Business Aviation Advisor May-June 2019

MAY / JUNE 2019

Sticky Business Six Ways to Find and Keep New Pilots

Innovation’s in the Air Membership Programs Offer New Options INFLIGHT CONNECTIVITY INSIGHT CLEARING THE AIR CALCULATED RISK PRICE VS. VALUE FOULING THE NEST A Business Aviation Media, Inc. Publication

W W W . B I Z AVA D V I S O R . C O M

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M AY / J U N E 2 019

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6

F E AT U R E S

Sticky Business 06

Six Ways to Find and Keep New Pilots

• Volume 6 / I s sue 3

by S H E RYL BAR D E N

Innovation’s in the Air 08

Membership Programs Offer New Options

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14

Calculated Risk

by AN D R E W NI C HOL SON

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Price vs. Value

by BA A S TAFF R E P OR T

17

Risk Management for Business Aviation

People, Not Apps, Deliver Service

by S E AN M C G EOUG H

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Inflight Connectivity Insight Understanding Your Wi-Fi Options

Publisher’s Message 05

Faster Than a Speeding Pullet

by N AN CY WALK E R

by G IL WOLIN

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Clearing the Air

Making the Switch to Sustainable Alternative Jet Fuel

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Washington Report

by TIMOTHY C E SAR E K

by DAVI D COLLOG AN

D E PA R T M E N T S

Fouling the Nest

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Above and Beyond 2019:

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Tune in to Business Aviation Advisor’s informative podcast series, on the business of owning and flying business aircraft – from entry portals, to acquisition and operations, to management, insurance, finance, and more.

The Information You Need, From Experts You Can Trust

www.bizavadvisor.com/podcast

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PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE ■ PUBLISHER Gil Wolin gwolin@bizavadvisor.com CRE ATIVE DIRECTOR Raymond F. Ringston rringston@bizavadvisor.com MANAGING EDITOR G.R. Shapiro gshapiro@bizavadvisor.com ASSISTANT EDITOR Michael B. Murphy mmurphy@bizavadvisor.com WASHINGTON EDITOR David Collogan dlcollogan@gmail.com CONTRIBUTORS Sheryl Barden Aviation Personnel International sabarden@apiaviation.com Timothy Cesarek Gevo tcesarek@gevo.com Andrew Nicholson Osprey Flight Solutions andrew.nicholson@ospreyfs.com Sean McGeough Wheels Up smcgeough@wheelsup.com Nancy Walker SmartSky Networks Nancy@smartskynetworks.com BUSINESS MANAGER JoAnn O’Keefe jokeefe@bizavadvisor.com BOARD OF ADVISORS Paul Cardarelli • Larry Flynn Anthony Kioussis • Dick Koenig Joe Moeggenberg • Louis C. Seno Nel Stubbs • Rolland Vincent John (Jack) M. Young BUSINESS AVIATION MEDIA , INC .

PO Box 5512 • Wayland, MA 01778 Tel: (800) 655-8496 • Fax: (508) 499-2172 info@bizavadvisor.com • www.bizavadvisor.com Editorial contributions should be addressed to: Business Aviation Advisor, PO Box 5512, Wayland, MA 01778, and must be accompanied by return postage.

Publisher assumes no responsibility for safety of artwork, photographs, or manuscripts.

Permissions: Material in this publication may not be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means (electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise) without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Faster Than a Speeding Pullet Time does fly when you’re having fun. April marked Business Aviation Advisor’s fifth anniversary. This issue is our 32nd, and it’s been a fun and rewarding half-decade. The “fun?” There’s something about airplanes – that’s right, “airplanes,” not “aircraft” – that goes back to childhood’s first upward glance.

The reward? Knowing that readers like you value the information and insight we’ve delivered in print and online. BAA has evolved in these five years: special reports, a webinar, and now “Above & Beyond” podcasts punctuate and supplement the written words in our regular issues. Our content, written and spoken, is designed to help you make the safest and best use of your investments in business aviation, whether through whole aircraft or fractional share ownership, or charter and jet cards.

