Not so long ago, members of the GAMTA council were debating the ever-widening range of regulatory burdens facing our industry. One of our distinguished council members was incensed. Why were we running around chasing after all these different issues, he asked. Why didn’t we take a strategic look at the future of our industry and follow a plan?

That day, the idea of a GAMTA strategy was launched and a tight working group was set up to develop a plan that would form the basis of our work on behalf of the industry. We recognised that relationships with the authorities at home and in Europe were undergoing change. Furthermore, we recognised that the volume of legislative and regulatory work does not abate. And we recognised that senior figures in our industry were finding that they have less time to devote to the affairs of their Association. We needed a strategic planning framework.

But there were other factors that would change our role and influence the shape of our strategy. There was the transition from the Joint Aviation Authorities to the European Aviation Safety Agency. Businesses are now less tied to the state of the owner’s domicile and European Union liberalisation packages have opened up new markets. Our strategy would have to address the major issues, seizing the key “balls in the air”, and would have to give a clear message to government and the authorities. We would have to ensure that we did not merely voice opinion against those things that we don’t like but instead would present constant, thoughtful, fact-rich argument that convinces through its lucidity and common-sense.

We developed a comprehensive but flexible plan, tailored to our industry, containing tabulated aims, policies and objectives. The policies, currently numbering around 40 in total, cover a wide range of disciplines in the industry and each policy contains a clear objective and a breakdown of how we will achieve those objectives.

Most of our objectives are familiar to business aviation operators. It’s quite a list: Promotion, safety, environment, government policy, uniform application of JARs in Europe, a means of consultation in EASA, fair and equitable access to airports, cost-effective regulation, reason-able taxation, new technology without burdensome regulation, harmonised certification standards in Europe and a prompt JAA process, appropriate JARs for commercial and corporate operators, a fair European flight time limitations scheme, suitable and convenient type-training rules, retention of weight-related Eurocontrol charges, removal of national special requirements and airworthiness directives, improved temporary import procedures, consistency of VAT and duty in Europe and prompt and fair validation processes for imported aircraft.

We also used the development of the Strategy to examine our relationships with other organisations in general and business aviation. If we are going to meet our objectives, then close cooperation will be necessary, particularly as the European Aviation Safety Agency develops. Over the past two years we have entered a number of alliances with other bodies to tackle particular issues – this has been a successful policy. There may even be a need for mergers in the future, giving member companies better value for money through combining the skills that organisations offer.

So what, in essence, does the GAMTA Strategy mean? It means that because of increasing legislative and regulatory burdens, we need a cohesive plan to best represent our industry. It means that, in future, we will present our arguments lucidly and logically to the authorities and government as a package. It means that we will have a clear list of aims, policies and objectives, which we will present clearly to the authorities and government. And, finally, it means that we will form alliances and maybe mergers with other organisations to best serve our industry.

In summary, we want a safe, profitable, competitive, expanding general and business aviation industry in the UK planning to meet the opportunities of the markets and constraints of the future.

Graham Forbes, GAMTA chief executive, www.gamta.com