You might say they were auditing the auditing process as commercial operators and safety auditors convened in Cincinnati in January to review rating standards for jet charter providers.

The first manifestation of the FAA's much-trumpeted Next Generation Air Transportation System is likely to see daylight in the Gulf of Mexico, and all "NextGen" aviation users plying airspace over the Gulf will have the rotary-wing community to thank for it.

Three of jet charter's traditional limitations -- a fragmented industry, lack of consistency and reliance on managed aircraft -- are being addressed in bold new business plans that have emerged in the United States over the past 18 months.