The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) said on Jan. 28 that its planned 2009 Light Business Airplane Conference (LBA2009) will be incorporated into the association’s 62nd Annual Meeting & Convention in Orlando, FL, scheduled for October 20 to 22.
The LBA event originally was to take place in San Diego, CA, on March 13 and 14. However, the state of the economy has caused NBAA to make adjustments that it believes will ensure maximum value for attendees and exhibitors, the announcement said.
“NBAA is totally committed to serving those who rely on light business airplanes, as well as those who are considering how to fit these aircraft into their business models,” said NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen, “but in this economic climate, it is difficult to launch an event that our members and exhibitors expect from NBAA. We all know that our industry is finding it necessary to limit travel and marketing expenses, so we are going to combine all of the excellent elements we’d planned for LBA into the Convention.”
By incorporating the conference into the convention, the entrepreneurs and pilots for whom LBA was specifically designed will be able to attend the two days of education sessions – including the Cessna Single-pilot Safety Standdown – and still have an additional day to see the products and services on display at the industry’s trade show, Bolen said. “For exhibitors, this move will reduce total expenditures for NBAA events in 2009 by allowing companies to combine the costs associated with two shows into a single event.
“Any change in plans has consequences,” he acknowledged, “and we regret the inconvenience to all who finalized their itineraries for San Diego. Still, we believe the step we’ve taken is the right one both for attendees and exhibitors in this very challenging economy,” he concluded.
For information: Dan Hubbard, (202) 783-9360, [email protected] or Patrick Dunne, (202) 783-9263, [email protected]
