Private charter flights and wi-fi

The London-based Baltic Air Charter Association (BACA), the trade association for the executive jet industry, has published a set of guidelines for wi-fi use in private aircraft and has kindly allowed Business Travel News to detail it here. Executive jet operators have been known to face a bill of as much as US$10,000. 

In summary the BACA Recommendations:

1. Determine the procedures with the wi-fi service provider (Operator) and cost of its use.

2. Agree a policy with the Operator if the customer requests wi-fi to be enabled, either prior to the flight or after boarding the aircraft.

3. Update your charter contracts to ensure they match the operator’s terms of use and include
provisions dealing with:

(a) your charging policy for wi-fi, noting that third party charges might also be incurred;
(b) terms and conditions of access;
(c) duration of the service;
(d) confidentiality and security;
(e) unavailability, suspension or failure of service;
(f) acceptable use, including a provision that requires compliance with any local laws or (g) data protection; and
(h) limitations of liability.

4. Ask clients in advance if they would like wi-fi use on their charter.

5. Inform the operator if client has approved wi-fi use.  Client may have decided against using and paying for it, but could find it enabled on the flight.

6. Advise the client in writing of the conditions of its use.

7. If agreement with the customer was not previously obtained it is recommended that the client signs an agreement and/or gives credit card details as a guarantee.

8. Passengers should be advised of the turning-on and turning-off times the wi-fi for their use. The crew might have use of it for downloading their own paperwork before or during the flight.

9. Update the client as soon as possible after the flight of the amount of data they used and the fee incurred.

This information document has been prepared in co-operation with:

Stevens & Bolton LLP  www.stevens-bolton.com  www.baca.org.uk

Index/Home page
 

OUR READERS' FINEST WORDS (All times and dates are GMT)

All comments are filtered to exclude any excesses but the Editor does not have to agree with what is being said. 100 words maximum

---