The National Business Aviation Association’s Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) took off October 22-24 at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC) with expanded career advancement opportunities, programming designed just for next-generation aviation professionals and safety sessions that have solidified NBAA’s position as an industry leader.
Laurie Lutz, NBAA senior vice president of events, said returning to Sin City for the second year was a no-brainer given the convention’s huge footprint. For reference, it takes more than 1 million square feet of exhibit space as well as a nearby airport for exhibitors to showcase the latest and greatest aircraft, she said .
With this, the 2024 iteration of the event occupied the LVCC’s West Hall, marking the first year that NBAA-BACE occupied only one exhibit hall due to construction on site (the one of the biggest planning challenges, according to Lutz) – as well as as a runway at Henderson Executive Airport (HND) about 14 miles away.
At the airport, the Pink Jet, an L-39 Albatros military trainer aircraft that serves as a powerful symbol of strength, hope and resilience for breast cancer survivors and those affected by the disease, parked a real pink jet in the center of the airport. track to raise awareness, support survivors and raise funds for a cure through aviation.
“It generated a lot of attention for a very great cause,” Lutz said of the plane, which shared the site with an all-new line of McLaren supercars and helicopters from the urban airliner BLADE.
Back at the show, more than 800 leading business aviation companies exhibited, generating so much buzz that NBAA has already opened its exhibitor applications for its BACE 2025 event, which is expected to return to Vegas from October 14 to 16 next year. . The app typically opens about six months after the event, so having a reason to offer it now is a form of immediate feedback in the highest degree, said Dan Hubbard, NBAA’s senior vice president of communications.
Lutz and Hubbard explained more about the likely reason for the buzz around the event. Here are the top three things that caught TSNN’s attention:
Expanded career advancement opportunities
Career development opportunities took many forms at BACE: the NBAA Young Professionals Program celebrated its 10th anniversary at the expo, there was a career fair and a host of development programs professional allowed participants already established in their careers to discover new paths for their career. “career to reach your full potential,” Hubbard explained.
The NBAA Young Professionals (YoPro) Council celebrated its anniversary by awarding its first scholarship to young business aviation professionals, and at the trade show the council hosted training sessions on topics such as establishing a work-life balance.
When the expo closed for the day, YoPro hosted after-hours events, including a networking reception and “Helpy Hour” on the first evening of BACE. And in the spirit of raising future generations, Helpy Hour has partnered with local nonprofit Project 150 to help provide free clothing, food, hygiene products and school supplies to teenagers without shelter.
Meanwhile, Canadian aircraft manufacturer Bombardier held training courses at Henderson Executive Airport for 80 students. The event was planned by Guinness World Record-breaking pilot and educator Barrington Irving (who was the first black person to fly around the world in 2007 and was the youngest person to do so at the time , at age 23), and included networking breaks for students to meet potential employers.
The NBAA Career Fair took place October 23-24 in tandem with Collegiate Connect, a one-day program (October 24) designed specifically for students currently enrolled in college. Jo Damato, senior vice president of education, training and workforce development at NBAA, described Collegiate Connect as “like LinkedIn for business aviation, brought to life.”
There were also programs “for people who are no longer students (and) are already professionals in the industry,” Hubbard said, noting that NBAA sessions focused on professional development included courses on leadership , awareness, communication, etc.
The cockpit
NBAA introduced the Flight Deck at the show floor this year. “The idea behind Flight Deck is that there is so much dynamism and innovation in the industry that we wanted to create an interactive space where we could bring together the big thinkers – the biggest leaders – across some of the biggest trends who shape the world. industry and allow for an interactive discussion about some of these trends,” Hubbard explained.
Programming at the Flight Deck included a series of panel discussions featuring Brad Harris, President and CEO of Dallas Jet International, Tim Arel, Chief Operating Officer of the FAA Air Traffic Organization, and Chad Gorman, Deputy Administrator of the TSA , to name a few. The current industry trends they discussed covered artificial intelligence, management fundamentals, and what brokers have been paying attention to.
“We had standing room only. It was packed, and it was a really amazing way to launch the Flight Deck,” Lutz said of the hub.
Increased focus on safety, with top experts to deliver important messages
Safety drove the lion’s share of BACE’s main stage programming, a result of feedback from past attendees about what’s currently on the industry’s mind, according to Hubbard. As a result, the safety sessions “approached safety in three different ways (because) the business aviation community is very diverse,” Hubbard said, meaning BACE attendees are as well.
“You have someone who could fly alone in a small, single-engine piston plane. And you have entire flight teams of 40 to 50 people operating an aircraft,” Hubbard added, noting that the variety of safety-related programs stemmed from the need to appeal to both demographics. (He also noted that scanning badges as attendees entered the programming area was critical to collecting this data.)
So, in addition to safety tips aimed at those working with commercial airlines, as well as cabin crew and management teams, there was also a safety event for individual pilots designed specifically for operations with a single pilot, as well as a small operator symposium for small flight services.
It was especially important for BACE organizers to also receive training on the federal rules and regulations that keep the industry in business. For example, the FAA implemented a “new federal mandate on what’s called a safety management system,” Hubbard said, and the IRS also announced “a whole host of audits on companies who use an airplane.
The caliber of speakers discussing these topics at BACE showed how closely the NBAA listens to what concerns its participants. For example, safety sessions have been led by Dr. Susan Northrup, U.S. Federal Flight Surgeon at the FAA, as well as congressional leaders like Sam Graves (R-6-MO) and Rick Larsen (D -2-WA). , who led the FAA’s reauthorization this year.
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