Part 125 Certification

What Might Be Helpful

You already know what is going on from talking to other Part 125 operators, but let us share nearly 15-years of global Part 125 Certification and equivalent project work and you can see if there is something in here that will help you.

The first issue is that there are so few Part 125 Certification actions that inspectors are not clear what is happening due to their lack of experience. To help avoid some of these, regions have moved Part 125s, though not all of them, over to regional-level ACDOs, which is usually a good plan, though we see some issues where they look at an executive Boeing 767 and see Part 121 stuff. Huh? Fortunately, our manuals have been used up through that level so we have it handled in most cases. Sometimes an RII issue, but seldom any more.

We can go on-site, and usually do for any Part 125 Certification, equivalent certifications, and this includes travel outside the USA, though we no longer go into the Middle East as we did for years. Now, for the Middle East and African clients, we really need to meet up in Europe–Basel, Geneva, Paris, London, etc. Personal security, having a glass of wine and long delays on visas all are reasons, but we have been into Asia recently (Mongolia with MIAT Airlines), and Russia, and South America, so outside USA travel is fine in most cases with a few days of heads up.

In a pinch, or AOG caused by maintenance, operations, or potential rules violations we have been into England and down into Europe within 36-hours, airline schedules depending, so we can react for you and your principals on short notice.

Part 125 Certification – MAINTENANCE and GMMs – Many, perhaps most, Part 125s do not do their own maintenance other than -A- Checks and sometimes, with help from Boeing or another provider, the -B- Checks. Along this line, we have gone repeatedly to maintenance facilities, domestically, and in Basel, Paris (Air France’s), London (Heavy Lift and others) to see if we can help coordinate work on the GMM records–just as an oversight and especially helpful if you are bridging a new aircraft or addition to your group that has had other maintenance issues.

Security is an Issue with any Part 125 Certification – And we have done considerable work with most operators for high-level security, including why we were hired for the FBI’s own projects and later the CIA contractor aircraft and multiple Middle East entities who have aircraft and personal security as a top-level issue.

Timing – Usually faster than other certifications simply because they are not providing the Part 125 or LOA that you might be continuing to fly under Part 91–thus the onus on the FAA to move as rapidly as possible. Plus, most Part 125 operators of executive Boeing’s have strong political connections, which helps move the snails across the road.

Costs – This can vary. If you go through our prices you see that a full-blown Part 125 with GOMs, GMMs, records, Statement of Compliance, etc., actually is less than $80K, though it used to be in the $90-120K range, before the GR. That would be the Good Old Days, from our point of view. But on complex and non-USA aircraft you can expect this cost to go up, depending on your FAA or country approval authority and their changing demands. You need probably 6-10 days of travel and on-site work from us, usually, so keep that in mind for budgets and timing. Not that some past, before the GR pricing had run into the low six figures on foreign large, wide-bodied executives wherein we had worked over many months and in and out of the Middle East or Europe.

Why So Much More Cost – Actually, the overall manuals are at or even less than, say a Gulfstream or Global Express certification as they have a full Training Program. Having said that, the stakes are much larger, the project has to move faster so you can fly, but mostly is the issue that the FAA walks out and looks at your great Boeing executive and it looks a LOT like a Part 121 carrier, other issues aside and as such we are very often much, much deeper in the operations and maintenance, especially the maintenance, the GMM as it is, than anything we experience in Part 135 certifications.

Plus, we sometimes hire specific help from pilots, maintenance directors, and others that have operated or maintained most of these larger aircraft, so we have a better handle, again, on the operations and maintenance issues. Thus, and the fact we move faster, we do have higher prices on the Part 125 GOM, GMMs, Statements of Compliance, and other things. Just the way it is.

Helpful Part 125 Certification Links

FAA Part 125 Link

NBAA Part 125 Link

FAA Part 125 – CFR 125 Link