The British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA), which is marking its 50th anniversary this year, held its annual conference and AGM on March 12 in London, themed “Reflections and Future Aspirations”.
“Our 50th anniversary is not just a celebration of the past, but a launchpad for the next half-century of innovation,” said Aoife O’Sullivan, BBGA Chair.
“From creating pathways for retiring military engineers, actively supporting the next generation, through to providing vital special mission solutions and supporting regional connectivity, business aviation is a broad church.”
BBGA says that, over the years, the industry has elevated to flagship private terminals hosting near supersonic, long range business jets, dedicated MROs, adoption of SAF and flying the world’s first fully certificated electric aircraft (Pipistrel Velis) at pilot training schools. BBGA’s principal cities, including London, are on the future departure boards for Advanced Air Mobility OEMs.
The event also highlighted the vital role of business aviation for emergency services. Lisa Humphries, Business Development Director, Gama Aviation; Dr Lee Moody, Deputy Medical Director, MedAire; Charlotte Young, COO of children’s charity Lia’s Wings and Gareth Evans, Aeromedical Services Director, 24/7 Aviation, were all part of an insightful panel session moderated by Paul Eden, Editor of EVA International.
Blending regional and business aviation to enhance connectivity was another key topic of discussion at the conference, with Emerald Media’s Alison Chambers moderating the panel and participants from Isles of Scilly Skybus, BEAT Aviation, UK CAA, VINI and Aurigny Air Services examining how careful planning and partnerships are just some of the key factors to consider.
AAM and Future Flight Training were addressed at a session by British Army Lieutenant Colonels Richard Evans and Paul Isitt. They discussed managing military and civil licence pathways for engineering, along with Carl Christian, Airworthiness Manager, UK CAA and Dave Edwards, Chief Executive, Royal Aeronautical Society.
Mark ‘Billy’ Billingham MBE QCB, a decorated military leader of nearly 30 years and the Chief Instructor of Channel 4’s SAS: Who Dares Wins, finished the conference by sharing his insight into how Special Forces mindset can empower business aviation leaders.
New Future Flight Working Group
As part of this year’s newly announced activities, BBGA is adding Future Flight (Urban Air Mobility and Regional Air Mobility) to its active Working Groups in response to membership interest.
The Group will be led by BBGA Vice Chair Alex Durand, CEO of SaxonAir, who commented: “Moving into our sixth decade, we see Advanced Air Mobility and clean technologies like eSAF advancing in the rear-view mirror. It’s therefore opportune to harness our accumulated knowledge and expertise and help this new sector flourish into the future with us.!
BBGA says the new group will complement its existing working groups that cover operations, flight operations, airworthiness, FBOs, sustainability and membership and events. Future Flight will have a touch point in each of these groups.
Its scope includes membership consultation to assess the group’s opportunities and challenges; outreach to regulators and the Government on new aircraft, technologies; communications with the BBGA Board and membership on key updates and milestones; and leveraging the association’s broad expertise to support integration of emerging technologies and Future Flight opportunities to inform current strategy.
