... and comes out on top in Orlando. Each year, the National Air Transportation Association teams up with the Professional Aviation Maintenance Association and the Aviation Industry Expo trade show, bringing together aviation services companies and suppliers. In recent years, the Expo has continued to grow while NATA’s convention numbers have been declining.Â
The NATA board decided to change the format – turning its annual meeting into an FBO Leadership Conference and focusing more on business management issues while creating a new event, the Air Charter Summit, which will feature more discussion of regulatory matters. By all indications, the new format is a success – overall NATA numbers are up, and each session was noticeably more dynamic and better attended.Â
Back in the 1970s, NATA had a hard time keeping the Part 135 air taxis in the association fold, due to the inherent differences in the business – most notably a heavier emphasis on FAA regulations. But back then, many fixed base operators were still being forced via their leases to be “full service,†and charter was one of those services. Airport sponsors over time have accepted that FBOs no longer need to be everything to everybody, and one successful formula has the FBO being the line service provider and leasehold manager while having as subtenants individual services such as charter, flight training, maintenance, avionics, etc.Â
With the advent of fractionals came an associated growth in the demand for charter, and the business has become very dynamic. The change has been so significant that in recent years FAA has been taking a renewed review of all things Part 135. It’s a different business today, and that is certainly true of charter. Having an independent Air Charter Summit, to be held June 27-29 in Leesburg, VA, may just pan out to be a good idea. Thanks for reading. jfi   Â
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