Governance · Edition III · September MMXXVI · 5 min
xxxvi. Ramp · ten clauses, written down before they're needed
A written aviation policy turns individual preference into an operating standard. It should be short enough to use under time pressure and detailed enough to resolve disputes about authorization, priority, cost, and risk.
Core sections
The policy should cover:
- Purpose and scope: which entities, principals, employees, guests, and aircraft are covered.
- Trip authorization: who may request, approve, amend, or cancel a mission.
- Mission classification: business, personal, security, medical, philanthropic, or other categories.
- Operational authority: the flight department or legal operator retains authority over safety and dispatch decisions.
- Aircraft selection: passenger count, baggage, range, runway, airport, weather, and crew considerations.
- Supplemental lift: when charter is permitted and who pays or approves it.
- Operator vetting: certificate, aircraft authorization, insurance, safety data, and contract review.
- Privacy and data: passenger information, manifests, communications, and vendor access.
- Financial controls: quotes, taxes, repositioning, cancellation, deposits, and invoice approval.
- Review cycle: when the policy is updated and who owns the document.
NBAA recommends that aircraft-use policies establish guidelines based on business goals and define procedures for requesting and authorizing aircraft use. Its sample policy material also addresses scheduling priorities and supplemental lift when the company aircraft is unavailable or unsuitable.
Keep safety authority separate
The policy shouldn't require a crew to accept a trip because it's been approved commercially. The pilot in command and operator must retain authority over safety, weather, aircraft condition, and regulatory compliance. The FAA defines operational control as authority over initiating, conducting, or terminating a flight; that responsibility must not be blurred by a family-office policy or a broker arrangement.
Review and evidence
Every exception should be recorded. If a trip was approved outside normal notice, required an aircraft substitution, or used an unfamiliar operator, the file should explain why. NBAA notes that policies should be updated as operations change, with a suggested review interval depending on the operation's rate of change.
Related reading
Governance
Aviation as a family office line item, done right.
A principal can ask for privacy, speed, and flexibility. The gatekeeper still needs a defensible process for approving trips, selecting providers, and reporting cost.
Governance
When a flight department should charter instead of fly.
Chartering isn't a referendum on the owned aircraft. It's a capacity decision — use the fleet when it's the right tool, and source lift when it isn't.
Governance
Supplemental lift, for the mission your aircraft can't fly.
Supplemental lift isn't an admission that the flight department failed. It's a capacity-control mechanism — and it works best when the triggers are defined before the request is urgent.
§For correspondence on this note — or any mission it raises — write directly to the principal.