We know firsthand that managing large amounts of navigation data—from downloading it from Jeppesen to uploading it into the avionics—isn’t always a seamless process. We’ve killed enough aircraft batteries and crashed more browsers during data crashes. The stress level escalates when the problem occurs before a long trip, while the family waits in the FBO. But a visit last year to Jeppesen’s Global Support and Command center at its Englewood, Colorado, headquarters proved that the company is making a sizable effort to help with the frustration.
The darkened command center is staffed around the clock and 365 days per year and there are no fewer than 60 specialists (some working remotely at sister locations) to handle technical support issues. Many of these support specialists are professional pilots—including experienced flight instructors—and many have backgrounds in avionics support and flight dispatching.
The support center is equipped with a working test bench housing nearly every avionics system that contains Jeppesen data. This means if you’re sitting in the aircraft faced with a data upload glitch, a specialist can better talk you through the steps to get the issue resolved. It’s also a way for Jeppesen to validate errors in nav data.
Jeppesen also uses the support center and its avionics setup to offer incidental support. This means if you’re a new owner struggling to load a chart, as one example, a Jeppesen support specialist can walk you through the button-pushing sequence.
Jeppesen’s support language is primarily in English, but some specialists are fluent in six other languages. Jeppesen also has a translation service to support up to 100 different languages.
Jeppesen’s business and general aviation technical support division can be reached by telephone at 800-732-2800, or by submitting an email on its website, www.jeppesen.com.
