Acceptance of business aviation is at an all-time high, and the future for the industry looks particularly bright. So says Jack Olcott, president of NBAA.

John W. Olcott, president of NBAA

Against that backdrop the NBAA annual convention here in Atlanta promises to be as good as -- or better -- than last year's record-setting event in Las Vegas. More than 30,000 are expected to register during the three-day event. The number of 10-foot-by-10-foot exhibit booths sold to the 949 exhibitors is a record 4,209 (compared with 3,927 last year), and 125 aircraft are on static display at Dekalb-Peachtree Airport.

FAA administrator Jane Garvey and astronaut Buzz Aldrin are featured speakers at today's opening session, and a significant foreign attendance at the show includes delegations from Japan and China.

A major theme of this year's convention is "Aircraft Utilization Strategies," a pumping up of the "No Plane, No Gain" advocacy campaign waged by the NBAA over the last several years. Highlights include results of a new J.D. Power & Associates survey, which shows the tremendous potential awaiting business aviation when the very large segment of the business world that has not properly assessed its benefits sits down and does so. Those findings are backed by a Business Marketing Research survey that found that over 70% of non-aircraft-operating companies with revenues over $50 million had never formally evaluated business aviation.

NBAA is releasing a 48-page booklet as part of the renewed campaign, highlighting the different ways 18 companies use business aircraft. The goal is to persuade many more companies to join the ranks of users, while stimulating ideas for broader usage among those who already fly.

Another NBAA initiative is AvKids, a campaign aimed at bringing business aviation into the classroom through educational packages for children in 2nd through 5th grades.
"That's when children start to develop interests that are pivotal in career choices," Olcott pointed out. Interests that can lead to greater ranks in the future of corporate pilots, mechanics and business executives who regard a company plane as an indispensable and justifiable tool.

"The future looks particularly bright," said Olcott. "The potential for growth is still substantial."

By John Morris