The aviation industry continues to evolve as well. Innovations like the electric aircraft, likely to enter the market first as Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) craft, are on the near horizon. And while today’s large cabin aircraft like the Gulfstream 650ER and Bombardier Global Express 7000, offer a nonstop range of more than 7000 miles, supersonic business jets soon will cut the time for such intercontinental travel in half.

That evolution is nothing new. With fewer than 300 delivered annually, manufacturers of the first business jets certificated in the early 1960s didn’t worry about fuel cost – not with Jet-A plentiful at less than thirty cents a gallon. It’s a different story today, with both fuel cost and carbon emissions top of mind concerns for owners and operators. That drives yet another innovation: Sustainable Aviation Jet Fuel (SAJF), blending petroleum-based jet fuel with renewable feedstock to create cleaner burning bio fuel.

Aircraft, their power plants, and power sources will continue to evolve, with one overarching constant – a complete commitment to operational safety. New business turbine aircraft models undergo rigorous testing from nose to tail, in all flight regimes from takeoff to landing, before going into production. Business jets require more complex testing, due in large measure to their high speeds and cruising altitudes above the troposphere, often requiring unusual, if not unique, testing equipment.

Like a “chicken gun” to test the bird-strike resistance of the cockpit windshield. This compressed-air cannon fires an anesthetized chicken at the windshield to simulate a highspeed bird strike, something of particular concern during takeoff and landing.

Ensuring that your aircraft windshield is “pullet-proof” is all part of the aviation industry’s safety canon, just as ours at Business Aviation Advisor is helping you make the best use of your investments in business aviation.

Thanks for your support these past five years, here’s to the next five, and thanks for reading!

The views and opinions expressed in Business Aviation Advisor are those of the authors and advertisers, and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of Business Aviation Media, Inc. Articles presented in this publication are for general information and educational purposes and do not constitute legal or financial advice.

Postmaster: Please send address changes to: Business Aviation Media, Inc., PO Box 5512 • Wayland, MA 01778, USA ©Copyright 2019 by Business Aviation Media, Inc. All rights reserved

Gil Wolin — Publisher gwolin@bizavadvisor.com

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■ FLIGHT OPERATIONS

Sticky Business Six Ways to Find and Keep New Pilots

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e are now in the third year of an unprecedented shortage of pilots, and the situation is not going to get better quickly.

There simply are not enough pilots in queue to fly your aircraft. How did this happen, why is it so, and what can you do?

Several factors contributed to the pilot shortage, among them: ■■ Career Discouragement – Air travel plunged after 9/11, and more than 14,000 pilots were laid off. In 2007, the mandatory retirement age was raised from 60 to 65, squelching upward income mobility for more junior pilots. That discouraged younger pilots from entering the field, resulting in a lean pipeline today, with more than 40% of active pilots, both in bizav and the airlines, due to retire in the next seven years.

■■ Training Costs – While starting pay at the regional airlines has gone up significantly, the cost of flight school continues to soar, and can range from $50K to $100K per year. Flight schools struggle to hire new instructors and examiners, and to 6 B U S I N E S S AV I AT I O N A DV I S O R

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purchase training aircraft. So, many students must wait – sometimes months – for exams and check rides before they can graduate.

■■ New Regulations – Six years ago, the FAA enacted a rule requiring commercial pilots – including those who fly charter – to have a minimum of 1,500 hours of accrued flight time for their Air Transport Pilot Certificate (up from 250 hours previously).

■■ BizAv Growth – After the 2008-09 economic downturn, business aviation is looking up. It is predicted that business aircraft delivery will rise this year by nearly 10% – and someone has to fly those airplanes.

The Outlook for Pilots

As a career path, being a pilot has not demonstrated a positive ROI for years. And while that situation is improving, as evidenced by the recent increase in flight school enrollments and starting salaries, we can’t make a new pilot overnight. w w w. B i z AvA d v i s o r. c o m

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BY SHERYL BARDEN Aviation Personnel International / sabarden@apiaviation.com

IT TAKES A BALANCE OF COMPENSATION AND TIME OFF TO CREATE A “STICKY” BIZAV ORGANIZATION It takes a balance of compensation and time off to create a “sticky” BizAv organization today. So how can you attract and retain the best pilots?

