20 March 2023
Future workforce, industry perception, how AI is advancing the industry, protecting small airfields and the wish to keep close to Europe packed a full agenda at the annual conference of the British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA) earlier this month, write Alison Chambers and Liz Danner.
This year’s move to a London venue – Royal Leonardo Hotel St Paul’s – drew a record 150 delegates, with more business aviation operators attending than ever before, including SETOps (Single Engine Turbine operations) ambassadors RavenAir and Jetfly. Engineering apprentices from new BBGA member Marshall Skills Academy attended with partner Bombardier, joining peers from London Stansted College.
Textron Aviation’s super salesman Tom Perry, affectionally known as ‘Mr Cessna’ in Europe, was announced as the 2023 winner of the Michael Wheatley outstanding achievement to industry award.
Keynote speaker Rana Walker, co-founder and principal consultant for business development and crisis management firm GR&AT, wanted everyone in the room to get on the front foot.
“Shout out and be proud of all the great work that business aviation enables,” she said.
“It’s much more likely to be medical, cargo, humanitarian, and business-related missions (versus celebrity flying.)
“We live in a world of misinformation – exacerbated by clever, disruptive AI tools like Chat GPT, so it’s your job to tell your own story,” urged Rana.
“Be visible, locally and regionally, engage, collaborate and use social media platforms Instagram, TikTok and Twitter to combat misinformation from business aviation opponents. Work with a futurist and add a science-based activist to your Board to enhance awareness,” she suggested.
[embedyt] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lVSBRqPzKJw[/embedyt]
During a lunchtime media briefing, sponsored by Hunt & Palmer, Pula Aviation’s Centreline shared they were the first in the UK to offer Sustainable Aviation Fuel (SAF) from their Bristol Airport FBO. Pilots just turn up and opt to take SAF. “They rarely do, however,” said COO Gus Paterson, underlining that even when it’s readily available, the cost needs to come down for widespread use.
James Hardie, founder of Course Correction Consulting, highlighted what Millennials and Gen Z want from a future career and how the misconception of business aviation may be stopping them from going down that path.
“They may have had a parent or sibling in aviation who lost work during Covid, putting them off – it’s not just the sustainability issue.”
“They do want work/life balance, flexible hours, remote working, health and well-being,” he said. “Other important criteria are an inclusive environment, an employer with a global outlook, which maximises technology, innovation and pushes boundaries. They will find all that in business aviation.”
The workforce theme was addressed by Sophie Jones, Head of Organisational Capability at the UK Civil Aviation Authority.
“The UK CAA used to be the place that people would come to after they had worked in the aviation industry, or in the military,” she said.
“We are now helping to build industry careers. We have ramped up over the past six months and welcomed 50 apprentices across 10 apprenticeship standards.
“And it’s not just 18 to 24 year olds. Our recruits range from new apprentices in their early careers to existing colleagues looking to learn new skills. We’ve had people in their 40s and 50s looking to retrain – and we want to do more.”
The CAA is now looking to support new opportunities for apprenticeships for roles in flight operations, data/technology and ground handling.
The CAA’s ‘Career Tree’ showing ways into aviation employment
Sophie presented a newly launched careers ‘tree’ which BBGA Managing Director Lindsey Oliver helped inspire, showing a wide range of aviation career opportunities.
Over the summer, the CAA supported a successful internship programme with Cranfield University, achieving a 70% retention rate. It’s progressing with a similar programme with Cranfield this year and its virtual work experience programme, launched in 2022 in partnership with Springpod, funded by the DfT, has attracted 2,000 students nationally.
The virtual programme returns this year, together with the development of an in person programme. The CAA’s STEM microsite continues to be developed – a valuable resource hub for teachers, students and parents.
“Working closely with the Government-funded Talent Retention Scheme and Talent View has delivered excellent results,” said Marc Bailey, BBGA’s CEO.
TRS has now aligned with schools to provide 50,000 students with aviation content. Some 337 organisations support TRS now. (At the time of this event it was showing over 1,000 live jobs). Careers days have been held at Farnborough and London Biggin Hill Airports.
BBGA’s closeness to the Department for Transport (DfT) and the UK CAA is important for its nearly 200-strong membership and the association’s working groups (including Operations, FBO and sustainability).
“We work closely with other associations and are ramping up our GA for biz activity. Keeping a voice within EASA is a priority. It’s important we retain our European links and ‘stay in the game,” said Marc.
David Kendrick, Head of Licensing at the UK CAA, summarised the regulator’s work in numbers during 2022:
“This year the focus is for airline licensing,” said Mr Kendrick, “including the wish to see seamless foreign carrier permits and a doubling down on illegal public transport (in the wake of the high-profile Sala case). Allow us to help you, but sometimes you need to help yourselves,” he concluded.
A panel addressing small UK airports, chaired by Marc Bailey, tackled levelling up and an urgent need for support.
“You don’t need levelling up with a whole-country approach,” said Alex Durand, CEO of SaxonAir.
John Gilder, co-chair of General Aviation Awareness Council (GAAC) and the Airports’ Working Group of the All Party General Aviation APPG (which Grant Shapps used to chair) has been advocating for a strategic airfield network review on how these airfields are used.
“We would like to examine if these sites are in the right place,” he said. “Most small airports are disproportionately concentrated in the east of the British Isles. Do we need more, can we afford to lose some? We’ve been waiting some time for government approval to start this and agree the funding,” said Mr Gilder.
Deemed to be ‘brownfield sites, “airfields are easy targets for housing and commercial redevelopment,” said Steve Ford of consultancy Sky Harbour UK.
Sky Harbour moved to Coventry Airport only to learn weeks later, it was to close to be redeveloped as an automotive battery production facility.
“We spent a year engaging with anyone and everyone at Coventry, using guerrilla marketing to get the message across that an airport’s value to the community is vital,” said Steve. “It’s an ongoing problem, but we’re part of the solution. We are custodians of this industry and we can’t lose connectivity.”
SaxonAir CEO Alex Durand asked, “Do drones need airfields, or do you have an airfield as a Centre of Excellence where traditional skills and education and opportunities come together to feed in and out of.”
John Gilder highlighted we have 28 trauma hospitals in the UK yet 18 do not have a heli-pad. “Government attention is needed to realise a long-term strategy, but in preparation, airfields should keep close to their tenants, airfield users and local communities,” he said.
The shortage of engineers was covered too. Aircraft are flying more. Wages are increasing and the market is competitive. Inevitably, it will be a struggle in the next five years and so far the sector has not been recognised on any Government future talent scheme.
Paul Thompson, General Manager at Bombardier London Service Centre, which formally opened at Biggin Hill Airport last autumn, said he’d like to see more support for this hugely important sector. Bombardier has grown its engineering team from an initial 150 to 260 and is upping that to 280 by year end.
“Issues related to work permits, licensing engineers continues to be a major hindrance and it’s not getting any better,” said Sebastian Albouy, General Manager of Inflite The Jet Centre.
The popularity of this year’s London venue means that BBGA will return to a central London venue in March 2023.
