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For Immediate Release: MEDIA ADVISORY Air Charter Association of North America Hosts Critical Charter Operator / Broker Legalities Forum at NBAA2011 SALEM, N.H.—Sept. 23, 2011 (Business Wire)—The Air Charter Association of North America (ACANA), a nonprofit air charter association, will hold a forum on charter operator / broker legalities, transparency, consumer protection and update on Department of Transportation broker regulations. WHERE: ACANA’s conference takes place at the Las Vegas Convention Center during the National Business Aviation Association’s annual convention. WHEN: Oct. 10, 2011, room 3 from 1 p.m. to 2:45 p.m. WHAT: ACANA’s candid forum and Q & A features renowned aviation attorney and author Kent Jackson of Jackson & Wade, along with seven other distinguished panelists: David McCown, Air Partner V.P., ACANA chairman; Joel Thomas, Stratos Jet Charters’ president, ACANA president; Brent Moldowan, Wyvern Consulting Ltd.’s managing director, ACANA V.P.; Wayne Rizzi, Air Royale International’s president and CEO; Michael Hackert, V.P. sales/marketing of Part 121 carrier Miami Air; Steve Lister, V.P. of Part 135 carrier Jet Select; and Le Bas International’s COO Tracey Deakin. “ACANA exists to affect change through promoting best practices and balanced regulatory action. We’ve confronted concerns within our industry and to government agencies with respect to regulation,” said ACANA Chairman David McCown. Topics panelists will address include:
“With a focus on best practices and an eye towards leading regulatory efforts, ACANA offers value to consumers of air charter,” said Brent Moldowan, ACANA vice president.
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For Immediate Release: Common Values Prompt Air Charter Safety Foundation to Join ACANA The Air Charter Association of North America (ACANA), a non-profit organization dedicated to enhancing and fostering the air charter industry by promoting best practices and educating consumers about the benefits of private aviation, recently welcomed the Air Charter Safety Foundation (ACSF) as its newest member. The Air Charter Safety Foundation is a non-profit foundation established to improve the safety of air charter and shared aircraft ownership operations. The ACSF's mission is to advance charter and shared aircraft ownership industry standards and best practices; promulgate safety, security and service benchmarks; and promote the universal acceptance of safety management systems. ACANA Chairman David McCown said, "Having constructive, informed dialogue among our membership and with the broader aviation community is an essential component to fulfilling our mission. As an ACANA member, the ACSF will enhance the carrier safety operations and regulations dialogue within the ACANA group." McCown continued, "While ACANA membership includes leading Part 135 and Part 121 air carriers, it was originally founded for and continues to consist predominantly of air charter brokers. Through their own activities, the ACSF will be instrumental in communicating to its extensive membership the ACANA ideals, values and concerns. This benefits air carriers, air charter brokers and, ultimately, consumers." ACSF President Bryan Burns said he was looking forward to joining ACANA. Burns stated, "ACANA's mission to create a benchmark for excellence and professionalism helping air charter consumers to make informed decisions about their air charter service provider is exactly aligned with the ACSF's safety mission through their research, collaboration and educational programs. It's a win-win for members of both organizations." The Air Charter Safety Foundation advances charter and shared aircraft ownership industry standards and best practices; promulgates safety, security and service benchmarks; and promotes the universal acceptance of safety management systems. |
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For Immediate Release: Raising Best Practices and Ethics Jet Select Aviation and Miami Air Join ACANA SALEM, N.H., July 13, 2011—The Air Charter Association of North America (ACANA), the only nonprofit self-regulatory organization in the air charter industry that promotes best practices and ethics, welcomed air carriers Jet Select Aviation and Miami Air as its newest members today. ACANA comprises the finest, most reputable air charter service providers in North America. Its mission is to enhance and foster the air charter industry by promoting best practices and professionalism—representing ACANA members' collective regulatory interests—and educating consumers about the benefits of private aviation. ACANA Chairman David McCown, said, "Having constructive dialogue among air carriers and air charter brokers is an essential component to fulfilling our mission. It's a priority for our organization to increase the number of air carrier members. FAR Part 135 operator Jet Select Aviation and commercial Part 121 operator Miami Air join a growing number of leading air carriers who recognize the importance of working with air charter brokers in fostering professionalism and best practices across the air charter industry. This benefits air carriers, air charter brokers and ultimately consumers." ACANA President Joel Thomas said he was happy to sponsor Columbus, Ohio-based Jet Select Aviation. "Jet Select places an emphasis on customer safety; it has its own safety management system that includes internal and vendor auditing programs, risk assessment and management programs. These are the types of business practices we're looking for when we invite brokers and operators to join ACANA." As new members, Jet Select and Miami Air are not only responsible for upholding and promoting ACANA's best practices and ethics, but also responsible for setting an example for other service providers in the industry. ACANA's board agreed that Jet Select and Miami Air are more than capable of setting the benchmark for professionalism and excellence and representing the best interests of consumers. ACANA board member Kathy Byers said, "Over the years, Miami Air has been a clear leader in the Part 121 segment of the air charter industry. Its impeccable record of safety, service and wanting to work with only the most professional and ethical air charter brokers is a strong endorsement of ACANA and its mission." Karen Di Piazza |
