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18 Dec 2025

Trade Air & Leon Software

How One Platform Became the Backbone of Flight Operations

For Trade Air, Leon evolved from “just a scheduling tool” into the central nervous system of the entire airline.

When Trade Air’s Head of OCC, Marko Vučinić, took the stage at the Aircraft Commerce 18th Annual Flight Operations Conference at London Heathrow, he told a story many airlines recognise: rapid growth, increasing complexity, and an operations team struggling to keep everything under control with spreadsheets and fragmented tools.

His message was simple

For Trade Air, Leon evolved from “just a scheduling tool” into the central nervous system of the entire airline.

This landing-page article is built on Marko’s case study and shows how the Leon–Trade Air partnership transformed their flight operations.

Trade Air at a Glance

Trade Air

About Trade Air

  • Founded in 1994 as a cargo operator with Turbolet L-410
  • 2005 – first passenger charter flight with Fokker 100
  • IOSA-certified airline
  • 2016 – partnership with Leon Software
  • 2016 – first Airbus A320 joins the fleet
  • 2018 – recognised as the most successful company in Croatia
  • 2025 – fleet expanded to 6 aircraft

Today’s operation

  • Fleet: 5 × Airbus A320, 1 × Saab 340
  • Area of operations: Europe, Africa, Middle East/Asia, NAT
  • Services: scheduled, charter, ACMI, cargo
  • 12 years of PSO service in Croatia
  • 2nd largest airline in Croatia
  • Around 11,000 flights per year
  • Over 200 destinations
  • Around 600,000 passengers annually
  • Summer peak: ~40 flights per day, with OCC staffed by 2 dispatchers by day and 1 by night

Marko himself brings 8+ years of operational experience as dispatcher, flight scheduler, assistant and dispatcher training instructor – so he knows exactly where the pain points are.

The Pre-Leon Reality

Operations by Spreadsheet

Before Leon, Trade Air was running a modern airline on legacy tools:

  • Microsoft Access databases
  • Multiple Excel tables maintained by different teams
  • Separate systems for documentation, training, and crew data

This led to:

1. Increasing operational complexity

  • Growing, mixed-type network (scheduled, charter, ACMI, cargo)
  • Real-time decisions needed across multiple regions and time zones
  • Hard to maintain a reliable, up-to-date operational picture

2. Fragmented tools & manual inputs

  • Data copied between systems and spreadsheets
  • Higher risk of errors, duplications and outdated information
  • Limited visibility of critical operational data for other departments

3. Compliance tracking challenges

  • Training, currency and documentation tracked manually
  • Higher risk of missing documents and expired qualifications

4. Keeping schedules robust

  • Frequent last-minute changes and operational irregularities
  • Difficult to keep all departments synchronised in real time

As Marko explained, “the chaos came from different sources” – everyone was trying to do their best, but they weren’t working from the same live data.

a single, reliable source of truth for the airline

Why Trade Air Chose Leon

Trade Air selected Leon Software as their operational backbone because it could become a single, reliable source of truth for the airline.

According to Marko, the decision centred on four pillars:

1. Centralised Operational Data

  • Unified view of flights, checklists, services and resources
  • Real-time coordination between OCC, crew planning, ground operations, maintenance, sales and other teams

2. Process Efficiency & Transparency

  • Radically reduced manual input, export and copy-paste work
  • Eliminated spreadsheets from critical workflows
  • Everyone working on the same data, in the same system

3. Enhanced Crew Communication

  • One app for everything crew need
  • Instant updates of duties, flights, and trainings
  • Data and documentation available in one place, including offline

4. Regulatory Compliance & Reporting Accuracy

  • Integrated training & qualification tracking
  • Automatic alerts for expiries and limits
  • Flexible, in-depth reporting aligned with internal and regulatory needs

 

Leon for Flight Operations

A Day in the OCC

One Simplified View of the Airline

One of the slides Marko showed at the conference was “One Day in OCC” – essentially a picture of the entire operation inside Leon:

Unified Timelines & Schedules

Leon Timeline & OPS Schedule give a simplified, live view of:

  • Aircraft rotations
  • Crew duties
  • Airport usage and maintenance reservations

Everyone – OCC, crew planning, ground operations, maintenance, sales – sees the same operational reality.

Smart Warnings & Custom Filters

Trade Air relies heavily on Leon’s warnings and filters to keep the operation safe, compliant and predictable.

Operational warnings include:

  • Category airports
  • Aircraft discontinuities
  • Airport discontinuities
  • Crew flight time limitations
  • CAMO limits

Cautions filters highlight conditions such as:

  • Close to FTL limits
  • “Do not fly with” pairings
  • Airport Category B
  • CAMO close to limit
  • Crew OML
  • Airport briefing expired
  • TBA PAX
  • PAX travel document missing
  • …and more, all customisable

Notice filters capture operational context:

  • Aircraft documents expired / missing
  • Aircraft notes
  • Airport handler remarks
  • Airport recency requirements
  • OPS notes & Sales notes
  • Airport briefing / airport notes
  • Flight diverted
  • Online familiarisation required

All of these are configurable. Marko emphasised that Trade Air adjusted the warnings to match their own policies, procedures and risk appetite.

