ARGUS, Wyvern and IS-BAO: what the safety audits mean

Start with the baseline

Every charter flight in the United States must be operated by a company holding an FAA air carrier certificate under Part 135. That certificate comes with approved training programmes, maintenance requirements, operations specifications and ongoing FAA oversight. It is the legal floor, and it applies to every operator we use.

Third-party audits sit above that floor. They are voluntary programmes run by private organisations that review an operator's records and, at higher levels, visit its offices and hangars. The three you will see most often are ARGUS, Wyvern and IS-BAO. Each works differently, which is why a rating from one is not directly comparable with another.

Why operators choose to be audited

An audit is a significant commitment for an operator. It means opening its records, manuals and training files to an outside team, fixing what the auditors find, and paying for the privilege on a regular cycle. Operators do it because corporate flight departments, insurers and careful brokers ask for it, and because a well-run audit finds weak spots before they matter. For a traveller, that is the value: someone with no stake in the sale has looked closely at how the company works.

ARGUS: ratings built on records, then audits

ARGUS International rates charter operators at three levels you will commonly see on quotes. Gold is based on an analysis of the operator's safety history, pilot backgrounds and aircraft information. Gold+ adds an on-site audit of the operator. Platinum is the highest level and requires an on-site audit with strong results, including a working safety management system.

When you see an ARGUS rating on a quote, two details matter: the level, and whether the rating is current. Ratings are reviewed periodically, so ask for the date if it is not shown.

Wyvern: the Wingman standard

Wyvern's Wingman standard is built around an on-site audit. Auditors review how the operator manages safety, trains and checks its crews, maintains its aircraft and runs day-to-day flight operations. Operators that meet the standard are listed as Wyvern Wingman operators. Wyvern also produces reports on specific operators and trips, which brokers and corporate flight departments use when they want more detail than a headline status.

IS-BAO: stages of safety management

IS-BAO, the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations, is a code of practice developed by the International Business Aviation Council. Operators adopt it and are audited against it by accredited auditors. Registration comes in three stages:

• Stage 1: the safety management system is in place, with policies, processes and responsibilities defined.
• Stage 2: risks are actively managed through that system in day-to-day operations.
• Stage 3: safety management is part of how the organisation works and keeps improving over time.

IS-BAO is common among operators that fly internationally, and it is recognised well beyond the United States.

Side by side

How to read a rating on a quote

Three checks make a rating meaningful. First, it must belong to the operator that will hold operational control of your flight; a parent or sister company's rating does not transfer. Second, it should be current. Third, it should cover the certificate your aircraft operates under, since some groups run more than one.

It also helps to know what a missing rating means. Audits take time and money, and some well-run smaller operators do not hold one. In those cases we tell you, and we explain what we checked instead: the certificate, the aircraft on it, insurance and the crew plan.

What an audit cannot tell you

An audit is a snapshot of an organisation's systems at a point in time. It does not decide whether today's weather suits a particular airport, whether a specific aircraft has an open maintenance item this morning, or whether a crew is within its legal duty limits for your schedule. Those decisions belong to the operator with operational control, on the day. That is one reason the operator's name and certificate matter as much as any rating.

Ratings and the rest of your quote

A rating is one input among several. Two operators with the same rating can still differ in aircraft age, crew experience on the type, cabin condition and how they handle a delay. That is why we show audit status next to the aircraft, the operator and the all-in price rather than ranking options by rating alone. If two options are close, ask your advisor which one they would choose for their own family and why; the answer usually covers exactly these details.

Questions worth asking

• Which audit does the operator hold, at what level, and when was it last renewed?
• Does the rating cover the certificate this aircraft flies under?
• If there is no audit, what was checked instead?

How we use them

We note audit status on every option we send, with the programme and level where the operator holds one. You can weigh it alongside the aircraft, the schedule and the price. If you want a particular standard for every trip, such as ARGUS Platinum or Wyvern Wingman operators only, say so in your request and we will quote within it.