As far as I can tell, MRO Aviation of Granada is an aviation mechanic who has decided to try his hand a pilot flight training after the involuntary liquidation of Fly In Spain of Jerez in 2025. Judging by Google reviews he seems to have amassed a large number of very happy customers for the aviation mechanic side of his business.
I was formerly a student of Fly in Spain where I, amongst others, had a very bad experience. As far as we can tell, Fly in Spain was run into the ground by management and a large number of students lost thousands of euros in deposits. I was lucky in that I only lost my time and was prevented from finishing my PPL.
Before approaching MRO Aviation, I asked my old friends from Fly in Spain if anybody know anything about this new school, and I was told it was started by Fly in Spain's former mechanic and that the receptionist from Fly in Spain may have joined the business too, which didn't bode well... However, the owner of MRO Aviation assured me that his business runs under different rules, and so I gave him the benefit of the doubt.
My review of MRO Aviation is limited to the onboarding stage. I think the review is useful in that
1. It will give you the opportunity to judge the professionalism and kindness of the staff at MRO Aviation from the perspective of a former student of Fly in Spain.
2. It will give you the opportunity to consider where MRO Aviation's claim to credit prior hours accumulated at UK CAA approved schools is true.
3. It will give you the opportunity to see how internal communications work at MRO Aviation.
Here goes...
MRO Aviation's website currently says:
"Recognition of prior hours: We validate flight hours completed at other EASA or UK CAA approved schools to accelerate your training.
For various reasons, a Spanish flying school that accepts hours from UK CAA approved schools would be an absolute godsend to me, so I was very excited and immediately made contact over the weekend using the whatsapp number provided on MRO Aviation's website. The owner responded immediately and enthusiastically on Saturday evening as follows (I was later informed that I had interfered with the owner's leisure time over the weekend by contacting him via his website using the whatsapp number he publishes there...)
Owner: Hello!!
Owner: Tell me what you need
Me: ppl training
Owner: Could you write to the admin responsable on Monday?
Owner: From 9am Monday it's ok
Owner: We will help you
So I got in touch with the receptionist describing my circumstances in detail and asking her to confirm the school can accept hours from UK CAA approved schools. Possibly before realising I am a former student of hers from Fly in Spain she asked me for my signed training records and sent me a detailed itemised quote for training amounting to 3,845,00 euros including
2,460 euros flight time
500 euros ground school
315 euros written tests
170 euros for the skills test
300 euros for the theory access
100 euros for admin.
At this time, both the owner and the former FIS receptionist seemed to me to be ready to take my money and admit as a student. In my experience schools don't waste time generating quotes and requesting training records when they're too busy to take on new students.
However, rather than transferring cash and records immediately, I repeated my request to the receptionist Cristina to confirm the school accepts hours from UK CAA approved schools. After several prompts she told me they do not. Disappointed, I drew the school's website to her attention, which clearly states that UK CAA hours are accepted towards the EASA license at this school, and asked her to confirm the school's website is wrong. She refused to confirm either way.
So, still hoping the school's website was correct, I contacted the owner again, and this is where the conversation started going badly wrong. I'll reproduce it here for you to judge for yourself, bearing in mind the school appeared to be ready to take me on as a student:
Me: I asked reception to confirm this [UK CAA school hours are counted towards the training total] claim is true, and initially she ignored the question, but after pushing several times she now says the claim is wrong. If she's right, this is extremely disappointing, and, with respect to you, I would strongly suggest you change your website so it doesn't make this false claim. Please let me know definitively, will you accept hours obtained at UK CAA approved schools or not?
Owner: I will check later
Owner: Travelling
Owner: Regards
Owner: I will check now with Cristina but we are so so full and maybe we are not interested
At this point I got back to the receptionist who confirmed they had availability from the 23rd March, just 3 weeks away, which, in addition to having received a detailed quote and request for my training records, strongly suggests to me that they were not too busy, especially given I only needed about 12 hours training, and wouldn't be ready for 3 weeks anyway.
Owner: Hello Alex, I was checking the booking, and all the thing we have. Sorry mate, but I can't provide you the thing [UK CAA school hours are counted towards the training total] you need now. Not because we can't do it. We CAN do it. But actually we are full, and don't have space for another guy. I'm sorry about that, but you need to go to another school.
Me: Reception said you're free from the 23rd March. Shall we proceed?
Owner: No sorry, we will check it together, and it's not possible.
At this point the conversation began to develop a more frank and negative tone, with the owner of the school ending up saying "You are silly." and "Of course I wasn't wrong not to pick you up, that's for sure." and "It's my business, it doesn't matter what reception says, I decide".
The owner then started sending me unsolicited messages including videos of the club's aeroplanes narrated in Spanish. I believe this was in an effort to prove the school is busy.
In summary, my experience has given me the strong impression that there is a breakdown between what reception believes the school can offer, what the website says the school can offer, and what the owner decides the school will offer on the spur of the moment, possibly influenced by the perceived tone of the customer and/or the customer's experiences at previous flying schools.
I do suspect, but cannot prove, that the Cristina working at MRO Aviation is the same Cristina that used to work at Fly in Spain, and that she may have told the owner of MRO Aviation not to take me on based on her experience of my complaints while I was at Fly in Spain. If this is true, then this is very sad, because the Cristina from Fly in Spain is very well aware of how badly I was treated during my time there, and should really have been rooting for me in her new role at MRO Aviation.
Notwithstanding, in my experience, the owner seems to be easy to anger, and on a totally different page to his staff re. what services he offers, and how busy his school is. The owner may be a wonderful mechanic, but my experience communicating with the owner and the receptionist Cristina leaves me concerned that this may be the kind of flying school where progress is highly personality dependent and not solely focussed on ability, dedication, and a willingness to pay.