AirportBusiness Blogs

…not in numbers of the past few years, but reportedly some 21,000-plus strong – roughly a third less than in recent record-setting times. The trade show floor was populated and people were doing business… a healthy sign, albeit not the ‘buzz’ or ‘roar’ which one usually associates with an annual NBAA meeting. Although most recognize that the bizav industry is redefining itself as we watch, there is a sense that the bottom was hit earlier this year and things began to turn around in September.

Consider Ken Allison, who heads up the newly formed Odyssey Aviation, a mini-chain of seven fixed base operations which had previously been branded with Million Air. Says Allison, “I’m optimistic.We only see it going up. In August and September we began to see it turn around.” Yet, he says he doesn’t expect business activity to get back to 2007 levels – a record year – in the near future.

Or Bruce Van Allen, longtime president of Signature Flight Support, who is now charged with marketing globally the umbrella of companies under the BBA Aviation banner as group marketing director. “I sense there are signs of improvement. I’m completely convinced that business aviation will grow and prosper.”

One thing: Quite a few folks raised the idea that perhaps the association should have incentivized the audience with reduced registration fees and perhaps offering extra exhibit space to longtime vendors in an effort to fill some of the empty spaces on the show floor. One discussion suggested that the association may have gotten “too fat” in the boom times and wasn’t quite in tune with what the industry was facing economically. But then, NBAA has a history of responding to what the membership wants, so the 2010 show may bring with it some additional incentives in an attempt to reinvigorate.

Thanks for reading. jfi

…to describe activity in the business aviation marketplace at this year’s National Business Aviation Association convention. August and September, it seems, offered an uptick. Such is the description of a senior Signature Flight Support official. 

‘Uptick’ is one of the better offerings. One vendor, a former fixed base operator who sold out on the high tide and who has been coming to NBAA since 1976, calls this year’s show of shows ‘sedate’. Another long-timer who has been to some 35 NBAAs calls it ‘unspectacular’. My perspective, having attended NBAA since 1985, is that it is subdued, cautious, and not very well attended. 

The word is that some 20,000-plus have registered for this event, which would be about one-third less than the past several years. Those 20,000 weren’t here today – perhaps tomorrow, and day number two is always the most vibrant. 

If you have ever been to an NBAA convention, picture this: You can stand in the middle of the show floor and see the ends (walls) of the show. In years past, unheard of; not so in 2009. It’s a fact. No one I spoke to today recalls ever being able to do that (except perhaps for the 1976 guy). 

Yet, the mood is fairly positive. The industry does seem to be, based on conversations, coming around, albeit slowly. FBOs have been slammed; corporate aviation has been slammed; but there is a mood out there of moving on. It’s encouraging. 

Coming into this year’s event, most everyone expected to see a down-sized convention. After all, most of Washington, D.C. wants to paint the industry as the bad guys, and they’ve had their effect. The association itself seems to be in denial of this fact, trying to paint a pretty picture. But there is no painting necessary … the industry has been hit hard but is determined to come back. 

And that is why we all love this biz … eh? 

Thanks for reading. jfi

… the phrase ‘cautious optimism’ is reverberating off the walls as the industry sector plods through the economic turmoil of the past year. Monday was media day at NBAA ‘09 and the difference from shows of the past 15 years was stark. Gone were records for the manufacturers’ order books … gone were the onslaught of new model introductions … and gone, too, were some of the OEMs on the show floor itself. Cessna and others chose to strut their aircraft only at the Static Display being hosted at Orlando Executive Airport near downtown.

Take away the manufacturers and their behemoth displays of years past and you have a changed trade show. In fact, NBAA’s senior VP of communications Dan Hubbard says that while the association has managed to retain some 91 percent of the exhibiting companies from 2008, the show encompasses some 80,000 square feet less of floor space, down from 500,000 square feet in recent years. Of course, as he aptly points out, some of those companies not on the floor are no longer selling aircraft period (think Eclipse, Grob, Epic).

NBAA president Ed Bolen offers a silver lining to this murky situation. He reports that the effort by NBAA and GAMA via its ‘noplanenogain’ public relations effort to highlight the benefits of business aviation is starting to get the attention of Washington politicos and other civic and business leaders around the country. Bolen is encouraged by the formation of a General Aviation Caucus in both the U.S. House and Senate, which can only serve to make legislators more informed. And this summer the House passed a resolution recognizing the value that the industry brings to commerce and transportation in the U.S.

Bolen is also encouraged that lawmakers are pushing TSA to take a more consultative approach with general aviation before attempting to impose unnecessary handcuffs on an industry that is in a severe struggle to recover from this downturn. The industry’s reaction to TSA’s proposed Large Aircraft Security Program earlier this year appears to have resonated with at least some in Washington – not an easy accomplishment.

The NBAA media day is a good barometer of how the show will go, but the true tale will come on Tuesday when the floor is opened for business. At this point, cautious optimism sounds about right.

Thanks for reading. jfi