HELI-EXPO 2006 Breaks All Previous Records

Alexandria, Virginia, March 9, 2006 -- Predicated on the favorable comments expressed by both attendees and exhibitors, HELI-EXPO 2006 was the best exposition and meeting ever. This appears to be confirmed by the numerous records broken. HAI is pleased to report that HELI-EXPO 2006 has broken all previous HELI-EXPO attendance records, with a total of 16,629 helicopter industry professionals attending. The attendance record was already broken after only the second day of the show. As of the end of Monday, Feb. 27, 15,833 people had already attended the show.

Additional records broken include 520 exhibitors who showcased their products and services, utilizing 220,000 net square feet of exhibit space, 853 Job Fair attendees and 30 Job Fair exhibitors, and 617 students who registered for the Professional Education Series. There was a total of 48 helicopters displayed on the show floor.

And HAI is pleased to announce the results of elections for the board of directors and appointment of newly elected officers.

As a result of the recent voting which took place at Heli-Expo 2006 in Dallas, Texas, the following individuals were elected by the HAI membership to serve a three year term on the HAI board of directors.

David Chevalier, of Blue Hawaiian Helicopters, and Mark Gibson, of Timberland Logging, were elected to the represent the regular member commercial category. George Pisa, of American International Group, was elected to represent the regular member corporate-private category.

A slate of new officers, who will serve a one year term, was also elected by the HAI Board as follows. Edward Newton was elected as the new Chairman of HAI, Michael Suldo was elected Vice Chairman, Patrick Corr was elected Treasurer, and Mark Gibson was elected Assistant Treasurer.

All those individuals noted above will commence their term of office on July 1, 2006.

HAI is the professional trade association for the civil helicopter industry. Its 1,350-plus-member organizations and 1,150 individual members, in more than 73 nations, safely operate more than 4,500 helicopters approximately 2.3 million hours each year. HAI is dedicated to the promotion of the helicopter as a safe, effective method of commerce and to the advancement of the civil helicopter industry. HELI-EXPO 2007 will take place in Orlando, Florida, March 1-3, 2007