traffic controllers and pilots, who spell out the airline’s call sign together with the flight number. Both airlines and unscheduled flight operators need to undergo a similar submission process to apply for an official radio call sign designator. The organization which grants airlines and unscheduled flight operators their call signs is the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO). As with any bureaucratic process, the one of applying for a call sign can be daunting as it includes a lot of paperwork and a considerable amount of waiting time with airlines and unschedu led flight operators waiting months before getting approved.

The history behind the DREAM TEAM radio call sign

How GlobeAir received one of the most creative call signs of all times

It’s a regular January evening in the year 2009. The clock strikes 10 p.m. and Bernhard Fragner – GlobeAir’s CEO – is just two minutes away from receiving the email that will set the ball rolling.

“ I confirm that DREAM TEAM has been approved”, the email read; Jim Strathdee from the ICAO’s Flight Safety Section was officially approving GlobeAir’s call sign after four months of waiting.

“The choice of submitting the call sign “DREAM TEAM” was partly sentimental. I had driven to the ministry of transport in Vienna just four months before, and after receiving the Air Operator Certificate and Operating Licence of GlobeAir, I felt I was just a few steps away from finally achieving a milestone. It turned out that it wasn’t a dream, GlobeAir – your private jet, was meant to become “DREAM TEAM”, ” says Fragner. However, becoming the DREAM TEAM wasn’t that easy; with an initial rejection by the ICAO, after Fragner’s first submission, GlobeAir’s vision of becoming the number one private jet operator in Europe was being undermined. GlobeAir had to demonstrate a high level of resilience and try submitting its call sign again. With scattered explanations justifying the first ICAO’s denial, GlobeAir’s CEO Mr Fragner decided to go off the beaten track and propose the call sign “DREAM TEAM” without linking the name to either GlobeAir or its fleet’s type (Cessna Citation Mustang) and that’s when the approval became official.

How does GlobeAir's distinctive call sign measure up in the call sign landscape populated by other commercial and Private Jet operators?

We are the DREAM TEAM

The people behind the team

Today, the call sign “DREAM TEAM” is heard more than a hundred times across Europe whenever our crew is up in the air communicating with ATC (Air Traffic Control).

“We have come a long way from receiving our call sign approval to grow the world’s biggest Citation Mustang fleet. Today, “DREAM TEAM” should stand for resilience, which is one of our highest values, ” says Fragner.

GlobeAir has become Europe’s leading private jet charter operator and now sets the benchmark within the niche market of the very light jets. The team today comprises 32 different nationalities and is an excellent example of a well functioning international team with a motivated crew and a team of knowledgeable business and operations experts turning “passion into profession” every day.