Money isn’t everything, but it is a huge factor. International captains working for larger corporate operations now command a base salary of more than $200K. Equally important is time off. And “time off” means specific days, known well in advance, such that your pilot can make personal plans that won’t be usurped by a call out. Most other employees can count on two days off a week. That’s 110 days per year, not counting holidays, plus a minimum of two weeks’ vacation.

In BizAv organizations, it’s not uncommon to allow only two hard days off per month, or 24 per year. While 110 may not be the “magic number,” certainly somewhere in between would help. This time off is especially important for younger pilots.

Pilots choose to work in business aviation for a variety of reasons: a performance-based culture and environment, the ability to have broad and meaningful responsibilities, working in a close-knit team, a variety of trips and experiences, and truly seeing up close the positive impact their work has on their appreciative client and the bottom line of the company. But even the most loyal and dedicated pilot will sacrifice these benefits for the sake of their family life. “I’m really not being responsible to my family if I stay here in business aviation,” is a common lament. Don’t think this is only the pilot’s decision – their partners and families have a huge influence.

Retaining your pilots – and creating the ability to attract new ones – is a value that comes from the most senior person in the organization. When the CEO says, “Do what you need to do to keep us flying safely,” the combination of competitive compensation and time off can be achieved. Some large Fortune 500 companies have been able to make the compensation shift through the conventional HR and compensation channels, but often the mandate must come directly from your office.

Finding and Retaining Pilots

What steps can you take now to ensure that your NextGen pilots are satisfied and want to stay with you, and that new pilots will be in the pipeline when your current pilots retire?

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Create An Appealing Company Culture – Offer your pilots a team-centered workplace in which they feel respected and valued, and where they can learn and thrive.

Track Data – Tracking data with respect to the schedule is key to understanding and helping you find a healthy solution. Diligently tracking every team member’s time on and off, as well as the actual times that crew members are called in for “pop-up” trips, will give you an accurate assessment of what you really need from a w w w. B i z AvA d v i s o r. c o m

staffing perspective. There often is a disconnect between stated requirements and actual, true needs. Do you really need your pilots on a three-hour call out? Nearly every other aspect of your business today is data-driven. Without clear and compelling data, you cannot make good decisions about whether and when to add to your head count.

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Match Airline Benefits – Your biggest competition for pilots is the airlines. Airline pilots are given a clear picture of their compensation package over time throughout their contracts.

Their 401 (k) accounts are directly funded in the range of 3-16% of salary. These funds immediately belong to the pilot, and cannot be lost in a company downturn. Work schedules are concrete and predictable, allowing for predefined time off, including vacation and holidays. Relocating a family typically is not an issue, since pilots can commute to any base. Many airlines offer their pilots compensation for the rest of their contracted career (often to age 65) should they lose their medical certificate.

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Update Your Technology – Pilots need tools and technology to enable their success and ensure your safety. Younger pilots prefer to fly in aircraft with the latest avionics, and may not be experienced in – or comfortable with – older aircraft.

Be Flexible – Consider adopting a paradigm change with respect to your requirements for pilots. You might add lower-time pilots and work vigorously to train them to your department’s standards.

Offer Incentives – Consider encouraging pilot loyalty with “golden handcuffs.” Many companies today use them not only for executives, but for their aviation professionals. Offering additional compensation, usually stock that vests over time, makes it harder to leave. Some organizations offer pilots $50K per year in equity, generally on a three-to-five year vesting scale. It’s not hard to walk away from a $10K retention bonus – a new employer can easily make that up – but walking away from $120K in unvested income takes a whole lot of fortitude. Retention bonuses create a short term presence, while vesting programs help create long term loyalty and commitment.

Attracting new pilots and retaining those who currently are younger than 40 will continue to be a challenge. Take these steps now to make sure that you and your aircraft will be able to keep flying. BAA SHERYL BARDEN is CEO of Aviation Personnel International,

business aviation’s longest-running recruiting firm. A member of NBAA’s Board of Directors, she is a trusted advisor on aviation workforce topics including recruiting, retention, compensation, and talent shortage.

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■ ALTERNATIVE LIFT

Innovation’s in the Air Membership Programs Offer New Options

BY SEAN MCGEOUGH ust ten years ago, only three BizAv travel options existed: aircraft ownership (whole or fractional), purchase of a block of hours via jet card from one of more than 65 charter operators and charter brokers, or straight charter on a trip-by-trip basis. Now there’s a fourth option: a membership program.

