Aviation safety and compliance mentoring program will support flight departments

Citation

(2008), "Aviation safety and compliance mentoring program will support flight departments", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 80 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/aeat.2008.12780aab.012

Aviation safety and compliance mentoring program will support flight departments

Aviation safety and compliance mentoring program will support flight departments

The experienced staff at Baldwin Aviation Safety and Compliance is in the final stages of developing a comprehensive, interactive mentoring program that they believe will be useful to both existing and start-up flight operations. “One of the benefits of regular interaction with flight departments is the feedback and insights that they provide to us,” Baldwin noted. “It's not surprising that most of them, even ones that have been around for some time, are usually headed by very competent, experienced pilots. And, while those pilots are exceptionally capable in the cockpit, they often welcome additional inputs on the `non-flying' aspects of managing their flight operation. That's also usually true in `start-up' situations. Based on that feedback, we've determined that many of them are interested in a mentoring program that provides proven techniques, established resources and consistent advice and counsel that's available 24/7,” he added.

Baldwin, who headed both the Texaco and Coca Cola flight departments and is a Former Chairman of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Board of Directors, indicated that he expects to announce specifics of the mentoring program at this year's NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention. He has recently been working with clients to establish and implement effective business systems, policies and guidelines.

“This new mentoring program is based on our flight department start up model and provides participants with a trusted partner, who works with them. They're not looking for, and we're not interested in, managing the department for them. Instead, we work along side the managers and tap into the experience and expertise of the Baldwin team to address all aspects of their operations. Our approach is to `teach them to fish' rather than simply providing them with a single fish dinner,” he explained.

“The time to develop this type of mentoring program is obviously now,” Baldwin continued. “All of the industry forecasts indicate that significant numbers of new aeroplanes will enter the marketplace over the next decade. They will primarily go into existing flight operations. In turn, that will create a large inventory of resale aircraft which are likely to be utilised to establish new flight operations. All of them will need to be managed properly to ensure high standards of safety, efficiency and passenger confidence. We recognise the challenges and opportunities that the new flight departments, especially, will be facing and that's why we are focusing on offering assistance and ongoing support that's tailored especially for them,” Baldwin concluded.

Headquartered on Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, Baldwin Aviation Safety and Compliance was founded in 2004 to assist flight departments in meeting regulatory requirements and establishing safety- oriented operating standards. It is said to be the first and only firm of its kind to achieve the International Standard for Business Aviation Operations (IS- BAO) Registration, receiving certification in February, 2007. IS- BAO is a code of best practices which essentially structures ISO 9000 principles to apply to aviation safety.