Focus Will Be On Developing Standards For East, West

The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) will host its third regional forum entitled "One Europe: A Roadmap for Aligning East and West", January 20-21 at the Hilton Vienna in Austria. 

During this interactive two-day forum, guest speakers such as Dr. Caspar Einem, president of the Austrian Business Aviation Association; Leonid Koshelev, chairman of the Russian United Business Aviation Association; and Kimon Daniilidas, chairman of the Hellenic Air Carriers Association, will join EBAA Chairman Rodolfo Baviera and EBAA CEO and President Brian Humphries in addressing a range of issues including aircraft financing challenges, achieving industry standards for insurance benefits, and easing access for Eastern Europe-based operators into Western Europe and vice versa. A full schedule of speakers and discussion points will be released in the coming weeks.

"As the influence of business aviation increases, it is ever-more crucial that European operators regularly convene to discuss challenges and share best practices to ensure safe and fair operations across the breadth of Europe," says Humphries. "In our ongoing series of regional forums, we've selected 'One Europe' as a theme to emphasize the necessity of harmonizing practices -operations, safety, services and pricing - in order to erase distinctions between activities in the North and South or East and West."

Forum participants will be encouraged not only to exchange insights but also to help develop a strategic action plan to achieve a standardized treatment and operation of Biz-Av activities across Europe.

"The European National Associations are non-profit organisations and are therefore able to keep fees to a minimum for such regional events, which are run on a 'not for profit basis' unlike other conferences," explains ABAA's Dr. Caspar Einem. "Furthermore all income is channeled directly back into our organisations to further develop activities that directly benefit the business aviation community.

"Regional forums are also distinctive because they are meetings in which issues are discussed AND acted upon. They offer a chance for members of the community to speak their minds so that National Associations like the ABAA can advocate on their behalf at local level, and the EBAA can reliably serve as their voice at European and international level."

The "One Europe" Forum in Vienna is open to both members and non-members of the European Business Aviation Association. EBAA members, however, have an opportunity to exhibit during the forum as well.

FMI: www.ebaa.org