Your aircraft may be unavailable or unsuitable for a particular trip. It may be down for maintenance, or on a wait list for ADS-B upgrades and compliance. It may be too large to access smaller runways, or too costly for short hops. You need supplemental lift.

Using a jet card requires a commitment of pre-paid funds: you purchase a specific number of hours, at a specific cost per hour, and pay in advance. However, any unused hours may be forfeited at contract termination, and you could be subject to surcharges or strict cancellation policies during peak-demand times.

When you use on-demand charter, you pay per trip. The cost per hour is not fixed and can vary depending on many factors, including the make/ model of aircraft available, positioning charges, or operator. And there’s no guarantee that the aircraft you need will be available when you need it.

In the past five years, a few companies have created a new type of supplemental lift: the membership program, which offers guaranteed access to the company’s own fleet of aircraft, with as little as 24 hours’ notice.

With a one-time entry fee, and annual dues that may not start until, or may be reduced in, year two, these programs offer the option to pay for flight hours only as you use them. You pay fixed rates only for occupied hours flown, based on the aircraft type, with no repositioning fees or minimum-hour commitments.

Membership companies offer a variety of aircraft models, en­ abling you to select the most efficient aircraft for each trip. For ex­ ample, the King Air 350i is an economical eight-passenger turboprop, well-suited for flights of two hours or fewer. It offers access to shorter airfields unavailable to many jets. Landing at a smaller airport closer to your destination can save you considerable ground travel time. For flights of three hours or more, you could choose a faster, longer-range business jet, such as the Citation Excel/XLS or Citation X. A membership program may be for you if you: ■■ Fly fewer than 150 hours per year.

■■ Want supplemental lift without capital outlay.

■■ Usually fly one-way, or round-trips without a same-day return.

■■ Require guaranteed availability with short notice.

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Advantages Include: The Ability to Pay As You Fly – Since you’re not locked into a long-term contract or minimum number of hours, you can optimize your BizAv expenditures.

■■ A “No-Positioning Charge” Option – While traditional roundtrip charter sourced from an operator based near your flight’s origin usually is the most cost-effective, membership programs let you avoid the fee for one-way trips between remote locations or round trips without a same-day return.

■■ Uniformity – You can count on the same high quality of pilots, trained to the same safety standards, and aircraft configured and maintained to the same standards, on every flight.

■■ Simplicity – Insurance coverage and cost per hour are standard, with no surprises. In case of any maintenance issues, backup recovery aircraft are guaranteed at no additional charge.

■■ A Dedicated Flight Desk – To meet your needs, it sources air­ craft only from safety-vetted and verified operators for all trips.

As you analyze your past usage and forecast your future travel needs to determine if a membership program is right for you, recog­ nize that the type of aircraft available may make your trip longer or shorter, and thus more or less costly, than those you’ve flown before. When the time and dollars make sense for you, a membership program can supplement — or replace — your current BizAv travel option. BAA ■■

SE AN MCGEOUGH , MBA, is Executive Vice President of

Sales at Wheels Up. An airline transport pilot holding a type rating on the King Air 350i, he is an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization.

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Wheels Up / smcgeough@wheelsup.com

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■ CABIN OPERATIONS

Inflight Connectivity Insight Understanding Your Wi-Fi Options

BY NANCY WALKER SmartSky Networks / Nancy@smartskynetworks.com

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– depends on low latency, a key feature of 5G networks. In the air, those tasks become virtually impossible with high latency. You’ll want a provider whose network offers speed and capacity both to and from an aircraft, not just in one direction – because the internet is really a two-way communication. It’s key to get a network that delivers high throughput (the amount of data successfully moved from one place to another) without suffering any loss of data packets in the process.

All these data – along with sensitive information from your passengers in the cabin – need to be transmitted securely. How secure is your system? Modern IFC does more than just offer internet to the cabin. It gets real-time data to and from the aircraft to ensure smooth and safe operations: for example, weather and routing information to pilots to save fuel, or data that enable ground crewmembers to efficiently plan and execute maintenance.

