Safety Program Recognition
A New Step Forward in Safety & Professionalism
At Flying Company, we’ve spent the past few months steadily raising the standards of safety and professionalism across the staffing process. What began with Professionalism by Design, which gave operators a clear way to identify whether pilots were operating as independent contractors or LLCs, expanded into our second major initiative: Post-Flight Safety Reports, which created a formal and reliable method for pilots to communicate safety insights directly to an operator’s safety office or SMS. Today, we’re introducing the third evolution of that effort—Safety Program Recognition—a new feature available exclusively to operators in the Trusted Partner Program.
This initiative is designed to help operators highlight the external audit standards and safety frameworks they participate in, and to help pilots gain confidence that the trips they quote are backed by reputable, verifiable safety programs. In a marketplace where transparency is often lacking, this new capability closes an important gap.
Why Safety Program Recognition Matters
Professional contract pilots consistently tell us that one of the biggest deciding factors in whether they quote a trip is whether the operator demonstrates a commitment to safety. When a pilot sees that an operator participates in a recognized audit standard—whether it’s WYVERN, ARGUS, or IS-BAO—they are far more willing to engage. Our data shows that quote rates nearly double when pilots know the operator has been evaluated against a formal safety benchmark.
This new feature puts those credentials front and center. Every trip posted by a Trusted Partner now includes the operator’s recognized safety programs, enabling pilots to understand at a glance the standards the company meets, how disciplined their operation is, and how seriously they take risk management. It transforms what used to be invisible into something verifiable and trusted.
A Closer Look at the Major Audit Standards
Each of the major audit programs brought into Flying Company’s ecosystem provides a different yet complementary signal of operational maturity. WYVERN is known internationally for its rigorous approach to operational risk assessment, crew vetting, and continuous safety monitoring. ARGUS provides in-depth evaluations of operator history, crew qualifications, maintenance practices, and operational control systems, culminating in tiered ratings that reflect both baseline compliance and elevated best practices. IS-BAO, developed by IBAC and aligned with ICAO frameworks, takes a long-term view of organizational discipline through three stages of SMS maturity, moving from established processes to fully predictive safety culture.
What these programs share in common is a philosophy of verification. They demonstrate that an operator isn’t merely claiming to be safe—they’ve invited independent auditors to evaluate their processes, uncover gaps, benchmark their procedures, and document their commitment to improvement. For a pilot assessing a new client, those distinctions matter.
Highlighting the Operator’s SMS
Beyond audit programs, Safety Program Recognition also enables operators to display which Safety Management System they use in their day-to-day operations. An SMS is the heartbeat of an organization’s safety culture, governing hazard identification, internal reporting, risk mitigation, and long-term trend analysis.
When a pilot sees that an operator uses a respected SMS platform, it signals maturity, organization, and accountability. It means safety isn’t simply a line on a website—it’s a workflow, a process, and a regular practice. It helps pilots anticipate the environment they’ll be entering and lends confidence that the trip will be conducted with consistency and professionalism.
Connecting Directly to Safety Offices
Safety Program Recognition also ties directly into our second major safety initiative: Post-Flight Safety Reports. Trusted Partners can now route pilot-submitted safety reports straight into their SMS, whether through a dedicated safety office email, a direct SMS reporting URL, or a QR code placed on the aircraft or trip overview. This closes a long-standing communication gap in business aviation. Contract pilots often observe valuable safety insights but lack a formal method to share them. Operators want more visibility but don’t have an efficient way to collect feedback.
Flying Company solves this by integrating reporting directly into the trip workflow. Every flight now has the potential to leave the operator better informed than before, strengthening their SMS with real-world, real-time data.
Strengthening the Marketplace Through Transparency
The Trusted Partner Program exists to elevate professionalism across business aviation. Safety Program Recognition extends that mission by giving operators an authentic way to demonstrate their commitment to safety and by giving pilots a clear, structured way to assess the companies they fly for. It brings order, consistency, and transparency to a part of the industry that has traditionally lacked all three.
By enabling operators to showcase their safety credentials, reveal their SMS practices, and receive meaningful safety insights from pilots, Flying Company is helping both sides of the marketplace build confidence in one another. As these features continue to evolve, our goal remains the same: to help professional pilots and professional operators find each other more easily, work together more safely, and elevate the entire industry through shared standards.
If you’re an operator ready to participate in the Trusted Partner Program, we’d be proud to include you in this next phase of safety advancement.