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For Immediate Release: ACANA Plays Major Role in Air Charter Broker DOT Policy BOSTON, June 11, 2010 – Recently, the Department of Transportation (DOT) issued the most significant policy change concerning the air charter brokerage industry since 2004. The Air Charter Association of North America (ACANA), in keeping with its mission to protect the business interests of members and to foster a compliance disposition relative to the various regulatory agencies, played a pivotal role in shaping this recent policy shift. In 2009 the DOT commenced a series of inquiries involving air charter brokers that were arranging air charter services for government agencies under the aegis of a General Services Administration (GSA) contract. The DOT's initial position deemed it was unlawful for air charter brokers to act as agents of a government agency. However, for many years the GSA had awarded specific schedules to air charter brokers under which air charter services had been arranged. ACANA launched an aggressive campaign to inform and educate the DOT relative to the benefits and successful history of air charter brokers assisting government agencies with arranging air charter services. ACANA provided a single, organized and unified response on behalf of the air charter brokerage community. The association also worked with the GSA in clarifying its position relating to government charter. Thus, on April 14, 2010, the DOT issued a final order granting certain air charter brokers with indirect air carrier status—specifically to provide air charter services on behalf of U.S. governmental agencies via a GSA award. ACANA is pleased that the DOT has recognized that the air charter brokerage community continues to provide a valuable service to government agencies. The association's role in influencing this policy change evidences its growing presence in promoting air charter brokerage standards and best practices. About ACANA: The Air Charter Association of North America is a nonprofit organization consisting of the finest air charter service providers in the industry. Stringent membership requirements of ACANA ensure that its members adhere to the highest standards of ethics, integrity and professionalism. Providing a benchmark for excellence and professionalism for consumers is the association's foremost priority. For more information about ACANA, please visit www.flyacana.org. |
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For Immediate Release: ACANA Endorses NBAA Publication of Best Practices for Air Charter Brokering BOSTON, September 21, 2009 – The Air Charter Association of North America (ACANA) has formally endorsed the recent National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) publication: NBAA Best Practices for Air Charter Brokering. This publication provides confirmation that the NBAA recognizes the value that brokers bring to the business aviation community ACANA wishes to acknowledge this industry milestone and stands behind the movement for setting high standards for the brokering community. The NBAA publication addresses the role air charter brokers play in the Part 135 on-demand air charter industry (focusing on aircraft of 30 seats and less) and discusses federal regulations that must be adhered to and the best practices used throughout the air charter brokering industry. “ACANA welcomes the NBAA's efforts to establish best practices for air charter brokers. ACANA shares the goal of creating a marketplace where ethical, experienced, and highly trained brokers are the standard and not the exception” says Scott Bickford, Chairman of ACANA. “ACANA looks forward to working with NBAA and DOT in order to standardize and improve how air charter brokers provide services to their clients. We are pleased that NBAA recognizes the positive role that brokers play in the air charter industry.” Says Jonathan Tasler, President of ACANA. The Air Charter Association of North America is a non-profit organization comprised of the finest air charter service providers in the industry. The stringent membership requirements of ACANA ensure that the members adhere to the highest standards of ethics, integrity and professionalism. Providing a benchmark for excellence and professionalism for consumers is the purpose of the organization. For more information about the Air Charter Association of North America, go to www.flyacana.org. |
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For Immediate Release: Air Charter Professionals Form Organization to Promote Ethical Practices BOSTON, June 22, 2007 – A non‐profit organization dedicated to recognizing and promoting the highest standards of ethics, integrity and professionalism in the air charter industry has been formed by principals from several of the most well established and successful air charter companies in North America. With combined revenues in the hundreds of millions of dollars annually, the Air Charter Association of North America (ACANA) represents a significant presence in the aviation marketplace. The purpose of the organization is to recognize and set standards of financial stability, longevity, industry presence, ethical business practices and compliance with DOT and FAA regulations. By virtue of these standards and a company’s membership in ACANA, clients and prospective clients will have a benchmark with which to judge the air charter provider that they choose to use. “We realize that there are companies in our industry that operate with an apparent absence of ethical business practices and standards. It is our hope that the creation of ACANA will be taking the lead to promote awareness of the high level of ethics and standards that the majority in our industry operate by.” said Scott Bickford, Chairman of ACANA and CEO of Air Planning. ACANA will engage with the Department 0f Transportation to ensure that current industry regulations will be enforced and will encourage the government to take action against violators, rather than create a more burdensome regulatory environment for those who maintain a high ethical standard. “As an organization, we strongly believe that the number of companies in our industry that add value for the client and create revenue for the operators vastly outnumbers the few that choose to operate in a manner that undermines the public’s perception of our work.” said Jonathan Tasler, President of ACANA and President of Air Charter Team. The founding member companies are Air Charter Team, Air Planning, Chapman Freeborn, Le Bas, Performance Aviation and Sportsflight with an average of ten years in business. To become a member in the organization the applicant company must be sponsored by an existing member, provide certified financial information and meet a stringent list of operating criteria including but not limited to the number of years in business, permanent office space and a commitment to only working with Part 135 and Part 121 operators. |
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