Ask questions about the security of the signal itself. Will your data be sent on a single, aircraft-focused beam? Or are you sharing the same bandwidth as hundreds of other aircraft, much like at a public coffeehouse?

The era of subpar IFC is over. Look for network providers who’ve moved beyond decades-old technology or equipment with known vulnerabilities, and choose your next network to take advantage of the latest innovations. BAA NANCY WALKER , SmartSky Networks’ Chief Commercial

Officer, has more than 30 years of business development, engineering, and program management experience in advanced radio communications systems, both military and commercial, for use in aviation and spaceborne environments.

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i-Fi is so ubiquitous and powerful on the ground that we rarely give it a second thought. Yet some business aircraft operators have been settling for dramatically reduced capabilities for their inflight connectivity (IFC).

You use your aircraft to stay more connected geographically, but how much time is lost by being out of touch in a meaningful way while underway? As a business aircraft operator, your decision likely isn’t whether to equip your aircraft with IFC, but how to select a service or technology that best fits your needs and provides you with the best possible inflight communication link to the rest of the world.

While a connectivity provider(s) used to be selected solely on connectivity coverage, cost, and capacity, that choice now should include affordability, security, and overall performance. Making the decision even more difficult is the relative importance of these attributes, and the ability to try to assess future technology advances to ensure that your investment doesn’t become obsolete.

Your primary connectivity options are satellite and air-toground (ATG) systems.

Traditionally, satellite connectivity has been the only option for aircraft flying over the water since ATG systems obviously struggle where there is no ground. For larger aircraft, the best answer may be a hybrid of complementary systems – both satellite and ATG. Using both offers reduced costs and an improved experience with ATG on land routes, while maintaining connectivity when the aircraft is over water.

While the cost difference is easy to understand, assessing “user experience,” versus just the speed of the internet, may be more challenging. “User experience” is a combination of attributes – specifically, latency, throughput to and from the aircraft, and packet loss – that affects the way the internet experience “feels.” Placing too much emphasis on one can have an adverse effect on user experience.

“Latency” is the time it takes for a “data packet,” or unit of information, to go from one point to another. That time is measured in milliseconds, but even a small lag due to latency can have a big impact on performance. ATG systems naturally have a lower latency due to the much greater distance between satellite orbits and the aircraft. That distance can create a difference of up to ten times the latency compared with ATG. Why does that matter? Nearly anything online you take for granted at home – loading websites and pages, videoconferencing with co-workers or family, or even playing an online game

■ FLIGHT OPERATIONS

Clearing the Air Making the Switch to Sustainable Alternative Jet Fuel Gevo / tcesarek@gevo.com

oday, the transportation and airline industries are the largest direct and indirect emitters of greenhouse gasses (GHGs) as a result of burning fossil-based fuels: gasoline, diesel, and jet fuel. These fuels produce carbon pollutants in the form of CO2 – widely thought to have an impact on climate change.

More than 26 billion gallons of jet fuel are consumed in the U.S. annually. When combusted in the sky, they emit approximately 260 million tons of CO2. The business aviation sector contributes roughly 10% of these emissions – approximately the same amount of sulfur dioxide produced annually from all the burning of coal and other fossil fuels.

According to the joint General Aviation Manufacturers Association and International Business Aviation Council commitment made in support of the International Civil Aviation Organization’s proposed targets for lowering GHG emissions as part of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol on climate change, the business aviation sector set forth three goals to reduce GHGs: 1. A 2% improvement in fuel-efficiency per year from 2010 until 2020 2. Carbon-neutral growth from 2020 onwards, and 3. A 50% reduction in carbon emissions by 2050, relative to 2005.

It’s not enough. We can do more right now to reduce GHG emissions, such as developing more fuel-efficient engines and airframes, spending less time idling on the tarmac, and using Sustainable Alternative Jet Fuel (SAJF).

Produced from renewable resources, such as feedstocks like corn starch, sugarcane juice, crop residues, purpose-grown grass crops, and woody plants, SAJF is a direct substitute for fossil-derived jet fuel. It meets the standards of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and has been tested by engine and aircraft manufacturers to ensure safety and reliability. SAJF burns cleaner than traditional jet fuel, with few to no particulates and no sulfur. In some instances, SAJF can have higher energy density than fossil jet fuel – meaning you can fly further on that same volume of fuel, lowering your per hour operating costs. Finally, SAJF can be blended with fossil jet fuel to increase the latter’s efficiency.

