Hi Phil,
I did not refer to a "close friend high up in the CAA". But I did speak to a colleague who was a former CAA inspector (if that's the right term).
What he said confirmed whatI have heard from several colleagues that have previously worked for a variety of charter operators.
I am not saying Ambeo or your company ar unsafe at all. I am just saying that an AOC does not mean all that much. Even if all the paperwork is in order there is very little oversight over the actual day to day operation.
I don't think we are doing the industry any favours by kidding ourselves by saying all is well everywhere. I am absolutely convinced that there is a significant number of operators that are not as safe as they should be either because they don't know any better or intentionally.
Why aren't there more accidents? Because the system is quite safe. ATC look out for us and the fact that there is normally two pilots means that a cowboy may not get away with what he intends to do. A strong captain will also say no when pushed by the boss to do something unsafe but that doesn't mean that the "boss" doesn't have the wrong attitude when it comes to safety.
I am sure you are familiar with the "swiss cheese" model when it comes to accidents where all the holes of the cheese slices have to line up for something to go seriously wrong.
If airlines like BA or LH operated to a similar standard as some of the charter operators in their country they would have accidents every year. The reason that doesn't happen is statistics. GA charter companies don't operate nearly as many flights as the airlines.
I think that aircraft age is not a major problem although modern equipment such as EGPWS and TCAS II no doubt increases safety.
EFIS cockpits have the potential to reduce workload and increase situational awareness if used by a properly trained crew. That does not mean that older aircraft cannot be operated safely.
Nowadays 20 year-old aircraft are likely to be equipped with all of the above.