With just days remaining until the NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition opens, exhibitors and attendees are already headed to Las Vegas to set up booths and arrange aircraft at the two static displays (one indoor at the convention center and another outside at Henderson Executive Airport). More than 26,000 are expected to attend this year. Although the exhibit hall doesn’t open until Tuesday, early events begin on Sunday and Monday, including the Tax, Regulatory & Risk Management Conference, Single Pilot Safety Standdown and various NBAA committee meetings.
Tuesday’s opening-day speakers include Rep. Dina Titus (D-Nev.), Oklahoma governor Mary Fallin, U.S. Customs and Border Protection commissioner Gil Kerlikowske, FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and country singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley. At the Wednesday opening session, Nevada lieutenant governor Mark Hutchison and captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger will speak.
Some surprises are in store for NBAA show attendees, including at least one new business jet and a new turbine engine, as well as a host of envelope-pushing avionics, making their debuts. AIN’s award-winning daily issues of NBAA Convention News will be distributed each day of the show, special editions of AINalerts will be published Monday and Wednesday and all the latest news from the show will be available at AINonline.com. Video highlights will also be at AINtv.com.