SAJF can reduce CO2 emissions by up to 70%, depending upon the renewable feedstocks used and the renewable energy deployed to produce it. According to the Business Aviation Guide to the Use of Sustainable Alternative Jet Fuel (May 2018) the “single largest potential reduction in aviation’s GHG emissions,” and the key to reaching industry goals, “will come through the use of SAJF.” 12 B U S I N E S S AV I AT I O N A DV I S O R

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Gulfstream has begun to sell sustainable alternative jet fuel (SAJF) from its Long Beach, CA service center and will use SAJF for large-cabin completions flights departing from the facility.

Further, policies such as the California Low Carbon Fuel Standard (LCFS), which has adopted SAJF as a low-carbon fuel, will provide producers with an incentive to supply SAJF, as producers of fossil fuels will be obligated to comply with such low carbon fuel standards. Companies like Gevo, World Energy, and Neste currently are producing SAJF for use on both business aircraft and commercial airlines.

SAJF today retails at a premium well above traditional fossilbased Jet-A, due primarily to the limited volume currently produced and distributed. Once SAJF production ramps up to meet the projected demand, and when government incentives take effect, your retail price should drop significantly.

Bombardier Business Aircraft, Embraer Executive Jets, and Gulfstream Aerospace have been involved in the SAJF testing and certification process in their respective product lines, and fully support the reduction initiative. Having flown more than 700,000 miles using SAFJ in various models, Gulfstream is now offering it for sale at its Long Beach, California Service Center.

Suppliers such as AvFuel and World Fuel now have access to SAJF, so whether you own your aircraft, operate a Fixed Base Operation (FBO), or manage a corporate aviation program, ask your supplier if it’s available yet in your area. You can fly more efficiently, while supporting the business aviation industry’s initiative to reduce GHGs. BAA The Business Aviation Guide To the Use of Sustainable Alternative Jet Fuel (SAJF) is available for download at www.bizavadvisor.com/clearing-the-air TIMOTHY CE SAREK is EVP and Chief Commercial Officer

of Gevo, a renewable chemicals and advanced biofuels company.

His 30+ years in business development and private equity includes 15 years in renewable fuels, chemicals, and energy.

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■ FLIGHT OPERATIONS

Calculated Risk Risk Management for Business Aviation

BY ANDREW NICHOLSON Osprey Flight Solutions / andrew.nicholson@ospreyfs.com

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Risk Assessment Is Simple

The process of risk assessment is well documented and practiced.

While there are numerous educational and theoretical articles and papers easily found through a simple internet search, and many courses offered by private organizations and aviation regulating authorities, risk assessment is, at its core, extremely simple.

Document 10084 of the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO), a UN agency, provides a good aviation-specific risk management process you can use as a starting point: https://unitingaviation.com/publications/10084/#page=35 There are several steps to the process. In summary: ■■ A data and information gathering exercise to allow the assessor to fully understand the environment to which they are travelling.

■■ An assessment of the existence of threats (a capability and intent to target and have a negative impact on the operation, either directly or as collateral from the targeting of someone else) and hazards (events not deliberately targeted but that have an impact on the operation, such as weather or other natural phenomena), and ■■ The application of mitigation measures to reduce the risk.

Calculating risk is purely an equation of Impact x Probability, but how do you assess the impact of a potential event, or the probability that it will occur? Large airlines and aircraft management and charter operators with significant resources can employ a team of skilled analysts who can use their knowledge and experience to assess these aspects. But for a single aircraft operator, this is simply not practicable.

The challenge is simple: capacity. How can a single individual comprehensively understand the situation in an environment in which they’ve never been, and then gather enough information to 14 B U S I N E S S AV I AT I O N A DV I S O R

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be able to quantify that situation and finally conduct the calculation? Even the most risk-obsessive among us would find this impossible, and the results are fraught with danger – sometimes more so than if no risk assessment were conducted at all. Basing decisions on partial knowledge or understanding can easily cause an operator to walk straight into a major issue that otherwise would not have presented itself.

