Just one year into his new job, NBAA chief Ed Bolen found
the need to flex his political muscle in a most unusual way—finding a new home
for the annual convention after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans.
With less than two months remaining to find a location
offering one million square feet of exhibit space, a local airport that could
host arriving members, and 100 or so aircraft on static display, plus hotel
rooms for about 30,000 people—a selection process NBAA usually completes 10
years in advance—Bolen was forced to wield the political know-how that got him
elected to the NBAA top job in the first place. Before coming to NBAA, Bolen
had the top slot at GAMA for eight years, and before that he spent five years
on Capitol Hill serving as the top aide to U.S. Senator Nancy Kassebaum (R-KS)
and as majority general counsel to the Senate Committee on Labor and Human
Resources.
First, the NBAA staff jumped into action, examining seven
candidate locations, with a preference for Orlando, since the 2006 Convention
was to be held there anyway. Along with dispatching a go-team to speak with
conference officials in Orlando, he also greased the skids by asking for help
from NBAA board member Steven A. Busch, of Anheuser-Busch fame, and by
expending some "political chits" on Rep. John Mica (R-Fl), chairman of the
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee's Aviation Subcommittee.
The all-out assault worked. After officials in Orlando
shuffled some smaller conferences, the NBAA had secured a location in Orlando:
The show would go on. "We've made a commitment internally and externally to
have a trade show that will look and feel as if we'd planned it here for the
last 10 years," Bolen told Show News. "We are expecting a very large and highly
successful show."
Bolen says the stars of this year's show, like previous
shows, will be the products themselves. One area of particular interest for him
will be the ongoing certifications for very light jets (VLJs). "We're very
excited about them," he says, pointing out that the NBAA in January began
providing training guidelines for operators on its Web site. Other hot areas,
says Bolen, will be program updates for new aircraft like the Dassault Falcon
7X and emerging avionics and electronics for the front of the aircraft and the
cabin.
Unresolved and new issues in the background at showtime
include safety and taxes. "Safety in business aviation has come under scrutiny
this past year," says Bolen. "We hope to have an opportunity to draw attention
to some of our safety products." To highlight the issue, the NBAA recruited
U.S. National Transportation Safety Board chairman designate Ellen Engleman
Conners to give the keynote address at the NBAA Convention opening session.
Key tax issues relate to user fees. The FAA recently
distributed a questionnaire for operators and airlines regarding how user fees
should be paid, rather than whether user fees make sense. Bolen maintains that
three majors—Southwest, Continental and American Airlines—are behind a movement
to make business aviation pay an additional $3 billion in taxes a year for air
traffic control services. "Airlines are making a strong case to move to user
fees," he says. One plan being considered would charge all aircraft a user fee
based on distance traveled without regard to the size of the aircraft.
On a positive note, Bolen welcomed the partial reopening of
Washington Reagan National Airport to business aircraft in late October,
calling it "a major step forward" but not the end of the struggle. The program
limits access to 24 arrivals and 24 departures a day and requires criminal
history checks for pilots, a law enforcement officer on every flight and a
mandatory stop at a "portal" airport for aircraft and passenger screening
before arriving into Reagan National. "We recognize that the process of having
the portal city makes Reagan an unreachable destination for a lot of
operators," Bolen said. Though less than ideal, Bolen says the partial access
meant that the NBAA had "eliminated the precedent that you can ban business
aviation from an airport."
For Bolen, the convention hall fire drill demonstrated that
he's come through on at least one "campaign promise." "Lobbying is my priority
and will be a significant part of my focus," he told Show News before last
year's convention, a month or so after being named as the NBAA president and
CEO.
"We can do a better job of leveraging those numbers into
real political muscle."
