BACA chairman Tony Coe

BACA hits all-time high

These are busy times at BACA; we recently held the agm and are in the midst of preparations for the spring lunch. As you may have seen, I am pleased to report that BACA membership is now at an all-time high with more than 220 members. This is quite an incredible achievement, particularly in light of the difficult times the industry has come through, and I look forward to welcoming new members in person at the spring lunch.

The BACA council has been busy on a number of fronts and, among other things, is discussing and working on: illegal charters and how to combat the spreading disease of operating private jets for commercial gain; online and training sessions for industry recruits; runway closures and keeping what we already have; and finalising the Registered and Certified Broker programmes with ARGUS. On this matter we are pleased to advise that the EU now has its first ARGUS Registered Broker in the UK – FlyMeNow – and we look forward to the momentum gathering on this work.

The spring lunch will take place on April 22 at the Merchant Taylors' Hall, London, and this year the chairman's charity is Friends of Humanity which supports underprivileged communities in Africa, India and South America. They are delighted to receive the support of BACA and I hope we can pull out all the stops to deliver a generous contribution.

Looking a little further ahead there is a general election in the UK on May 7. At the time of writing it is certainly unclear which party might get elected. We have to hope that whichever administration is in power, its policies will be aviation friendly and it does not see our industry as an easy target for raising tax revenues. Once the Government is in place then BACA intends to join the lobby for the reduction, or indeed abolition, of APD. It is stifling growth in our industry and that is exactly why it has been dropped by Scotland, among other countries. The WTO estimates it costs the UK a minimum of $6.3 billion in lost trade, whereas revenue to the Customs and Excise is around $3 billion. Italy experienced an 18% drop in its business aircraft flights with such a tax. The business lost probably exceeds the tax income by billions. Whichever party, or parties, form the next UK administration I can assure you that BACA will be representing your interests at every opportunity.

I look forward to welcoming many of you to the BACA spring lunch. Happy brokering! Tony Coe, chairman, BACA