So, What Can You Do?

Technology can help. There are now tools that can be used to gather vast amounts of largely relevant data from a huge number of sources, removing that burden from an operator. Open-source exploitation software can provide a feed of information. There are systems (like ours) that not only gather that data, but filter, sort and analyze it, delivering data visualizations and analytics, alerts, and reports so the operator has an instantaneous picture of the risks.

Why should you bother doing this at all? The process can be long, difficult, and time-consuming – or could cost you money to get someone else to do it for you. In addition to the growing regulatory scrutiny on risk management processes, there is a very simple answer. It is just good business sense. Avoiding risks, or at least putting in place mitigating measures that minimize the effect of incidents, can help ensure your safety and security, potentially can save you huge amounts of money, and can make your travel a far more pleasant and relaxing process.

Isn’t that why you bought an aircraft in the first place? BAA ANDREW NICHOLSON is CEO of Osprey Flight Solutions.

With an engineering degree and 12 years in the UK military, including UK Special Forces, he’s developed innovative, technology enabled risk management solutions for the aviation industry.

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ithin the aviation industry, the sphere of security risk management covers a very large spectrum, from passenger and baggage screening at security check-points, through terrorism and insider threats, cyber and drone activity, to threats to aircraft on the ground.

Usually, the most important risks facing owners are their personal security and the safety and security of the aircraft, both on the ground at departure and destination airports, and in the airspace through which they are flying.

With an ever-increasing regulatory burden and a focus on riskbased decision making, what do you need to know when trying to conduct effective risk management of your flight operation?

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GROUND SERVICES ■

Price vs.Value People, Not Apps, Deliver Service sing apps makes shopping for things simple and efficient – provided there’s no need to test, try on, or demonstrate their use before buying.

But when it comes to service, that’s another matter. With more than 5,000 U.S. airports available to business aircraft (more than ten times the number served by commercial airlines) relying on just an app to handle the purchase of your aircraft and passenger service requirements is risky business. Today, online purchasing clubs and associations can find you the lowest fuel price, but there’s much more to consider when you fly, particularly when travelling to new locations.

Business aviation ground services require qualified people at both your departure and arrival Fixed Base Operations (FBOs).

Because unlike a computer or a book, once delivered, bad service can’t be returned.

Good aviation service means that professional line technicians will be on the ramp, when you need them, round-the-clock, at both your departure and arrival points. They will have been trained in all aspects of aircraft service – from fueling and towing a myriad of different turbine and piston aircraft makes and models, to interior cleaning and lavatory services. Maintenance technicians will be available to handle most minor repairs, enabling you to continue your flight itinerary without having to ferry to another airport. All these aviation experts are charged with the care and preservation of your aircraft – a capital asset with a replacement cost that can run up to eight figures.

The expert care doesn’t stop on the ramp or in the hangar. At the counter, trained Customer Service Representatives (CSRs) greet you and your passengers, handle any questions, and manage all the non-technical aspects of your departures and arrivals. Need ground transportation, including limousine, taxi, or a rental car?

What about catering for longer flights that span meal times? While there may be an app for that, clarifying special dietary concerns are best handled in a single telephone conversation with a trained FBO service professional, familiar with local providers’ capabilities. Trained CSRs also use that local knowledge to find and reserve safe and comfortable lodging for you and your crew, arrange a meeting, and much more – and do so observing the highest levels of personal and corporate security.

These service experts understand that you use business aircraft to ensure travel privacy and security, as well as convenience. Maintaining that privacy requires discretion and ensuring your w w w. B i z AvA d v i s o r. c o m

security means secure facilities, for both based and transient aircraft. Federal government transportation authorities dictate most ramp and facility security requirements, but it’s up to each FBO’s onsite personnel to monitor ramp and hangar gate access, and the passenger lounge, via closed-circuit cameras, and to quickly respond to any unwarranted or unwanted intrusions.

These safety and security concerns are among the reasons more FBOs have stepped up to earn their International Standard for Business Aircraft Handlers (IS-BAH) rating, which gives aircraft owners like you confidence that your capital asset is being handled properly. Adopted by the National Air Transportation Association and the International Civil Aviation Organization, IS-BAH is a business aviation ground handling best practices standard, based on the International Civil Aviation Organization’s safety management system principles. (See “Handling With Care,” BAA January/February 2019).

