NBAA 2014 – Business Aviation Convention Starts in Orlando
The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) Business Aviation Convention started in Orlando today and runs through to Thursday 23rd October.
The show is closed to the public as it is a private convention solely for business aviation. The 2014 show brings together over 1,000 exhibitors and some 25,000 attendees keen to learn of the new trends and dynamics within the aviation industry.
The show is located at two locations; Orange County Convention Center and Orlando Executive Airport where nearly 100 aircraft are on display.
Earlier today we went along to the show to take a look around and we also met with Rene Banglesdorf,(pictured above) CEO and founder of Austin, Texas based Charlie Bravo Aviation, an aviation brokerage. Rene and her company are somewhat unique. For some reason, women tend not to hold high level positions in the aviation industry and Rene serves both her company as CEO and also as a spokesperson for women in aviation making speaking appearances all over the world. She is an active member of the International Aviation Women’s Association and the Women Presidents organization. Rene gave us more background about the industry and the role it plays in the US economy:
“Aviation crosses every industry and every type of person. The general aviation industry accounts for about 1.9% of the United States GDP and it is a bigger exporter than importer in the US economy. A huge Brazilian aviation corporation (Embraer) is soon opening in Melbourne, Florida creating 800+ jobs in the next 18 months because it is better to have manufacturing here in the US than it is in Brazil. Dassault Falcon, a French company, has a big completion center and Airbus, another French company, also has a big completion center in the USA. Gulfstream and Textron are both based in the US and huge exporters of aircraft worldwide, so business aviation is very good for the economy.”
Talking about the NBBA Convention and private aviation in general, Rene said: “This is the show where aircraft manufacturers launch new products or talk about safety developments not just for business aviation but for general aviation all over the world. A lot of the companies here are involved in the luxury market. About 85% of flights in the US are for business purposes while 15% is for leisure. There maybe only 500 airports in the U.S. where you can fly commercially but there are over 5,000 municipal airports. So, if I want to go from Savannah, Georgia to Key West, there is no doubt I’m going to spend two hours at Atlanta airport at least if I fly commercially and I may even have to go from Atlanta to Miami to Key West. It is not conducive to getting there quickly whereas if I have a private airplane I’m going to get there quickly, it’s an hour flight.”
“There are a lot of benefits to flying privately, you can fly when you want to, you can come back when you want to, you can take your dog, you don’t have the security hassles and you don’t have your luggage getting lost. More people should consider this as an option and all they need to do is do a Google search for a charter company , find out what their safety ratings are and you can shop around. Do a search from where you want to fly and find a few charter companies. let them know what your trip is, how many people are going, how many days you plan to travel and then they will let you know if the aircraft they have is appropriate and if it is available, they will then give you a quote. It is more cost effective on a shorter trip because the expenses are less because you’re not keeping the aircraft there or the pilot there.”
Rene is also on a mission to bring more women into the aviation field and to increase the knowledge level among women about private aviation. She said: “Men talk about things that go. Men may talk about a running back, men may talk about an airplane, a motorcycle, a muscle car but when I get together with other women business people we talk about relationships. We talk about relationships with employees, we talk about competitors but we don’t talk about things that go. So I feel like when I talk to women who can afford or definitely has the need for a private aircraft, they don’t know nearly as much about it as men do and my new goal in life is to change that.”
The show continues until Thursday 23rd October.
More photos at www.FloridaLeisurePhotography.com
