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Recent Developments

  • arrow-right AWG appoints Holland & Knight as supporting international counsel
  • arrow-right AWG commences work on cross-border transferability practitioners’ guide
  • arrow-right Statement on airline restructuring principles
  • arrow-right AWG carbon calculator (ESG)
  • arrow-right Accelerated development of the trusted communication facility
  • arrow-right Presentation on global AWG activities
  • arrow-right New edition of the practitioner’s guide to the Cape Town Convention and Aircraft Protocol
  • arrow-right AWG releases 2020 semiannual update of the CTC compliance index
  • arrow-right Cross-border insolvencies and the Cape Town Convention
  • arrow-right Voluntary reorganizations and the Cape Town Convention
  • arrow-right COVID 19 related action
  • arrow-right The Global Aircraft Trading System (GATS) platform went live on 1 June 2020

Featured projects

AWG appoints Holland & Knight as supporting international counsel

AWG is pleased to announce the appointment of Holland & Knight LLP (H&K) as its supporting international counsel, effective 1 January 2021.

AWG has had an exceptionally close relationship with H&K for over 25 years, and has turned to that firm for support on some of its most important and complex work over that period. That includes, most recently, fundamental tasks relating to the interpretation of, and compliance with, the Cape Town Convention and formulation and advocacy of principles relating to airline restructurings in the COVID-19 context.

Jeffrey Wool will continue his role as secretary general of AWG on secondment from H&K, where he has been appointed its director of international law and policy.

AWG commences work on cross-border transferability practitioners’ guide

Building on 10 years of work with the industry, regulators, and international organizations, AWG will commence work (feasibility and content) on a practitioners’ guide on the cross-border transferability of aircraft (guide).  The guide would bring together, develop, advance, and seek to secure recognition of, best practices when changing aircraft nationality (XBT), including in fleet changes in the context of C-19 return to service. It would also address calendar age-based restrictions relating to changes of nationality. The reference standard for such best practices would be rules and guidance issued or given by ICAO, FAA, and EASA. The guide would refer to such standards and rules and differences between them. It would also, over time, add country-specific annotations to its transfer document checklist for many other aviation countries around the world and would summarize requirements, interpretations, and lessons learned in such countries.

The guide would be designed for use by industry in XBT activities, especially day-to-day transfers and regulatory interfaces.

AWG has retained Blake, Cassels & Graydon to provide support over the next year for its work on the guide.

Statement on airline restructuring principles

In response to the disruption to air transport caused by COVID 19, AWG issues a statement on guiding principles which it recommends to materially enhance the prospects for a successful airline restructuring. That statement has been prepared by AWG as an elective guidance tool.

AWG carbon calculator (ESG)

AWG has agreed to finalize the AWG carbon calculator (ACC). It is scheduled for release by the end of Q1, 2021.  Based on manufacturer data, the ACC will calculate emission of aircraft and fleet portfolios. It will do so based on standard aircraft configurations, typical utilization and stage lengths.  The tool will make use of standardized data, analyzed under consistent methodology.

The ACC will be developed by propel-ant, and AWG will be supported in its implementation by Watson Farley Williams. The ACC is part of AWG’s work on Environmental Social and Governance (ESG), geared to the context of aviation financing and leasing.

Accelerated development of the trusted communication facility

AWG is pleased to announce the accelerated development of the trusted communication facility (TCF). Attached is the joint statement on TCF released by AWG and Aviareto.

The TCF will be an online platform to support the aviation industry as it recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic. In particular, the TCF system will enable faster, more efficient and cheaper return to service for aircraft while maintaining highest levels of safety. It will be centred on documentation relating to airworthiness requirements.

The TCF will permit regulators and industry participants to exchange, digitally sign and execute electronic documents to facilitate the return to service of aircraft.

Presentation on global AWG activities

AWG gave a panel presentation on its global activities (including c-19, airline structuring principles, legal stability, ESG, return to service, GATS, and export credit) at the Airline Economics (virtual) event in Hong Kong on 4 November 2020

New edition of the practitioner’s guide to the Cape Town Convention and Aircraft Protocol

On 12 October 2020, the legal advisory panel of AWG released the 2020 new edition of the practitioner’s guide to the Cape Town Convention and Aircraft Protocol 

AWG releases 2020 semiannual update of the CTC compliance index

AWG releases 2020 semiannual update of the CTC compliance index as of 7 September 2020

Cross-border insolvencies and the Cape Town Convention

Clarity provided on select aspects of the relationship between cross-border insolvencies and Cape Town Convention through annotation 2 to the Official Commentary issued by the CTC academic project

Voluntary reorganizations and the Cape Town Convention

Clarity provided on relationship between voluntary reorganizations and Cape Town Convention through annotation 1 to the Official Commentary issued by the CTC academic project

COVID 19 related action

AWG, in consultation with other affected parties, has since March 2020 taken a range of actions to assist the air transport sector, including airlines, the aviation leasing and financing industry, and the public, in addressing the economic impacts of the spread of COVID 19

The Global Aircraft Trading System (GATS) platform went live on 1 June 2020

The Global Aircraft Trading System (GATS) platform went live on 1 June 2020

Inside AWG

Aviation working group (AWG) is a not-for-profit legal entity comprised of major aviation manufacturers, leasing companies and financial institutions that contributes to the development of policies, laws and regulations that facilitate advanced international aviation financing and leasing.

