Face To Face: Interview With
NBAA President Ed Bolen (Aviation Week & Space Technology 10/04/2004)
Focus on the Future
Edward M. Bolen, the National Business Aviation Assn.'s new
president and CEO, faces a challenge: stabilizing an organization
still reeling from its first major management shakeup. Since its
founding in the post-World War II era, NBAA has enjoyed rock-solid
leadership--until Apr. 1, when President and CEO Shelley A. Longmuir
and Executive Vice President Robert P. Warren departed after serving
just under a year. On Aug. 3, NBAA leadership suffered another blow
when long-time Vice President of Operations Robert Blouin resigned.
On Sept. 7, Bolen came to the NBAA from the General Aviation Manufacturers
Assn., where he had also served as president and CEO. He met with
Transport Editor Frances Fiorino to discuss how the new leadership
plans to hurdle the formidable obstacles it faces.
Aviation Week & Space Technology: The NBAA has always
been regarded as a staid, prestigious organization. Has the recent
leadership turmoil tarnished that image?
Credit: FRANCES FIORINO/AW&ST
Ed Bolen: The NBAA has a proud heritage. It's not an association
that is in any way 'broken.' It simply has gone through some leadership
turmoil over the past several months. But we can be better. And
we will be better.
From the messages of support, I don't think the image has been
tarnished, nor public confidence lost.
AW&ST: What is your vision for NBAA? What do you see
as your primary responsibility?
EB: Being a member-driven, a member-responsive organization
is going to be at the heart of NBAA. We want to be an effective
representative and service organization.
My responsibility is to bring leadership and to make sure this
is an association that can reach its potential. That means trying
to meet a number of old and new challenges--some of which are security-related,
others congestion-, competitive- or environmentally related. I'd
say the biggest challenge is business aviation's access to airports
and airspace. How well we respond to challenges will determine whether
this association and industry reach full potential.
AW&ST: Is there a time frame you are looking at?
EB: In terms of improvements, I don't think we should be
looking for a "big bang." We are not going to one day pull down
a curtain and unveil a huge multitude of new programs, a big reorganization
and whole lot of initiatives. But I think it's realistic to expect
to hear about ways we are evolving and adapting to better serve
our members and meet the challenges.
AW&ST: What's your top priority?
EB: Making certain we have strong government representation.
The business aviation community is heavily regulated, and making
sure that we can effectively communicate with both the executive
and legislative branches is critical--because they can determine
our destiny. They can restrict us from airports and airspace, as
we have seen with Reagan Washington National, or impose TFRs (Temporary
Flight Restrictions).
On the other hand, they can promote business aviation. And we want
to make certain government understands the industry and its role
both as a transportation link and as an economic engine. (The civil
aviation sector contributed more than $900 billion and 11.3 million
jobs to the U.S. economy in 2000--at least 9% of the total $9.9
trillion U.S. GDP, according to NBAA research.)
AW&ST: There was a time after Sept. 11, 2001, when there
was no dialogue between government and the general aviation sector.
What is the current status of NBAA's relationship with Transportation
Security Administration (TSA) and government?
EB: I met with TSA Acting Administrator David M. Stone recently
and shared with him some of the frustrations of the business community.
Stone has pledged to work closely with us on TFRs.
Realistically, I don't see any changes in the immediate future.
It's a difficult time to discuss TFRs as we are rapidly approaching
a Presidential [Nov. 2] election and the candidates are out and
about.
We also talked about NBAA programs such as TSA Access Certificate
or TSAAC (a program which allows operators to fly direct to international
destinations without having to pass through one of eight portal
countries). I'm optimistic we are going to make some headway.
As for access to airports and airspace, Stone appears willing to
actively explore a concept that would allow security benefits to
those who voluntarily undergo an enhanced level of scrutiny, such
as providing background information. While we didn't discuss the
program per se, the concept could be similar to the Registered Traveler
Program the TSA's rolling out on the commercial airline side.
AW&ST: What is the status of HR5035, legislation proposed
by Rep. Anthony Weiner (D-N.Y.) that would require the business
aviation sector to meet the same baggage and passenger screening
requirements as commercial airlines--a bill you said [in a letter
to Weiner] would "destroy the business aviation community" if passed?
EB: I understand it will not go forward this year. Our conversations
with Capitol Hill suggest there is not broad support for that idea.
I think it [the bill] does serve to point out to us just how misunderstood
general aviation is--business aviation in particular--and lets us
know there continues to be a need for a broad education and outreach
program. We are trying to work with members of Congress to help
them understand the kind of security environment that relates to
business aviation.
Credit: FRANCES FIORINO/AW&ST
AW&ST: Do you believe business aviation will meet these
challenges?
EB: Yes, but that's not going to happen by accident. We
are going to have to prepare ourselves, work to understand the issues,
and resolve them. To do that, we must have an active and involved
membership.
AW&ST: How do you propose to generate a more active
membership?
EB: We live in a democracy where numbers matter, and we
will encourage members to weigh-in with their members of Congress.
One inherent strength of NBAA is that it represents flight departments
in every congressional district--which should mean that we should
be able to make certain every member of Congress hears from constituents
on every issue that matters to us. They will not hear from their
constituents if our membership is silent. The board and staff can't
do it alone.
And in order to provide our members with the representation and
services they desire, we have to understand them. We cannot do that
sitting in Washington talking among ourselves. Members should be
willing to enter a dialogue with us, whether by e-mail or participation
in surveys that will help NBAA determine what programs are of the
most value to them.
AW&ST: How will you define the organization in the future?
EB: NBAA is going to enhance its government representation,
but [not] at the exclusion of so many other things that we do which
are important to the community and valued by our members.
I believe we will define ourselves in part by continuing to have
superb trade shows around the world. The NBAA has introduced the
European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition; we've started
doing one in Latin America, and next year we will do one in Shanghai.
We are also going to define ourselves by the type of operational
services and educational products we provide to our members, as
well as the type of standards we promote.
AW&ST: What's the prognosis for the future of business
aviation?
EB: The projections of forecasting groups such as Honeywell,
the Transportation Research Board and Rolls-Royce call for growth
in the next decade. Also, there are exciting products coming to
market. For example, by 2006, we may have a whole new category of
business jets--the very light jet aircraft or VLJA. And we are continuing
to see the evolution of different ownership or operating models.
The fractional ownership companies have grown.
However, the underlying assumption behind the forecasts is that
you will be able to get into these remarkable machines and fly where
you want to, when you want. The reality is: That assumption cannot
be taken for granted. . . .It is not a given.
