International Partnership Program

The VAI International Partnership Program (IPP) enhances safety and cooperation across the worldwide vertical aviation community.

This program benefits the entire vertical flight industry by promoting common safety and operational standards and best practices and by facilitating a collaborative approach to building and sustaining the global industry. The program was launched on Jun. 30, 2020, with the signing of an agreement by James Viola, VAI president and CEO, and Australian Helicopter Industry Association (AHIA) President Ray Cronin. “We launched this program with our close partners in Australia, but we will continue to expand to other vertical lift associations around the world,” said Viola at the time of the signing.

“We are very excited to strengthen VAI’s ties with other vertical lift organizations. Aviation is a global industry in both manufacturing and operations, and this is reflected in our challenges. By working together, the international industry can better leverage our finite resources to pursue common priorities and goals.”

James A. Viola, VAI President and CEO 

“Thanks to the efforts made by my predecessor, Jan Becker, and Jim Viola, VAI is making great strides in furthering its international reach,” says Stacy Sheard, chair of the VAI Board of Directors when the IPP agreement was signed. “Stepping up our international collaborations through the IPP will help us to see other perspectives from around the world, open global lines of communication, and learn from each other’s experiences. Supporting the worldwide vertical lift community will bring immeasurable returns, both to our industry and to VAI.”

Through the IPP, VAI and its partners agree to work together to:

• Provide members with services that directly benefit their operations
• Promote, produce, and deliver programs that improve industry safety
• Collaborate with regulatory and legislative authorities to promote industry objectives
• Educate key stakeholders on the unique contributions vertical flight offers society, and to foster public confidence in the value and safety of vertical lift operations
• Facilitate an open exchange of information among rotorcraft owners, operators, customers, pilots, aeronautical engineers, and other industry stakeholders
• Promote professionalism, economic viability, and integrity within the vertical flight industry.

The IPP goes beyond being just an affiliate program. VAI’s affiliate program is one that recognizes other not-for-profit organizations with similar purposes and core values related to the vertical lift industry. VAI believes that the IPP is a collaboration program that will allow international industry associations to speak with a unified voice.