With Expectations For Oshkosh Soaring... Could NBAA-BACE Be Next?

In the same week that the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) reported that fewer than 100 exhibit spaces are available for the 2021 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE), the organization hosted a delegation of enthusiastic exhibitors at the Las Vegas Convention Center (LVCC), who detailed their plans for new product introductions, announcements and other special events at what promises to be a popular show this year.

Exhibitors were allowed to visit the convention center’s new, West Hall, where the show will take place from Oct. 12-14. The 1.4 million square-foot venue features bright and open exhibit areas and meeting rooms, digital signage and large “elephant doors” specifically designed to better accommodate NBAA’s Indoor Aircraft Display and Advanced Air Mobility (AAM) Pavilion. A rooftop terrace will be the location for receptions and other gatherings throughout the show.

“Having seen the new West Hall makes me even more excited about the live – and more importantly, in-person – NBAA-BACE event in October,” said Dawn Leeper of Universal Avionics. “It’s going to be great to see everyone in a few months.”

“October is going to be the perfect time to kick off our first big, in-person event – a coming back together for the industry in so many ways,” said Kassidy Carpenter of World Fuel Services. “You can see people are ready to get back together, and the new West Hall is the perfect place to do that.”

“Textron Aviation is looking forward to the return of NBAA-BACE,” said EJ Corporan of Textron Aviation. “The team at NBAA is doing an amazing job with its plans to bring everyone back together safely in this new space. While the virtual events have kept us all connected throughout this time, there really is no substitute for the in-person networking platform that NBAA-BACE provides our industry.”

Chris Strong, NBAA senior vice president for events, provided a report to the delegation detailing the continuing momentum leading up to the show: exhibitor hotel registrations are on par with Las Vegas NBAA conventions in recent years, and it increasingly appears that the convention’s aircraft display at Henderson Executive Airport will sell out.

Strong added that Las Vegas lifted all COVID restrictions effective June 1. The delegation was able to see a live event underway, with the World of Concrete exhibition (WoC) taking place during the group’s LVCC visit. NBAA-BACE exhibitors noted that, despite a few reasonable measures in consideration of the current environment – including online registration, wider show floor aisles and temperature screenings – the WoC show was otherwise “business as usual.”

“On every level, Las Vegas is ready to host NBAA-BACE,” Strong concluded. “We are going to host one of the most impactful and inspiring events in the show’s history, and we look forward to seeing everyone at NBAA-BACE this October.”

FMI: www.nbaa.org