BACA Training Day Addresses Vital Air Charter Issues

LONDON, ENGLAND, May 22, 2013 (Press-News.org) The latest BACA Training Day covered a variety of topics including illegal chartering, bribery, Air Passenger Duty, aviation law and online booking.

It was run in partnership with BBGA (British Business & General Aviation Association) and aimed at both brokers and others involved in the air charter market.

The sessions were moderated by Markham Jackson, Marketing Executive of BACA, and held at the Baltic Exchange in the City of London.

Marc Bailey, Chief Executive of BBGA, admitted that 'illegal charters', which cost the industry at least GBP2bn a year, can be difficult to define but explained that there is now an industry working party actively pursuing the issue with the CAA. He also outlined the new APD rates and structure which came into force on 1 April 2013.

Oliver King, Marketplace Managing Director of Avinode, the on-line marketplace for air charter services, outlined how his company's data can be used to track trends in the air charter market, in terms of who is chartering, what sort of aircraft and how it varies by season and by geographical area.

Three speakers from asb law in Crawley covered the following topics: Air Law and Aviation Conventions, Contracting and Legal Pitfalls, and Bribery and Corruption Law.

Simon Amos from asb law explained that one person's 'facilitation payment' can be another person's 'bribe', and that different countries' enforcement authorities can regard the same actions quite differently. He explained that this is an important consideration for companies engaging in cross-border business, particularly as UK bribery legislation has international reach.

But he outlined a series of steps which companies could take to help protect themselves, and minimise the risk of inadvertently committing offences under the Bribery Act 2010, including implementing a written zero-tolerance company policy and establishing a clear reporting structure for any employee or agent who might be faced with requests for bribes.

The final speaker was Tony McCarthy Director Aerospace of Willis Insurance who spoke on the subject entitled 'Will My Policy Pay?'

BACA (Baltic Air Charter Association), the world's largest membership organisation for the air charter industry, both passenger and cargo, runs several training days a year for its members. It also holds two lunches a year, one of which includes its excellence awards, and liaises with aviation and government bodies on issues of concern to its members.

A record number of 40 attended the most recent training day and BACA is planning another session in the Autumn.