Safety is something we demonstrate on a day to day basis at Solairus, and we encourage you to work with an aircraft management company that values private aircraft safety as its top priority. Those with the highest safety standards go beyond standard aircraft management and FAA approval to hold top certifications from leading independent aviation-auditing firms.
ARG/US
The Aviation Research Group/US (ARG/US) audits an operator’s maintenance records, flight history, insurance coverage, the frequency of aircraft inspections and a program’s ability to meet or exceed FAA standards. Other considerations include pilot training, flight hours and pilot medical records. ARG/US has four rating tiers for operators: Does Not Qualify, Gold, Gold Plus and Platinum. All ARG/US-rated operators must provide the auditing firm with its latest records to ensure that they’re cleared before each flight. Before flights, individuals and brokers can use ARG/US’ TripCheq to ensure that the aircraft, crew and trip meet the auditing firm’s standards. This is important because the FAA may not allow an operator to fly to certain parts of the world. Operators with an ARGUS Platinum rating are experienced, meet the criteria for the Gold rating, pass the Platinum safety audit, and have a Safety Management System and Emergency Response Plan. In 2012, only 5 percent of the operators in the U.S. held a Platinum rating.
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Wyvern
Wyvern Consulting was the first aircraft safety auditing firm in the country. Providing services to operators in the U.S. and some parts of Europe, the company offers different levels of audits that comply with industry standards. Registered Operator is its entry-level program in which operators have their records on file in the due diligence-related Registered Standard PASS Program that Wyvern’s corporate, operator and broker clients have access to before a flight. PASS is similar to TripCheq. Following the entry level tier is the Wingman Standard, which only a fraction of operators maintain. Operators at this level adhere to specific processes and parameters that reflect the latest safety best practices. In May 2015, about 100 operators worldwide were members of the Wingman program.
IS-BAO
The International Business Aviation Council introduced the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO) because of the need to provide standards that look beyond the FAA’s to operators that provide international flights. IS-BAO audits use benchmarks created by the International Civil Aviation Organization, which are accepted worldwide. IS-BAO-registered operators are those that follow international best practices, perform internal audits, and pass third-party IS-BAO audits to receive a Certificate of Registration from the IBAC Standards Board.
At Solarius, our principal standard is safety. We are proud that our stringent parameters helped us earn a Wyvern Wingman rating, ARGUS Platinum rating and an IS-BAO certification for a Stage Three operator. Our operation includes an integrated Safety Management System, which a dedicated Safety Officer chairs under the guidance of a Safety Committee. Before every flight, we use a Risk Assessment Tool that evaluates the aircraft equipment, airport data, crew currency, pilot-in-command, weather and other factors to produce a risk assessment score. Only flights with the lowest risk scores take-off.
To learn more about our safety practices or to book a private charter flight, contact us online or call 1-800-359-7861.