... while on the horizon is NBAA in Atlanta. It’s a lot of people in two weeks in two rooms.
The ASIS International 56th Annual Seminar and Exhibits being held in Dallas is the NBAA convention of its industry. Some 20-25,000 security folks in all are expected – an increase over a couple of down years. (Founded in 1955 as the American Society for Industrial Security (ASIS), the organization officially changed its name in 2002 to ASIS International. It’s kinda like the ‘Square D’ of security.)
The event attracts some 700 exhibiting companies and has attendees from over 90 countries, says the association. Haven’t seen any full-image body scanners … just about everything else related to security. They offer more than 160 sessions on topics/issues. It’s a big arena; airports are a secondary discussion.
Cygnus Aviation, the umbrella group that includes AIRPORT BUSINESS, is a division of Cygnus Business Media. A sister group of ours, Cygnus Security Media, has a big presence at ASIS 2010 and offers daily coverage and blogs at www.SecurityInfoWatch.com.
Meanwhile, the annual meeting of the National Business Aviation Association opens next Monday in Atlanta. This is my 26th NBAA – heading into it, I’d anticipate the mood will be ‘measured’. Wichita, Kansas has become a metaphor for the economic downturn and subsequent mishandling thereof. Even an NBAA convention has a challenge overcoming that reality. Yet, the business aviation sector is moving forward again, albeit at modest levels.
NBAA 2009 was a slap in the head. I heard “It is what it is” so many times at that show that it became the main headline to the show wrap-up. In Atlanta … “what it is” will be better.
Folks from the Cygnus Aviation properties – AB, Aircraft Maintenance Technology, Ground Support Worldwide, and AMTSociety – will all be on hand. As will some of our professional associates – Ralph Hood; Nick Sergi; Tom Hendershot; and John Goglia.
Thanks for reading. jfi