From Charles Lindbergh’s grandson to the public perception of bizjets, the British Business and General Aviation Association 2024 conference provided much food for thought. PAUL E EDEN reports from London.
The British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA) held its 2024 conference, Looking Back… to the Future, in London on 7 March. The obvious security a reminder that the business aviation industry is one against which the popular media has nurtured an active, albeit largely misinformed, opposition.
Lindbergh’s legacy
Erik Lindbergh speaking at the 2024 BBGA Annual Conference. (All BBGA)
Both ironically and inevitably, sustainability remained a recurrent theme through the event, beginning with keynote speaker Erik Lindbergh. Starting with the oft-told tale of his illustrious grandfather’s epoch-making solo transatlantic flight, Lindbergh described how he sees prizes and education playing key roles in driving sustainability initiatives.
Charles Lindbergh’s 1927 flight from New York to Paris won him the $25,000 Orteig Prize (the equivalent of around $455,000 today). “His success electrified the world, although not literally,” Erik Lindbergh joked. “It led to a radical shift in how the world viewed aviation.”
Now 47 years old, the Lindbergh Foundation was established in Charles’ memory. “It allows grants and expertise to be applied to help identify funding, inspire innovation and educate” explained Lindbergh. “We’ve given ten electric aircraft awards to help get the industry moving, for example. Now we’ve formed a partnership with the XPRIZE Foundation. We think we can use an incentive prize or prizes that will help decarbonise aviation. We believe there is an opportunity in the US alone to unlock more than 10 billion gallons of sustainable aviation fuel. We need sponsors to carry our research forward and sponsors for the $10m or more prize, but we believe it would achieve the highest reduction in aviation carbon in the shortest amount of time for the least money.”
Lindbergh also took the opportunity to introduce his own company, VerdeGo Aero. Founded in 2017, VerdeGo is developing hybrid-electric propulsion systems, another piece in the complex sustainable aviation puzzle. “We’re rooted in reality, in physics, not the ‘unobtainium’ propulsion systems that we see in the advanced air mobility industry,” he stated, a telling comment from one with globally significant aviation roots.
Government input
The 2024 BBGA conference took place in London.
Lindbergh was always going to be a tough act to follow. Perhaps that’s why Aviation Minister Anthony Browne’s pre-recorded video speech felt largely superfluous.
An enduring fascination with trade association events lies in the discovery of industry-critical developments and challenges that might otherwise go unrecognised in the wider narrative. The presentation on the rollout of the UK Government’s Electronic Travel Authorisation, similar to the US ESTA scheme, was fascinating.
The subsequent panel session on EGNOS (European Geostationary Navigation Overlay Service) or, more correctly, the headache caused to aircraft operators after the government withdrew regulatory approval for UK pilots to use EGNOS post-BREXIT, effectively switching the service off in 2021. Key to 3D navigation services in the UK and enabling flights into smaller airfields, the lack of such a satellite-based augmentation system has left British general aviation hamstrung. The solution could apparently be as simple as the government taking out a £35m, five-year subscription.
Richard Koe delivered another of his whirlwind WINGX presentations, showing an overall stability in demand for business aviation flights albeit generally down from the post-covid peak. His examination of the European market revealed an important gap left by the massive reduction in regional airline routes after the pandemic, a gap business aviation is filling, connecting otherwise unserved airports.
Millions of Euros in EU funding
A model of Elfly’s Noemi electric flying boat graced the conference room.
The lunchtime media breakout session assembled a panel of industry experts for a discussion on the realities of eVTOL operations in the UK. With the gloss on these big-ticket programmes already wearing a little thin, the panellists were realistic in their assessment. The conclusion that yes, these aircraft are coming, but that there is much to do in terms of infrastructure, regulation and real-world aircraft operations, was refreshing.
There was no doubting the passion and expertise of Innovate UK’s Louise Mothersole during her Horizon Europe and Clean Aviation presentation. The Horizon Europe UK National Contact Point for Mobility, she held the audience spellbound with her description of millions of Euros in EU funding available to successful UK companies for clean aviation projects.
Elfly’s Erik Lithun concluded the event with a characteristically flamboyant presentation on his company’s electric flying boat programme, in the process perhaps illustrating a more achievable advanced air mobility solution compared to that promised by eVTOL.
Did you know?
BBGA Managing Director Lindsey Oliver sought to address negative industry perception in her presentation.
Perhaps not the most engaging content, nor the best positioned, sitting just ahead of the lunch break, BBGA Managing Director Lindsey Oliver’s presentation on the association’s Did You Know campaign and MESTRA was arguably the most important of the day.
The lead item on her agenda was how to address the negative perception of the business aviation industry. She described BBGA’s efforts to communicate and articulate the industry’s achievements and drive for sustainability ‘to those who will never use our services’. She also explained the formation of Europe’s Messaging Strategy (MESTRA) group, including BBGA, tasked with creating messaging and tools for consistent communication with targeted audiences.
Oliver went on to reveal BBGA’s own Did You Know social media campaign and #bizavenables. Did You Know will deliver key facts and messages describing business and general aviation missions beyond basic passenger transport and explaining the sector’s lead in sustainable aviation through a combination of brief, concise messages and longer, more traditional pieces, united by #bizavenables.
Lindbergh closed his conference slot with a stark message. “We have to tell this [sustainability] story. In aviation we have a target on our back. We need help telling the story, and we need people who will join us on the decarbonisation journey. For me there are three parts to that: education, decarbonisation and what I’m looking forward to the most – being able to fly in a sustainable aircraft from New York to Paris in 2027. Can it be done? I’m not sure. But I’d like to try.”
Like Lindbergh, the UK’s business and general aviation industry, represented by its trade association, has turned its attention from grand schemes and blue sky thinking to the real-world challenges of how to achieve a truly sustainable future. Significantly, it is also intent on sharing that struggle.