BOSTON, Mass. — 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.
Betsy Nocton of American Trans Air and Laura Douglas of US Airways have accepted an invitation from ACANA to serve as Advisory Board Members to the organization.
More information: http://www.flyacana.org
[tags]Air Charter Association of North America, ACANA, successful air charter companies, compliance with FAA regulations[/tags]
