Thursday, March 3, 2011 9am Today is the third day of the Business Airport World Expo 2011, held at Farnborough. As well as manning the BACA stand at the show, I am due to chair a session called Choosing the Right Partner.

The Expo has been really busy and the organisers seem to have a full house, no doubt due to the good publicity they gave to the show.

10:00 It's nice that there is decent space between the various lines of stands so that there is not the sort of crowding you sometimes get at other events like this. It's not much fun if you have to push your way through crowds of people all the time. Though, of course, an empty exhibition hall is even worse!

I was pleased to sign up two potential new members yesterday and had plenty of opportunities to spread the word about BACA and hand out our brochures. We are dedicated to promoting the highest standards in the air charter industry generally and events like these are an excellent way to raise our profile.

11:00 I moderated the seminar Choosing the Right Partner with a panel of four industry experts – two airlines and two FBOs. The discussions ranged round (a) what the airlines expected from FBOs at each airport they use and (b) what FBOs have to offer airlines.

I was pleased to see there was some fairly robust questioning from the audience. It is a moderator's worst nightmare if no one asks questions! I think the panel acquitted themselves well when answering questions. Maybe they did not always say what the quest-ioner wanted to hear, but being clear and honest is more important.

13:00 I am back to the BACA stand after a chat with the participants. More people are asking about our organisation. Some are confused about the fact that we are called the Baltic Air Charter Association although we have nothing to do with the Baltic Sea. We were established at the Baltic Exchange in London, as an aviation branch of the maritime organisation.

14:00 It looks like I have another two companies interested in membership and I am off to a lunch with industry colleagues before networking in the evening.