The aviation services sector met in Las Vegas last week for the 15th annual Cygnus Aviation Expo (CAE). We promised a bigger and better event this year, and we delivered.
Apart from the positive commentary I received from many of the exhibitors I visited, the educational and training offerings drew several interested attendees.
Following are some highlights from CAE 2012:
- Some 200 exhibitors from various airport and aviation service sectors, primarily those from the ground support equipment and aircraft maintenance side of the industry, took to the trade show floor last week as Cygnus Aviation partnered with SAE International's Aerospace and Defense Ground Support Equipment Conference and the National Air Transportation Assocation's (NATA) 4th annual Spring Training Week.
- Airport Business sister publication, Ground Support Worldwide (GSW), honored Bill Jacob, VP of the UPS ground support division, with a lifetime achievement award (see photo). Also recognized by GSW as a product leader was Michael Walsh, director of business development for the Flightcom Corporation. The company won for developing a hands-free wireless communication system for ground support.
The team Leader award went to Chief Warrant Officer Gregory McDermott, United States Coast Guard. McDermott leads the Coast Guard's only Aviation Logistics Center, which supports 26 air stations.
- The educational session on social media seemed to generate a flurry of interest among attendees. Panelists included Jetwhine blogger Robert Mark, Cutter Aviation's Ryan Keough, and aviation business marketing consultant Paula Williams. Key points included the importance of finding a company 'ambassador' to head a digital communications strategy for aviation businesses; and the value of using social media as another channel of communication with customers.
- The session on the topic of leases also generated great interest, as NATA president Jim Coyne sat on a panel with Tampa-based Airport Business Solutions' Michael Hodges and L.C. Fulenwider's William Prather. Be sure to keep a close eye on the AviationPros website media center for edited video clips of various educational sessions presented at CAE 2012: http://www.aviationpros.com/media-center.
Last but certainly not least, we unveiled our plans for a new format to next year's event, AviationPros LIVE: http://aviationproslive.com/
Please take a moment to explore the new website outlining our plans for AviationPros LIVE, which will provide an even more robust networking and educational offering.
Thanks for your interest!
Brad McAllister
