BACA - The Air Charter Association recently held another of its training sessions for members, focusing on best practice. The latest event was, according to BACA, well-attended with representatives from twelve major broking companies, operators, service companies and handlers in attendance.

The event kicked off with a session by Gogo Business Aviation and a presentation from Jim Zanino on inflight connectivity. Jim was able to demonstrate how its sophisticated platforms operate to keep clients connected on board and how far that technology has advanced.

The mainstay of the day was BACA's own guide to best practice, delivered by Julie Black of Hunt & Palmer and Kevin Ducksbury of Emerge Aviation. Focussing on ‘the role of the broker’, many aspects of arranging a charter flight were covered in detail, including: defining the broker relationship, prequalification, types of and reasons for charter; key operational aspects such as the Freedoms of the Air, airport choice, permits, crew duty, safety checks, pricing pitfalls and liability.

The afternoon session delved deeper into the role of the broker. Synergy Aviation's Richard Nolan gave a concise presentation, detailing the charter process from the operator's perspective, with tips on their expectations of the broking relationship. The session included operational procedures and resources alongside the importance of account management, client retention and business development.

BACA chairman Richard Mumford concluded the day by saying that the informative presentations had clearly demonstrated the complexity of the charter process and the value that the broker brings to that relationship, for both client and operator alike.