ACE Charter Broker Event Steps Up Another Gear
One-day event at Biggin Hill is now a must-attend event for brokers, a year after the Air Charter Association (BACA) started co-organizing it.
The static display at this year's ACE event attracted a number of business aircraft. (Photo: Ian Sheppard)

This year's Air Charter Expo, held at London Biggin Hill Airport on Tuesday, September 11, proved again the need for an event dedicated to the charter broker community. Attendee numbers were up again to around 1,000, with more than 60 exhibitors and 20 aircraft, show sales manager Mark Ranger told AIN. The event is organized by Stansted News (publisher of EBAN magazine) and BACA, the Air Charter Association.


The event, formerly "BGAD" (Business and General Aviation Day), grew significantly last year, the first year BACA was involved as co-organizer, as the association rallied its members, and that trend continued again this year with a further boost.


He also said the charter broker community had been very poorly served by business aviation shows, and in general "without the brokers, operators don't fly." This year's event saw a new feature in a CEO session where Dave Edwards, BACA's first CEO (appointed last year), explained how BACA is stepping up a gear in various respects. He reported that BACA has "around 235 members now" and is building up its working groups and events, lobbying activities, and planning of training webinars, such as one in Ireland covering aviation risk.


BACA chairman Richard Mumford, an aviation lawyer, said London Biggin Hill Airport is continuing to see development, making it a good venue for ACE. He welcomed the jobs created by the likes of Bombardier and Textron, plus the Signature FBO, Pilatus dealer Oriens Aviation and various others, and the plan for a new aviation training college on the airport.


With BACA's mission statement being centered on improving standards in charter brokering, Mumford said while broker firms can now obtain Argus accreditation for quality, BACA has started to think through a qualification for charter brokers themselves, a "Certified Broker Training Program."


Edwards said BACA is also getting more involved with issues such as tackling gray charter, working with EBAA, for example. "The regulators aren't doing much," he reflected.


In the static display (outside and inside the main show hangar), most of the aircraft were open, and some broker firms bused in employees so they could get a feel for the industry and aircraft that they arrange for their clients. The aircraft ranged from a Cirrus Vision Jet and various helicopters, through a King Air and a Piaggio Avanti, to an Airbus Corporate Jet and a Boeing 737-200, recently converted by 2Excel Aviation with all-business-class seating. The show, and BACA, itself, focus on all areas of air charter including airlines that lease their aircraft for charter.


Mumford noted, "The biggest challenge of all is the image and reputation of business aviation," and BACA continues to work with other associations to help change any negative perceptions or misunderstandings. "BACA is a global association and we have opportunities to engage with other associations [around the world]." To this end, it is attending events and holding meetings with other business aviation associations, aiming to raise standards and tackle common concerns.


He concluded, "Next year is BACA's 70th anniversary, so we'll be marking that in some form." This will be reflected at ACE 2019, again at Biggin Hill.