It is challenging to find yourself charged with the continuity of the excellent work achieved by Brian Humphries in his past capacity as EBAA chairman. Fortunately, he is our new ceo and I am certain he will manage the association with passion and wisdom.

As the new chairman, and besides the normal load of my tasks, I will be more political as I have to give the guidelines to the association’s policies.

I will take personal care of the organisation’s relationship with the European Commission, its Parliament and also with the governments of the 25 EU nations. My goal is to let all of them understand that business aviation is not a ‘toy for rich and famous people’ but an important tool for the economic development of

our continent.

I would like to see EBAA present in all of the 25 states and create strong relations with Russia and also with the Mediterranean countries because, in my opinion, this is European business aviation’s community of tomorrow.

I will draw to the attention of our authorities the fact that our needs must be differentiated from other forms of aviation (general or line and charter). Our industry will contribute to defining appropriate rules regarding flight time, airport access, security, taxes and fees to name a few.

Competition in the present global economy fosters the necessity to be more efficient and more present in the market, in order to increase our productivity of the ‘buying time’ management. Business aviation

can achieve that and we will be proactive in developing business aviation in Europe.

Rodolfo Baviera, Chairman, EBAA.