The National Business Aviation Association’s newly launched Owner Pilot Association Coalition (NBAA OPAC) has announced five new priorities to boost support for business aviators. Group members widely welcomed the priorities in a statement released Friday at the annual EAA AirVenture event at Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
The five priorities include:
- assisting aging pilots to gain comprehensive insurance coverage fairly;
- developing digital tools to improve safety and training;
- finding a solution to support aging pilots’ insurance coverage;
- finding a way to improve air traffic control services and addressing training requirements
- streamlining NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) and OPAC coalition events to provide owner-pilots the resources they need
NBAA senior vice president of strategy, marketing and innovation, Andrew Broom, said the new focus areas are just the beginning of what the coalition hopes to achieve, adding that there would be more updates at this year’s NBAA-BACE convention in Orlando.
“The flight path developed by NBAA and its coalition of owner-pilot organizations offers just a first glimpse of what can be realized when we mobilize together on key priorities and address challenges collectively,” Broom said in a released statement.
Pilot Groups Voice Support for New Initiatives
Launched in February, NBAA OPAC brings together leaders of business aircraft owner-pilot organizations in a collaborative effort to tackle top concerns for business aviators and explore opportunities to grow the owner-operator community.
Representatives include Cirrus Vision Pilots and Owners (VPO), Citation Jet Pilots Association (CJP), Embraer Jet Operators Association (EJOA), Malibu M-Class Owners and Pilots Association, Pilatus Owners and Pilots Association (POPA), and TBM Owners and Pilots Association (TBMOPA). Last October, during the Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition, NBAA hosted a series of forums to support these owner-pilot groups, which proved essential in building this new coalition.
The announcement at AirVenture gained support from members who said collaboration and learning across the coalition would benefit pilots in individual groups. Jenna Reid, executive director for the Malibu Owners and Pilots Association, said the NBAA’s move to consolidate leadership across the coalition would vastly expand resources for owner-operators.
Dale Huffstetler, who leads the Cirrus Vision Pilots and Owners group, said, “NBAA’s Owner Pilot Association Coalition has the ability to build one strength upon another. Industry-wide issues often affect pilots of all aircraft types. Learning from each other and tackling those issues together will be a great benefit.”
NBAA also received FLYING‘s Innovation Award at AirVenture for its efforts to promote sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) and other solutions aimed at reaching net-zero emissions for the industry by 2050.
The 2022 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition will be held from October 18-20. It is expected to attract nearly 1,000 companies across the industry as NBAA celebrates its 75th anniversary.