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Featured Projects

Global Aircraft Trading System (GATS)

The main purposes of GATS are to facilitate the trading and financing of aircraft equipment by reducing the burdens on lessees, lessors and financiers and to promote aircraft equipment trading and financing in an efficient, secure and predictable manner.

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COVID-19 action

The spread of the COVID 19 virus (c-19), and the resulting regulatory and health-based restrictions on passenger air transport, have placed unprecedented stress on aviation requiring immediate governmental support and relief. AWG, in consultation with other affected parties, is assessing a range of actions to assist the air transport sector in addressing the economic impacts of the spread of c-19.

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Cross-border transferability

The overriding objective of AWG work on XBT is to seek alignment of international regulation, national law, and best practices with the realities of cross-border transfers while at all times maintaining or improving the highest standards of safety through processes that reduce regulatory overlap and duplication and promote consistency, accuracy and simplicity.

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Environmental Social and Governance

AWG has established a working group to assess, provide information, and potentially take action on, ESG geared to the context of aviation financing and leasing . The foregoing may include the development of metrics, methods, emissions (and CORSIA-related liability) tracking, reporting and documentation and/or principles geared to the context of aviation financing and leasing.

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Other projects

Cape Town Convention
Export credit
Banking regulation
Air navigation and airport charges
Accounting
Insurance and liability

AWG Members

AWG is comprised of leading aviation manufacturers, financiers, and lessors. Uniquely, it brings these three perspectives to bear in addressing aviation financing and leasing topics.

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AWG Events

AWG global update presentation – AE Hong Kong

November 4th, 2020

AWG gave a panel presentation on its global activities (including c-19, airline structuring principles, legal stability, ESG, return to service, GATS, and export credit) at the Airline Economics (virtual) event in Hong Kong on 4 November 2020

CTC academic project conference hybrid event 10 – 11 September 2020

September 11th, 2020

The conference, which is widely seen as the premier CTC-related event,  addressed, among other things, CTC compliance including in light of c-19 developments, assessment of CTC and schemes of arrangement, judicial breach of CTC, and European insolvency law and CTC.  The final program is attached.

Regulatory stability through c-19, return to service, GATS, and ESG– Hong Kong at Airline Economics Conference

November 2nd, 2020

November 4th, 2020

More information on the event here

ICAO c-19 webinar series: Trusted communication facility (return to service) June 17th, 2020

June 17th, 2020

A presentation on establishing a TCF – c-19 recovery (Aircraft Return to Service) was made during ICAO’s c-19 webinar series on 17 June 2020. The presentation and webinar recording can be found here.

AWG projects: ISTAT Austin

February 12th, 2020

The avation finance – regulatory evolution panel addressed the main AWG projects. Information about the event can be found here.

GATS: Dublin at Airline Economics Conference

January 22nd, 2020

AWG held an informative session on GATS in Dublin (22 January 2020) at the Airline Economics Growth Frontiers Conference. The presentation can be found here. A video of this session can be found here.

GATS: Oklahoma City

January 8th, 2020

AWG held an informative session on GATS for the business aircraft community in Oklahoma City (8 January 2020)
Pictures of the event can be found here.

GATS: Hong Kong

November 5th, 2019

AWG held an informative session on GATS in Hong Kong (5 November 2019). Pictures of the event can be found here.

GATS: New York

October 17th, 2019

AWG held an informative session on GATS in New York (17 October 2019). Pictures of the event can be found here.

GATS: Dublin

September 17th, 2019

AWG held a GATS informative session in Dublin on 17 September. Pictures of the event can be found here.

Latin American Regional Event

June 25th, 2019

AWG, in association with the Brazilian National Civil Aviation Agency (ANAC) and supported by ICAO and UNIDROIT, held a major Latin American Regional Event on the Cape Town Convention and its Aircraft Protocol and cross-border transferability of aircraft (XBT) on 25 & 26 June 2019 in Brasilia, Brazil. A press release is attached. Please find additional information on, and images from, the event on the ANAC website.

African Regional Event

June 19th, 2018

AWG, in association with the South African Civil Aviation Authority (SACAA) and supported by ICAO and UNIDROIT, held an African Regional Event on the Cape Town Convention and its Aircraft Protocol and cross-border transferability of aircraft (XBT) on 19 & 20 June 2018 in Cape Town, South Africa. Event materials, and the press release by SACAA relating to it, can be found here.

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