An app may enable you and your flight operation to search for the best fuel price at any airport, and determine when and where to refuel on your itinerary. But whether your destination is an independent or network FBO location, only human communication and a human touch can provide the attention to service and safety detail you – and your aircraft – need. In the words of the late National Aviation Hall of Fame member Harry Combs, it requires “people serving people.” BAA Ma y/Ju n e 2 019 B U S I N E S S AV I AT I O N A DV I S O R 17

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BAA STAFF REPORT

■ WASHINGTON REPORT

Fouling the Nest The tragic entry into service of the Boeing 737 MAX likely will have ramifications for BizAv manufacturers

BY DAVID COLLOGAN eading the reports about the Lion Air and Ethiopian Airlines crashes – both of which featured professional pilots struggling to control their aircraft in the minutes after takeoff – was heart-breaking and surreal. What could possibly cause brand new Boeing airplanes to suffer the same horrific fates five months apart?

Media coverage of the twin disasters understandably has been intense. Each day’s news cycle churns out more details about the certification process, the reaction of pilots to new systems on the 737 MAX, the lack of simulators, and paucity of training before the new models entered service.

By the last week of March, investigations were underway or about to begin by various international transportation safety agencies, the U.S. DOT’s Inspector General, a DOT committee of aviation experts who will review FAA’s process for approving certification of the 737 MAX, and the FBI. House and Senate committees also jumped into the investigative free-for-all.

In addition to intense scrutiny on the decisions and actions of Boeing and FAA executives and engineers leading to certification of the 737 MAX, these investigations also will focus on the overall certification process. You’ll be hearing a lot about the FAA’s Organizational Designation Authorization (ODA) process.

ODA is an avenue for select, carefully vetted aviation manufacturers approved by FAA to assess and validate the certification of aircraft, engines, and systems. ODA designees perform a wide range of analyses and tests, then present their data and findings to FAA certification officials for final validation. As of mid-March, FAA listed more than 120 entities that held various levels of ODA authority.

The ODA system was developed over more than a decade out of necessity. It reflects an understanding by FAA, Congress, and the aviation industry that FAA will never have enough internal resources to match the pace of aircraft development. Manufacturers long have been frustrated because their ability to get new products and systems certificated in a timely fashion was stymied by FAA’s inability to keep up with leapfrogging technology advancements.

To break that bureaucratic logjam, ODA was designed to leverage the vast R&D resources of private sector aircraft manufacturers. Original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) would test, analyze, and validate new products and systems. The OEMs then 18 B U S I N E S S AV I AT I O N A DV I S O R

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would present their findings and methodology to FAA for final approval and certification.

The ODA process was successful in accelerating the pace of certification, and Congress embraced the concept. Following congressional passage of the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 last fall, the General Aviation Manufacturers Association hailed the inclusion of provisions strengthening “the effectiveness of the Organizational Designation Authorization (ODA) process and oversight to enhance the predictability and efficiency of the certification process for new products and technology.”

With orders in hand for more than 5,000 737 MAX airplanes, Boeing officials were under intense pressure to achieve final certification and begin deliveries to customers. Investigators will be sifting through meeting notes, emails, and technical data while interviewing company and FAA officials. Were corners cut? Did pressure to achieve certification outweigh safety rigor and best judgment? And, as Boeing now claims new software and other tweaks will soon solve control problems with the 737 MAX, why did Boeing not get it right before 346 people died?

The credibility of Boeing and FAA has taken a huge hit. New levels of federal oversight and review are inevitable to ensure new aircraft models are truly safe before achieving certification and entering service. FAA still will have to rely on testing and analysis by the industry because the agency cannot do everything itself. But the process is bound to slow down. Federal regulators will hesitate to sign off on any program unless everything is perfect. The new normal will be frustratingly slow. BAA DAVID COLLOGAN has covered aviation in Washington, DC

for more than four decades. This award-wining journalist is known as one of the most knowledgeable, balanced, wary, and trusted journalists in the aviation community.

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BOEING

R

dlcollogan@gmail.com

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