On Thursday, June 25, 2015, Meridian proudly received the Pilots’ Choice Award for being voted #1 FBO in the US by FltPlan.com at the NBAA Regional Forum held at Teterboro Airport. The 2015 Pilots’ Choice Award was officially presented by Sarah Wilson of FltPlan.com, and handed to Victor Seda, Customer Service Manager at Meridian. Mr. Seda, who was recently voted #3 Best CSR by the 2015 Professional Pilot PRASE Survey, accepted the award on behalf of the entire organization. Meridian Teterboro has been ranked #1 US FBO by FltPlan.com for 5 of the last 6 years.
The week was a busy one for the Meridian team. On the evening prior to the Regional Forum, Meridian hosted its second ever ‘New York, New York’ party in its main hangar. The ‘Five Borough’-themed event, featured a classic New York-style menu, beer from Brooklyn, and large projector screens featuring the cultural highlights each of the five New York City boroughs. Since business aviation people flocked to the area from all over the country to attend the NBAA Regional Forum, attendance at the event reached well over 500 people. Teterboro Airport is the closest business aviation airport to New York City, and the Teterboro Regional event usually has the highest attendance among all of NBAA’s regional forums.
With Metro Card-like invitations, guests were treated like VIPs as they entered the hangar on a red carpet and were led to a step & repeat backdrop for a photo op. They were then required to walk through a subway turnstile (no tokens required) before entering the gala event. Guests were also treated to an interactive exhibit by Dassault Falcon Jet, which had a Falcon 900LX on static display for guests to enjoy. Visitors were able to satisfy their hunger with a New York-style menu created and sponsored by Rudy’s Inflight Catering. The hangar was decorated to create the vibe of a Manhattan-style lounge with special lighting effects and music that you would hear in a New York dance club. Guests were also given gift bags as they left the event. Throughout the evening, a professional photographer was taking pictures and posting them on the Meridian Facebook page. The following day at the Regional, Meridian displayed the photos in a continuous loop on a big screen HDTV, which was then raffled off to a lucky winner at the end of the forum.
NBAA hosted a very successful show at Teterboro, which featured 35 aircraft on static display, 162 indoor exhibitors and a record-breaking 3,125 attendees. The daylong event brought together business aviation community members from across the country, who had an opportunity to network and engage in education sessions covering the latest environmental protocols, safety and security proposals, taxation, risks and regulations, and airport policies. NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen addressed several important topics for business aviation stakeholders, including NBAA’s concerns about potential legislation for FAA reauthorization, which would create a privatized ATC system funded by user fees.
NBAA Regional Forums bring current and prospective business aircraft owners, operators, manufacturers, customers and other industry personnel together for a one-day event at some of the best airports and FBOs in the nation. Regional forums incorporate exhibits, static displays of aircraft and education sessions into one-day events located across the country to help introduce business aviation to local officials and prospective owners and operators, and to help address the issues of the day in the regions.
The next NBAA Regional Forum will be held on Thursday, September 17 at St. Louis Downtown Airport (CPS) in St. Louis, MO. Meridian will be exhibiting at the event and located at Booth #410.
