Complete Detail at St. Gallen-Altenrhein (LSZR)

What changes at St. Gallen-Altenrhein?

Altenrhein sits at 1,306 feet on the Swiss shore of Lake Constance, a few hundred metres from the Austrian and German borders and close to Liechtenstein. The single hard runway—10/28, with 1,455 metres of take-off run available—offers ILS CAT I to runway 10. Business aviation is handled by the airport operator's own FBO and ground services, Airport Altenrhein AG (known as People's Business Airport), at Flughafenstrasse 11; the terminal includes a crew lounge, and handling is coordinated on 131.505 MHz.

No slot or PPR allocation is needed for business aviation at LSZR; the field is outside the Slot Coordination Switzerland perimeter that covers only Geneva and Zurich. Altenrhein is a customs-clearing airport with both Schengen and non-Schengen immigration facilities, so international arrivals and departures—including from outside the European Union—clear directly on the apron without repositioning.

The lakeside location and the alpine microclimate mean that paint collects a seasonal mix of pollen, algae bloom from the water, road salt in winter and fine particulate from cross-border traffic. Brightwork oxidises faster in the damp air, and cabin surfaces pick up mildew if the aircraft has been standing cold-soaked between trips. A complete detail before the summer season or after a Central European winter removes the contamination that a rinseless wash cannot lift and restores the hydrophobic protection that keeps the next six months cleaner.

How long does a complete detail take at this airport?

Duration ranges from two to five days, depending on aircraft size, the condition of the paint and how much contamination has bonded to the clearcoat. We usually work in the hangar to control temperature and humidity during the polishing stages, though exterior wash and decontamination can begin outside if apron access is easier and weather permits. The schedule is agreed with the handler and your maintenance team so that GPU supply, airside escort and hangar occupancy align with your other commitments on stand.

If the aircraft is AOG for an unscheduled repair or waiting for a part, a complete detail fits naturally into the downtime and returns the airframe in better condition than it arrived. If you are coordinating a pre-buy inspection or a handover to a new owner, we time the final polish and photography to finish a day before the surveyor or the ferry crew arrives, so the tech log shows the work complete and the cabin is ready for walk-through.

What does the decontamination and polish stage involve?

After the initial wash, we clay-bar the entire painted surface to lift bonded contamination—tree sap, industrial fallout, insect residue and mineral deposits—that survives a normal wash cycle. The clay glides across each panel, pulling contamination out of the clearcoat without scratching. You feel the difference when you run a gloved hand over the wing afterwards: the surface is glass-smooth, and that smoothness is the foundation for the polish that follows.

Single-stage machine polishing corrects light oxidation, swirl marks from previous washes and the haze that builds up on European ramps. We work panel by panel—fuselage, nacelles, winglets, tail—using a rotary or dual-action polisher and a cutting compound matched to the paint system, then refine with a finishing polish. Leading edges, the cheat line and the belly receive the same attention as the upper fuselage. The process restores gloss, deepens the colour and prepares the surface to accept a synthetic sealant or ceramic coating that extends protection for the next six to twelve months.

Why combine exterior and interior detail in one visit?

Paint correction and cabin deep-cleaning each require the aircraft to be stationary for days, so combining them into one visit halves your downtime and delivers a coherent result: the exterior matches the interior standard, and the photographic report shows a complete transformation rather than two separate events months apart. For a pre-sale inspection or a delivery to a new owner, the unified presentation signals that the aircraft has been maintained as a system, not cleaned in pieces.

The interior portion covers every cabin surface—leather seats, side panels, veneer or carbon-fibre inserts, galley units, belts, carpets, headliner and window surrounds—using OEM-safe cleaners and conditioners. We vacuum the gear bays and the belly baggage hold if they are accessible without special tooling. Flight-deck detail is no-touch around avionics, but we clean control yokes, throttles, seat leather and the glareshield. Disinfection follows the deep-clean, using a hospital-grade solution that is safe for all cabin materials and leaves no residue on touch screens or flight-deck glass.

What does the handler expect when we bring in a third-party detailing crew?

The handling agent at Altenrhein will ask for advance notice—typically seventy-two hours—so they can arrange hangar space, GPU supply and an airside escort if our team does not hold a permanent LSZR pass. We send a brief scope of work and a contact sheet; the handler coordinates with the airport operator to confirm that water use and waste disposal meet local environmental rules, and they note the detail window in the aircraft's ground-time schedule so that no other ramp activity conflicts.

If you have scheduled maintenance or an avionics upgrade in parallel, we liaise directly with your maintenance provider to sequence the work: exterior wash and decon can happen while the aircraft is still on jacks, but final polish and cabin detail wait until panels are closed and the cabin is released. The handler expects us to leave the stand clean, to return GPU and ground equipment on time, and to complete a short debrief and photo handover before the aircraft is released to fly. Most chief pilots copy the handler on the final report so that everyone has the same record of what was done and when.

When should a complete detail be scheduled?

We recommend a complete detail once or twice a year: once in early spring to remove winter contamination and restore protection before the summer flying season, and optionally again in autumn if the aircraft has spent the summer moving between coastal and alpine airports where salt, pollen and industrial haze accumulate quickly. Flight departments also schedule a complete detail immediately before a pre-buy inspection, a lease return or a sale, because the photographic report and the documented material condition add value to the transaction and reduce the buyer's list of squawks.

If the aircraft has been parked outside for more than a month—especially through a Central European winter—a complete detail is the fastest way to recover the paint and cabin before the owner's next trip. If you are taking delivery of a pre-owned airframe, a complete detail after the ferry flight establishes a known baseline and removes the previous operator's cabin residue, so your first passengers board an aircraft that feels new to your operation.