The Tribune

By NEIL HARTNELL

Tribune Business Editor

nhartnell@tribunemedia.net

An attorney yesterday said the Bahamas’ should establish an aviation registry “flag of excellence” mirroring the reputation of its maritime industry, adding that he was waiting on the Government for the ‘green light’ to proceed with the initiative.

Llewellyn Boyer Cartwright, an aviation law specialist with Callender’s & Co, said he was waiting on the Ministry of Transport and Aviation to name the members of a committee that would “steer” the creation of a Bahamian aircraft registry.

Just returned from the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) 2012 conference in Orlando, Mr Boyer Cartwright said the aircraft registry market was large enough for all, and the “potential is there” for the Bahamas to establish its niche.

He added that a representative from Malta’s aircraft registry, who he met at a conference in Aruba, said the main benefits from such a product were not the annual revenues it directly generated.

Bermuda expects to generate $18-$18 million in annual aircraft registration fees by 2017, a yardstick the Bahamas is also aiming for, but Mr Boyer-Cartwright said he was informed that the main economic benefits came from the financial and corporate spin-off opportunities.

Detailing the results of his networking and fact-finding missions at the various aviation conferences, Mr Boyer-Cartwright told Tribune Business: “One of the individuals I met in Aruba is with a company in the US that buys, sells and leases aircraft, and he’s been keen for a long time to do business in this jurisdiction, and they are ready to do business.

“The potential is there; we just need to keep moving in the right direction. I was hoping on my return to have received a confirmation from the Ministry of Transport and Aviation that a committee to steer this has been selected and notified.”

Mr Boyer-Cartwright said he had been told letters advising committee members of their appointment were being sent out, and he also planned to contact Ryan Pinder, minister of financial services, who had wanted to appoint a technical officer to the committee.

Asked what happened next, Mr Boyer-Cartwright replied: ‘That’s the $64,000 question. Right now, I am relying on the Government saying to me ‘OK, we’re establishing this committee, let’s get on and see if this is a viable project for us’.

“People in Aruba told me it’s a win-win. How can it not be? We just have to be very vigilant. I know the Department of Civil Aviation does have its concerns in terms of manpower and oversight, and we don’t want to be a jurisdiction offering a flag of convenience.

“We want to offer a flag of excellence, and if we can do it with the maritime industry, we can certainly do it with the aviation industry. There’s no reason why we can’t.

“I am a strong believer it would be good for the country,” Mr Boyer-Cartwright added. “I know it will not happen overnight; nothing that’s worth having ever does.”

Recalling what he had been told by Malta’s representative when it came to aircraft registry revenues, Mr Boyer-Cartwright told Tribune Business she had said: “Forget about that.

“It’s the spin off business you get from the corporate and financial side. It’s not one thing. It doesn’t benefit one; it benefits all, offering jobs.”

Mr Boyer-Cartwright said those he had spoken to from other jurisdictions had been “very favourable to the Bahamas adding it [an aircraft registry] on as part of its financial services activities, as a way to promote the jurisdiction”.

Given that the likes of Bermuda, Malta, Aruba and Cayman Island all had their own aircraft registries, such facilities clearly had to offer worthwhile financial and economic benefits.

Their presence in the sector also indicated there was enough business to go around, Mr Boyer-Cartwright said, adding that he knew of a Bahamas resident who did business in this nation, yet had to register his aircraft in the Cayman Islands due to the absence of such a facility here.

Pointing to the inconvenience this caused, Mr Boyer-Cartwright said the Bahamas’ also offered other advantages, such as its US proximity, and history of political and economic stability.

“I’ve always been a strong proponent that the pie is big enough for everyone to get a share. I don’t believe in having it all, as industry should not operate that way,” he told Tribune Business on the Bahamas’ chances of breaking into the aircraft registry business.