After a near-critical blow because of 9/11/01, the NBAA came back with glitz and glamour this year.
 After a near-critical blow because of 9/11/01, the NBAA came back
with glitz and glamour this year. For the 55th anniversary of the
annual biz av pilgrimage, the location was once again Orlando, Florida
- the show having grown so big that only Las Vegas,New Orleans and
Orlando can host it.
Total attendance this year was 27,785 - not a record but still quite
respectable. The event did reach a new plateau with 1,011 exhibitors,
all located under one 900,000-squarefoot roof. Meanwhile, out on the
flight line display, 151 aircraft formed an impressive static grouping
- including a record six aircraft never before displayed at a show.
Key components of NBAA conventions are the seminars and
informational sessions. There were more of these available this year
too, and attendance - particularly at the sessions focused on security
and safety issues - was very high. As for announcements and bragging
rights of aircraft orders, the total number of new aircraft orders
confirmed and published at the convention came to 172 firm orders and
100 options.
While the nay-sayers and consumer media pessimists continue to
hammer home the message that all segments of aviation are on a downward
glide slope, the NBAA event is further proof that such is not the case
for the corporate aviation community. Certain segments of the new
private and business aircraft industry are doing very well - mostly the
small- to mid-sized entry and intermediatelevel aircraft.
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