Three Companies Awarded Highest 'Platinum' Level

The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) announced Monday the creation of the European Safety of Flight Award, which recognizes either the number of hours or the number of years a specific European operator has been operating accident free.

There are four award levels. The highest, Platinum, denotes 100,000 hrs or 50 years accident free, whichever comes first; Gold, 80,000 hrs or 40 years accident free;
Silver, 60,000 hrs or 30 years accident free; and Bronze, 40,000 hrs or 20 years accident free.

This year's recipients are:

Platinum:

• PrivatAir – 125,857 hrs accident free with eleven aircraft
• Shell Aircraft - over 50 years and in excess of 90,000 hrs of accident free flying with three aircraft
• Eurofly Service S.P.A. - in excess of 150,000 hrs and 39 years accident free with 11 aircraft

Gold:

• Aero-Dienst GmbH - 82,142 hrs accident free for 14 years with ten aircraft
• Dassault Falcon Service - in excess of 95,000 hrs accident free for 40 years with five aircraft

Silver:

• no recipients

Bronze:

• BMW Flight Service - over 21 years and 19,996 hrs accident free with six aircraft

"Safety has always been a top priority for the business aviation industry and we see it as only fitting that we publicly recognize those European flight organizations who have been successful in promoting a safety-conscious operating environment," said EBAA CEO Eric Mandemaker.

The Safety Awards were presented on Monday, May 19 during the Bombardier Safety Stand-down, as part of the EBACE2008 convention.

The 8th Annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE2008) is being held May 20 through 22, 2008, at Geneva PALEXPO Conference Center, located immediately adjacent to Geneva International Airport in Geneva, Switzerland. EBACE is organized jointly by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA).

FMI: www.ebace.aero, www.ebaa.com