This layered approach lets the OCC focus on what matters right now, without losing detail.

Rich Airport Directory

Leon’s Airport Directory has become a key reference point for Trade Air:

  • Airport categorisation
  • Handling details
  • Fuel suppliers
  • Maps
  • Special briefing and training requirements for crew
  • Restrictions and local procedures

Instead of digging through PDFs and shared folders, dispatchers on duty and crew get an immediate, structured view of each airport they operate to.

Crew Planning

The Puzzle That Finally Fits

Before Leon, Marko described crew planning as “a very hard puzzle”: multiple tables, manual checks, fragmented information and constant risk of missing something.

With Leon:

  • Aircraft, crew, training, recency and limitations all sit in one place
  • The system automatically checks:
    • Airport discontinuities
    • Flight time limitations
    • Recency
    • Documentation and qualification validity

Any changes to crew schedules are instantly pushed to the Leon Crew App, and:

  • Crew members acknowledge changes directly in the app
  • Communication between OPS and crews is faster and more reliable
  • Misunderstandings and missed updates are significantly reduced
Leon Crew App
Leon Crew App

Flight Preparation & Following

One Environment, Real Time

Flight Preparation

Trade Air uses Leon’s fully customisable checklists to standardise and control flight preparation:

  • Checklists are adapted to Trade Air procedures
  • Easy to use, easy to update
  • Ensures consistent preparation across all flights and teams

Flight Following

Flight following with Leon happens in real time, in one environment:

  • OCC sees planned vs actual across the entire network
  • Other departments also get visibility into what’s happening now
  • This reduces confusion and speeds up decisions during irregular operations

Leon Crew App

A Game Changer for the Front Line

Marko called the Leon Crew App a genuine game changer for Trade Air.

On their phones – including offline – crew now have:

  • Duty roster and flight schedule
  • Ability to confirm flight and duty changes
  • Flight checklists
  • Operational documents and contacts
  • Details about service providers
  • Crew member qualifications
  • FTL monitoring
  • Access to company manuals

Thanks to this transparency and self-service, Trade Air has:

  • Reduced errors and miscommunication
  • Improved crew engagement and trust in the system
  • Strengthened the link between OCC decisions and daily crew reality
Leon Crew App
Leon Crew App

One of the most powerful shifts

Zero Paper, Zero Spreadsheets – Fully Audit Ready

“All post-flight data is stored in Leon, so it becomes our ultimate audit-ready system.”
Key outcomes:

Zero spreadsheet dependency for critical processes

Digital, traceable records across flights, crews, training and operations

Easier preparation for audits and inspections

Confidence that data is consistent and up to date

Integrations

The Biggest Boost to OCC Work

During the Q&A session, someone asked Marko which part of OCC work benefited the most from Leon.
His answer: integrations.

Trade Air relies on a broad integration ecosystem:

  • Data flows from Leon → PPS → Eurocontrol → EFBOne → back to Leon
  • This significantly reduces manual data entry and turnaround times
  • Azzera integration supports RefuelEU compliance and fuel compensation workflows

Leon’s reporting tools then allow accurate, in-depth, customisable reports on virtually any aspect of the operation.

On invalid data entry checks, Marko noted that operators still need to monitor data quality, but the integration with EFB ONE greatly lowers the risk of errors by avoiding re-typing.

Measurable Impact on Operational Efficiency

Thanks to the partnership with Leon, Trade Air sees clear operational gains:
  • Zero spreadsheet dependency in key areas
  • Faster disruption recovery
  • Better cross-department coordination thanks to a shared live view
  • Fully audit-ready digital records
  • Real-time situational awareness in OCC and beyond

Perhaps the most telling sign of success:

Leon entered Trade Air “just” as a scheduling tool – and ended up being adopted by almost every department in the company.

Leon Marketplace

Looking Ahead: Leon Marketplace and the Future

In the final question of the session, Marko was asked whether Trade Air plans to use Leon Marketplace in the future.

His answer was clear:

Yes – definitely

For Trade Air, Leon is not a static system; it’s a platform that keeps expanding with new integrations, partners and capabilities – supporting their continued growth and operational excellence.

Ready to Build Your Own Success Story?

Trade Air’s journey shows what happens when an airline replaces fragmented tools and spreadsheets with a single, integrated operational platform.

If you’d like to:

  • Centralise your operational data
  • Improve communication between OCC, crew, maintenance and sales
  • Become audit-ready and spreadsheet-free
  • Speed up decision making and disruption recovery

…then Leon could be the backbone your operation is missing.

Contact and press information

Rafał Grad

Marketing Manager
Leon for Scheduled operators

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