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NBAA News Bureau

IS-BAO Marks Five Years of Operational Excellence

ATLANTA, GA, September 27, 2007 – It seems like yesterday, but it has been five years since the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) was unveiled. During NBAA’s 60th Annual Meeting & Convention, Kathy Perfetti, the former Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) official who was named standards manager for the International Business Aviation Council (IBAC) earlier this year, led a panel discussion on IS-BAO for operators who are interested in operating to IS-BAO’s high levels of safety and professionalism.

Developed by IBAC and its member associations, including NBAA, IS-BAO has been embraced by nearly 100 operators worldwide since its introduction. Perfetti noted that the compilation of best practices applies to any flight department, even if they only fly domestically. IS-BAO, which takes the management excellence principles of ISO 9000 and tailors them to business aviation, works for FAR Part 91 and 135 flight departments of any size. Indeed, IS-BAO is a flexible system because it offers guidance, but allows aircraft operators to determine the processes they will use to meet the IS-BAO principles.

The core of IS-BAO is a safety management system that advocates proactive management of risk. Operators that want to operate to IS-BAO go through a registration (certification) process, which begins with ordering an IS-BAO manual from their national aviation association. Operators that sign up for the program not only receive the set of standards, but a wealth of associated guidance material similar to the information found in FAA advisory circulars.

After working to define the processes that will enable them to meet IS-BAO, a third-party auditor confirms that they have met those requirements. Registrations can be renewed every two years, which is important because IS-BAO continues to be refined and updated annually.

IS-BAO has yielded tangible safety benefits for operators. Going through the registration process has served as a team-building exercise for many operators, and some have been able to reduce their insurance premiums once they achieved IS-BAO registration. A recent study indicated that 70 percent of business aviation accidents over a five-year period could have been prevented had the operators involved followed IS-BAO principles.

General information on IS-BAO can be found at www.nbaa.org/ops/is-bao. And if your company is interested in operating to the highest levels but has not yet achieved IS-BAO registration, visit the IBAC web site at www.ibac.org or contact Kathy Perfetti at (540) 785-6415 or kperfetti@ibac.org.