Aviation Technology Expertise

The window for success in the global aviation sector is narrower than any other industry. geopolitical struggles, oil price volatility, safety concerns are never far away on the heels of COVID-19, which underscores how airlines can’t wait for clear air to invest in technology.

Leading carriers are reducing risk and increasing revenue by accelerating the pace of digitisation with a focus on optimising key supplier relationships, sweeping changes to core systems and safeguarding data. The right aviation technology lawyers can help navigate this legal airspace to ensure a strong return-on-investment for airlines that plan ahead.

Our team has a wealth of background experience from being at the forefront of aviation technology during the pandemic and is currently working for leading global carriers.

Managed by our lead Partner, Andrew Truswell, Biztech Lawyers is backed up by an experienced team that can draw on resources from our offices worldwide. We also work closely with leading consultants in the industry, and have added value in assisting with documenting commercial models in this space.

Information Technology Solutions, including Passenger Service System — Our Solutions Address…

 

Data & Info-Sec

• Data protection (GDPR) compliance, cyber risk, system security, reporting, audit and insurance.
• Ensuring a web of contracts with multiple suppliers processing the same data have a common set of contractual standards to reduce vulnerabilities.
• Assistance with mock cyber attacks, risk assessments, and risk mitigation approaches in the event of a notifiable data breach.

Risk Profile

Ensuring the supplier has the right contractual obligations and assumes a fair level of risk including:

• Performance warranties
• Indemnities
• Fair liability caps
• Super cap regime (data and info-sec)
• Insurance (including cyber risk)

Fair Supplier Terms

• Clear descriptions of services (including a baseline for a PSS renewal) simplifying multiple layers of technology built over time which may have become overly complicated to manage.
• No unauthorised suspension of critical services without consultation and fair compensation.

Service Level Agreements, Reporting and Liquidated Damages

• Clear comprehensive and fair SLAs to cover all services.
• Liquidated damages measured against real performance metrics (where a service failure has a detrimental effect on the airline’s performance) with increasing amounts for outages as time passes, with reporting that meets the Airline’s requirements.
• For PSS providers who are cloud based, service levels over and above those of an underlying cloud service provider (CSP) where passenger data is processed in the cloud. CSPs do not offer adequate SLAs to address the real risks which an airline will suffer if PSS is unavailable. 

Cloud Ready

• Seamless services to agreed SLAs as the PSS Provider migrates to cloud.

Data Flow Management

• Process of review of APIs and data flows, two-way and multi to monitor and keep track to reduce unnecessary risk of breach.
• Solutions to ensure that data flows of critical data remain necessary and relevant over the life of the primary and related contracts.

Whole Contract Approach

• Manageable structure to track additional services, so all related services from the same provider fall under one managed operational regime (ideally ensuring one carefully negotiated risk and liability regime applies to all services of the one key provider).

Distribution/GDS — Our Solutions Address…

Content Freedom v GDS Parity

• Clarifying the Airline’s rights through the ambiguity of GDS contracts to enable the desired level of content freedom through different channels.

Content Differentiation

• Solutions to assist the Airline to control which channels receive which types of Airline Content for optimal and future proofed strategic advantage. For example, the extent to which the Airline desires an independent NDC channel with better content which may not be offered via the GDSs.
• How to negotiate the required freedom to enable the Airline to secure its content strategy without breaching GDS parity or full content restrictions. 

IATA NDC — Our Solutions Address…

Aggregator and Seller Agreements

• Clear terms safeguarding the Airline’s NDC Content whether the booking is made by the
• Ensuring NDC Contract terms safeguard the Airline’s valuable and critical content as that content is distributed via Aggregators to Sellers, or direct from the Airline to Sellers.
• Ensuring NDC Contracts enable and comply with IATA One Order.

Ancillaries

• Solutions to enable the Airline to provide better services via the NDC channel without breaching its restrictive GDS contracts.

Incentives

• Solutions to enable the Airline to pay its leading travel agents incentive payments to encourage NDC channel take up (including, to offset infrastructure costs) so key travel agents are encouraged to move from GDS to NDC and without breaching GDS restrictions.

Agency Terms

• For IATA certified, and non IATA certified agents with practical solutions for electronic contracting and multi-jurisdictional enforcement. Ensuring the Airline aligns with IATA resolutions in its dealings with IATA certified agents.

Start-Up Airlines — Our Solutions Address…

Biztech Lawyer’s heritage is providing solutions for tech startups. On top of general aviation technology, we are well placed to provide solutions to start up carriers too. It’s our DNA.

We provide solutions to assist start-up airlines with establishing key personnel (including pilot and crew) together with training and operational agreements being outsourced. 

Recruitment and Placement Services

• Agreements with recruitment and placement service providers for pilots and crew and other office staff, whether the employment agreements are entered into by the Airline or a third party service provider entity.

Training and Operational Services

• Agreements with training and operational service providers for pilot and crew training.
• Related contracts such as purchase, housing and maintenance of full flight simulators (FFS) to be used in conjunction with pilot training, whether the FFS is owned by then Airline or the outsource service company.

Our Aviation Technology Experience

A veteran Australian international technology and business lawyer, Andrew Truswell has focused his practice on the intersection between aviation and technology with a specific focus on Data (Privacy and Cyber), Information Technology (Cloud, SaaS, Infrastructure, Outsourcing and IP), and Insurance (Aviation, PI & Cyber).

Andrew previously served as in-house technology counsel for international carrier Qatar Airways, where he led all technology contracts and projects including passenger system agreements, fare data distribution, travel agent direct data distribution, e-retail, and all forms of aviation technology models, including business process outsourcing.

Before his time at Qatar, Andrew was General Counsel at Thai airline, JetAsia, and spent four years as Regional Counsel, APAC and Data Protection Officer at market leading travel sector technology provider, Amadeus. During this period, Andrew was exposed to passenger system (PSS) and Distribution (GDS and NDC) transactions with many leading airlines, including managing data protection and cyber risks.

Andrew has advised clients including Australia’s leading airline Qantas Airways. He has also consulted for French multinational technology consultancy Capgemini and $7.5 billion payments giant RazorPay. Andrew has also advised the Royal Automobile Club of Queensland and emerging Australian tech star Versent.

Our team has broad and deep expertise with skilled practitioners who are able to add value and who are based in our offices worldwide.

Our Australian Managing Partner, Anthony Bekker supports the firm’s aviation technology practice with his broad technology expertise, and his exposure to outsource service solutions for airlines, and his specialised knowledge in multiple practice areas including M&A, SaaS, data and privacy.