The Case for a Business Continuity Policy

Among the most devastating of events that could befall a flight department is an accident that results in the loss of life. A corporate flight department is a close-knit group of people that can almost be considered a family, and the impact of a fatal accident is profound.

A fatal accident is equally devastating to the flight department’s parent company or host organization. An aircraft accident or incident resulting in the temporary or permanent loss of multiple members of a company’s senior executive team could have a serious and adverse impact on the organization’s ability to conduct its business.

To mitigate any adverse impact, an aircraft use policy should be established that, among other content, includes business continuity provisions that restrict the number of executives and other key employees who can travel together on the same company aircraft or on the same charter or commercial airline flight. It should even apply to travel in the same ground transportation vehicle.

Outlined herein are business continuity “best-practices” for an on-demand, corporate flight department serving a company’s senior executive team.

Business Continuity Scope

Authorized users of company aircraft typically include members of the company’s senior executive leadership team (SLT) and other executives as may be determined by the chief executive officer (CEO) or the company’s Board of Directors. The business continuity provisions of the aircraft use policy should apply not only to the authorized users of company aircraft, but to all employees of the company as well.

The rationale for the wide scope of inclusion is that all levels of the company could be adversely affected by the loss of an employee or group of employees. That is especially true if they are from the same operating unit or functional group. Every effort should be made to prevent a disproportionate number of employees within the same leadership reporting chain, department and/or critical job function from traveling together in the same aircraft.

The business continuity provisions should also apply to ground transportation. Statistically, accidents are more likely to happen in ground transportation than in an aircraft.

Typical Business Continuity Best Practices

Typical best-practice restrictions on senior executive travel imposed by Fortune 500 companies include the following. These statements are taken from actual business continuity provisions within an aircraft use policy. They are specific to the unique organizational structure of a company, and therefore vary from company to company, but are provided as representative examples of how business continuity provisions are specified:

• Whenever possible and practical, the number of executives traveling together on the same flight shall be limited.
• No more than four (4) members of the senior leadership team (SLT) or board of directors shall travel together on the same aircraft.
• The CEO and all of his/her direct reports are precluded from traveling together on the same flight at the same time.
• The CEO, COO and the CFO are precluded from traveling on the same flight.
• The chairman of the board and the CEO shall not travel on the same aircraft.
• No more than three (3) board members shall travel together on the same aircraft.
• No more than three (3) executives from the same business unit shall travel together on the same aircraft.
• No more than five (5) senior executives in total shall travel together on the same aircraft.

This is not a complete list but is intended to illustrate actual business continuity provisions. Such provisions, therefore, must be carefully developed for each company’s application.

Aircraft Scheduling

The provisions noted above (as may be formally adopted) should be considered as a firm standard for the flight department’s aircraft scheduling team. For any trip request involving a group of senior executives, the aircraft scheduler should take actions that follow the business continuity provisions of the aircraft use policy, such as to stagger the schedule of the company aircraft (or arrange for a sufficient number of aircraft) to accommodate the executive group that is traveling, based on the specific requirements and/or urgency of the travel.

Exceptions

Exceptions to the business continuity provisions of the aircraft use policy should be made only as approved by the company CEO or their delegate, in cases where such is required to meet specific business needs.

Be Ready

Someone once asked us when the best time is to establish an aircraft use policy with clear and specific business continuity provisions. Our answer was “Yesterday.” Don’t let your parent company or host organization find themselves in a position they wished they would never be in. Business continuity provisions are an excellent way for a flight department to add value to its parent company’s risk management and governance initiatives.