Three months after September 11 corporate flight departments with aircraft registered outside the U.S. were still experiencing serious difficulties operating into and within U.S. airspace. For each planned flight, not-for-hire operators (Part 91 equivalent) are still required to apply to the FAA for waivers to the ban on non-N-registered aircraft that was imposed after September 11. Notams have warned foreign operators that their aircraft can be shot down if they enter U.S. airspace without this clearance.

According to the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA), the FAA’s response time to these waiver applications varies from a couple of days to several weeks. Under the requirements of notams 1/0613, 1/0617 and 1/0628, operators have to provide FAA officials with full details of the planned trip, as well as precise information about the crew, passengers and aircraft.

EBAA chief executive Fernand François told AIN that the resulting delays and loss of flexibility for European business aircraft operators are “particularly frustrating when you realize that U.S. aircraft are flying freely into Europe.” However, he stressed that the disruptive effects of the FAA restrictions have been partly alleviated thanks to the intervention of both NBAA and the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC).

Anecdotal evidence from several European corporate pilots speaking to AIN on condition of anonymity suggests that enforcement of the security-driven restrictions on foreign aircraft may not be consistent. For instance, the chief pilot of a UK-based super-midsize aircraft owned by a Middle Eastern group was able to pull strings to get rapid approval for a domestic flight along the U.S. East Coast. The company’s attorney was able to persuade former secretary of state James Baker to use his influence with the Bush Administration to get the waiver application fast-tracked.

On November 28 the FAA lifted the waiver requirement for aircraft registered in Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas, Bermuda, the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands. These aircraft are now permitted to fly into and within U.S. airspace, provided they use an authorized port of entry and meet FAA security regulations.

According to Signature Flight Support at London Luton Airport, the waiver requirement for non-N-registered aircraft has not proved to be excessively taxing, especially with NBAA assistance. According to the handling company, even Saudi-registered jets have been able to get clearance into U.S. airspace.

EBAA has drafted new security recommendations for European business aircraft operators and FBOs but will not publish these until final amendments have been approved by the organization’s board of directors. This was expected at press time.

FBO Security Response ‘Mixed’

According to corporate pilots interviewed by AIN, the post-September 11 security response of FBOs on both sides of the Atlantic has been mixed. Some reported a strong police and military presence at facilities. However, a couple of UK crews said that they had been shocked to see “illogical” procedures being followed, such as bags being loaded directly onto the aircraft by FBO staff before passengers and crew had cleared security checks, and knives being collected and bagged together before being put on the aircraft.

Nonetheless, many executive charter operators and brokers have started to implement new security controls such as background checks on any new or relatively unknown customers. In some instances, this has made it difficult to respond to short-notice charter requests.

After several weeks of great uncertainty and visibly suppressed activity levels, European business aviation appears to be slowly recovering. “We now view the glass as being half full rather than half empty,” reflected Jonathan Howells, who heads Universal Weather & Aviation’s marketing operation in Europe. “A lot of business travel was temporarily stopped but now we expect to see an upturn in January.” Howells confirmed that European corporate flight department activity had generally been “quieter” since September 11.

He echoed a view heard from several other executive aviation service providers, namely that economic considerations have now become more central to the future of business aviation than the security concerns with which most companies were preoccupied immediately after September 11. During October and November, aircraft sales executives and charter operators alike reported steep increases in inquiry rates from people new to corporate aviation, but as of the middle of last month few of these inquiries had been converted into new business. “I think we will see a reformatted market [for executive charter], with the less serious players dropping out,” Howells concluded.

According to Jamie Martin, marketing director of UK-based charter broker Hunt & Palmer, security concerns over airline service have generated some new business for executive aircraft operators, but this has not fully compensated for the decline in bookings due to the economic downturn since September 11. He said charter operations within Europe had been badly affected for the past three months by blanket bans on all corporate air travel imposed by some large companies in France and Germany. “This caused an already quiet year to get worse,” Martin noted. “More and more people have been reevaluating their flight requirements.”

Growth Possibilities

But he indicated that demand began to pick up last month and predicted further improvement early this year. In Martin’s view, the anticipated upturn will be driven by three factors: security concerns; reduced airline service; and the fact that, following numerous layoffs, the remaining executives will be under increased pressure from even more demanding travel itineraries.

In recent weeks there have been tangible signs that serious executive charter players in Europe are still ratcheting up their commitment to the market. For example, three new Citation Excels have been delivered over the last quarter to London Executive Aviation (LEA) and Chauffair in the UK and to Helsinki, Finland-based Jetflite. At press time, London Biggin Hill Airport-based Gold Air was to take delivery of the last of four new Learjet 45s it ordered.

LEA managing director George Galanopoulos is among those who believe that the post-September 11 world presents very real possibilities for business aviation growth. He claimed to have received several bookings and repeat bookings from companies new to executive charter.

“In the past we’ve tried to sell flexibility, time saving, privacy and the ability to work on board,” he told AIN. “Now security is another benefit we can sell. We see it when people call–they want to know how private it is, whether they have to use public airport terminals–and they are pleased when they [find out about business aviation].”

Galanopoulos said that LEA crews have been asked to be more vigilant over security, ensuring that the aircraft is locked and parked within sight of the FBO and placed under guard at night.

In the first six months of last year, LEA saw a 10-percent decline in its charter bookings compared with the same period in 2000, which had been a “very good” year. Galanopoulos predicted that several smaller operators will be forced out of business during the first part of this year, largely due to the increased cost burden resulting from Europe’s new JAR OPS 1 requirements for holders of commercial air operator certificates.

With the arrival of a new Dassault Falcon 2000 in November, Signature Aircraft Charter’s fixed-wing fleet now numbers seven (two of which are managed exclusively for their owners). It also operates 10 twin-engine helicopters–six of which are available for charter. The most recent addition to its rotorcraft contingent was a Sikorsky S-76B that arrived in May.

According to the operator’s managing director, Jonathan Soper, demand for charter flights within Europe was about as quiet as would be expected for the last quarter of a year. Bookings in November were actually somewhat ahead of expectations, although charter from Europe to the U.S. has generally slowed–apparently due to budgetary concerns at major companies. Contrasting this, he said, is a growing number of inquiries from companies concerned about the security of their top executives.

The continuing security crisis has continued to drive up insurance costs for operators such as Signature by as much as 50 percent. On top of basic premiums, insurance companies are levying additional charges to cover flights to high-risk locations, such as the Middle East. In fact, a flight to Tel Aviv, Israel, required a premium supplement of approximately $4,600.

Signature’s executive handling team at Luton reported that after some quiet weeks immediately following September 11, traffic levels have started to pick up. In particular, demand for handling by U.S. corporate operators flying into the UK has reportedly recovered.