AINsight: Euro Bizav Leaders Get Real about Challenges

Coming from Athens in the East to Lisbon in the West, European industry leaders converged on the Swiss city Basel three weeks ago for AIN’s inaugural Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit in Europe. We’ve run these events for a couple of years, and to say that the circumstances faced by operators on either side of the Atlantic are different would be an understatement.

For a start, all but one of the senior pilots and managers in attendance at CALS Europe were not with a traditional corporate flight department, as is commonly the case at our U.S. events. Most were from aircraft management and charter businesses, and what immediately became apparent in discussions is how resourceful and entrepreneurial they have to be to thrive in what can be a very challenging market.

Many of the participants were well into decades-long careers that had seen them responsible for multiple aircraft types. They told jaw-dropping—and profoundly off-the-record—stories about the extraordinary array of clients they have served, including multiple kings, princes, duchesses, and world leaders. Oh, if walls had ears.

And then there’s Europe itself with its largely well-below-par economies and alarming instability at its borders. The week before CALS Europe, Russian drone incursions into Polish airspace closed four airports, and the following week saw similar security threats in Denmark and Norway. These and many other threats, including GPS spoofing, were topics addressed in the security roundtable discussion that formed part of the CALS agenda.

But our European business aviation professionals seemed to take the specter of World War III in stride, perhaps because they feel they have no option but to be phlegmatic. Or perhaps it’s because their skins have thickened from years of dealing with Europe’s complex and demanding regulatory environment.

Keep Calm and Carry On

What impressed me is how they calmly navigate the assortment of regulatory Gordian Knots and Byzantinely complex obligations, such as the European Union’s ReFuelEU requirements for sustainable aviation fuel use. From across the continent, we heard insider hacks and workarounds served up with laughter and eye-rolling glances aimed at Europe’s politicians and regulators.

I had the privilege to moderate a roundtable discussion on recruitment and skills. Not everything I heard tallied with my preconceptions, which was refreshing. And the eloquence of delegates, almost all speaking in second- or third-language English, was truly impressive.

In the big picture, Europe’s business aviation sector continues to be plagued by some of the shortages experienced in North America in terms of suitably qualified flight crew and support personnel. If anything, I got the impression the problem on my side of the pond [Ed. note: Charles lives in London] is more acute around maintenance technicians than it is for pilots, but it’s certainly a mixed picture, and many of the delegates talked in terms of “skills bottlenecks limiting industry growth.”

From the frontlines in multiple countries, experts explained how the problem is not just a matter of fewer people wanting to work in business aviation—although that is part of the equation. One CAMO responsible manager said the training process for B1 and B2 maintenance licenses is chronically outdated and out of step with the wider educational environment. He called for regulators to be more flexible to preserve both safety and competitiveness for Europe’s industry.

Write Your Own Paycheck

I’d assumed I would hear stories about pilots being able to write their own paychecks due to high demand, when in fact this appears to be more the case for maintenance crews. One senior captain told us that something like 600 business aviation pilots lost their jobs as a direct result of Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine, which resulted in the grounding of 200 or more Russian-owned jets. In his view, at least as many jobs were lost in the U.S. market among expatriate pilots, but the difference was that most of these people could readily go home and find other employment.

The discussion also touched on the need for employers to offer more than just generous salaries. Increasingly, prospective employees—and yes, the term Millennials came up more than once—are looking for their desired work/life balance and family-friendly rosters. There was also talk of how expensive it has become for operators and aircraft owners to support multiple type ratings in their pilot cohorts.

Other topics we covered in roundtable huddles included artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, permits, third-country operations, and sustainability. CALS Europe was one of the most illuminating weeks I’ve spent in more than 30 years of covering this industry as a reporter. The pity is that under the Chatham House Rule, which makes these discussions so real, I can’t name names or give specifics.

I’ll save all that for my memoirs or the “tales from the private jet cabin” blockbuster I hope to write someday. Hugh Grant has graciously agreed to play me in the movie adaptation, although some colleagues have suggested that Rowan Atkinson’s Mr. Bean persona would be a better fit.