In today’s “gotta-go-now” world of business aviation, the thought of attending one more meeting isn’t high on your must-do list. But you’ll push it to the top of your schedule when you appreciate all the significant upsides of a good pre- or post-flight briefing.
“There are just so many parts to every trip today; I think the briefings are more important than ever,” explained Abbie Fox, dispatcher for AMB Group, LLC. “Good planning can be the make or break point of any trip – especially international and ‘essential’ business trips.”
“They are tools for helping pilots get a very positive mental picture of what is going to happen before, during and after the trip,” said Michael Shelby, manager, flight operations for Lane Aviation. “It’s a chance to go over every aspect of each flight so the crew doesn’t get hit with any foreseeable ‘surprises.’”
Because of the amount of detail covered in a proper pre-/post-flight briefing, both Fox and Shelby said that the operation’s scheduler/dispatcher should take the lead. After all, they typically act as the nucleus of flight planning activities. But, if your operation doesn’t have a scheduler/dispatcher on staff, then holding the briefing falls on whoever is responsible for the trip’s coordination.
“While they take more effort, these briefings are critical for smaller flight departments.”
Michael Shelby, Manager, Flight Operations at Lane Aviation
“While they take more effort, these briefings are critical for smaller flight departments,” Shelby said. “When one person is handling many things, it’s easy to get overwhelmed and forget something, and talking through it all brings details to the forefront.”
As for who should attend and what should be covered in a good briefing, that’s easy – everyone and everything.
Fox said that their pre-flight briefings include everyone connected to the flight – from the crew, to maintenance, to contract service providers, to the accounting department. She also said that when it’s an international destination, they will bring in a pilot who has recently been there. There’s nothing like first-hand experience.
“Everyone needs to be made aware of everything, even down to after-hours contact numbers for the crew and passengers,” Fox explained. “For international trips, we need to know what baggage or gifts are on board and any medications the passengers are carrying. Some medications (common in the U.S.) are illegal in other countries. You don’t want your passengers being stopped with anything illegal.”
While the benefits of a pre-flight briefing are obvious, the post-flight version often gets skipped, and our experts say, that’s a big mistake.
“We see it as an opportunity to gain significant insights into the performance of our operation,” Shelby said. “Understanding the mistakes is crucial for avoiding them in the future. A smooth trip instills confidence throughout our entire flight department.”
And it’s not just your flight department that can benefit from sharing information, as Fox said,
“The NBAA’s Schedulers and Dispatchers Committee is always there to help with insights about every aspect of a trip. Things change so fast today, especially with international trips, and sharing experiences is the best way to avoid issues.”
To get more first-hand insights on the benefits of a good pre- and post-flight briefing, plan now to attend the 2025 NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference (SDC2025), March 25-27, 2025, in New Orleans, LA.
Review NBAA’s scheduler and dispatcher resources at nbaa.org/scheduling.
International Business Aviation Council Ltd.