ALEXANDRIA, VIRGINIA – Executives from aviation maintenance companies around the world convened in Washington, D.C. today to hear how industry, regulatory, and legislative changes will impact their bottom lines in 2014.
The Aeronautical Repair Station Association’s (ARSA) annual Strategic Leadership Conference (SLC) kicked off last night with a dinner and reception featuring House Aviation Subcommittee member Reid Ribble (R-Wis.), who discussed the latest legislative issues under consideration by his panel. This morning, U.S. Department of Transportation Principal Assistant Inspector General for Auditing and Evaluation Lou Dixon delivered the group’s keynote address, focusing on the department’s audits to ensure the efficiency and effectiveness of the Federal Aviation Administration’s safety programs.
A regulatory panel, featuring high-level figures at the Transportation Security Administration and Airlines for America, zeroed in on the latest regulatory and security issues confronting the MRO industry. The second discussion group provided insights from some of Washington’s most experienced aviation lobbyists, who discussed current legislative issues affecting the maintenance community. The final segment, led by ARSA Vice President of Communications, Policy & Planning Eric Byer and Executive Vice President Christian Klein, analyzed what the association is doing to capitalize on the Positive Publicity Campaign’s victories and what members can do to spread the message of the industry’s contributions to safety.
“Aviation maintenance is a dynamic sector constantly adjusting to meet the needs of a growing global market,” said Klein. “ARSA’s SLC is the only program of its kind to keep the industry’s leaders abreast of what’s happening in Washington so they can focus more on the important things: business and continued safety.”
