The one hundredth issue of European Business Air News will soon be upon us, which is probably a good time to let you know how both we and you are getting on. Our favourite phone call is the one from the angry director, demanding his copy of EBAN. To have readers looking forward to the next issue of the magazine is exactly how it should be.

Nonetheless, I think this is a good opportunity to remind you, the reader, that this is a two-way pact, and that we are still dependent on you bringing your news to our attention.

It is a fact that some companies are more upfront than others. Some manufacturers, for example, leave no nut unscrewed without making a milestone headline out of it. With others, you need to be MI5 to find out they've put the finishing touches to their new supersonic aircraft. It was François Rabelais who wrote about the mean path being the most sensible one. EBAN believes likewise.

Photos have become a bone of some contention. I don't believe good digital cameras, or good digital camera operators, are yet prevalent enough to produce good, magazine-friendly photos. Invariably, they don't have enough pixels in their width to warrant even a tiny one column picture.

I am expert neither in digital photography nor in its explanation in 34 European languages, and have nearly given up on this form of communication. My advice? Slip on your anoraks, get out to the hangar with your staff and post us some good quality original photos. They will be returned to you, should you so wish.

So what news does EBAN hunt and what tickles its fancy?

To be honest, there's not a lot we don't like. If you're refurbishing your Twin Squirrel or splashing out on a new Falcon; if you've just been named life peer of Boeing or you serve tea in the local FBO lounge; if your new fractional ownership scheme has just gone triple platinum or if it is just stumbling along haphazardly, amid a sea of regulations, let us know. EBAN and its business aviation community can only become stronger because of it.

In general terms, the mainstay of our regular news comes from Germany, Switzerland and Scandinavia. Equally generally, we struggle to find out what France, its Mediterranean neighbours and our Eastern European counterparts are doing. Admittedly the former countries all speak an unthinkable amount of English - it has been argued, fractionally more than the Brits themselves - and are therefore more confident in picking up the telephone.

However, we are not dismissive, unfriendly or impatient here. We have a smattering of French and German and we'll happily guess what you're saying in all other languages. On a serious note, with the English that is required to even be in this profession, we will have no problem understanding your news.

There is much talk of European integration at present but it is perhaps still more of an ideal than a fully achievable goal. The Euro has been accepted by some, not by others; and the wounds from war in the Balkans are still very much open and raw; EBAN, for its part, will continue to play the messenger between the countries of Europe and their quest for business aviation.

Richard Evans, deputy editor, EBAN
Tel: +44 (0)1279 714506. Fax: +44 (0)1279 714519. Email: richard.evans@stanstednews.com