The European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) is growing stronger. At the show’s inception in 2001 there might have been some who doubted the viability of an annual European business aviation show along the lines of the firmly established NBAA event in the U.S., but the 2007 edition, held May 22 through 24 in Geneva, weighed in as the biggest and best so far in the show’s seven-year history.
With a record-breaking 11,000 visitors and 354 exhibitors (up a healthy 18 percent from last year), the event faced a sold-out Hall 6 at the Palexpo Convention Center, forcing organizers to relocate many high-end airframe exhibitors with large display booths to Hall 7, adjacent to the static display. The 61 aircraft on display were a testament to the fact that Europe’s signature business aviation event–and the overseas market–is thriving. Indeed, the show promises to become even more cosmopolitan than its American cousin, with many U.S. exhibitors realizing that as the global business aviation market expands, they could reach a wider international audience at EBACE. Drawing visitors and exhibitors from Western and Eastern Europe, the Middle East and even Asia, the show is climbing in clear skies and is scheduled to take place in Geneva through 2012.
