Meridian Exhibits at NBAA-BACE 2017 in Las Vegas

Last week, Meridian was well-represented at the 2017 Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Las Vegas, NV. Meridian, with FBO locations at Teterboro Airport (TEB) and Hayward Executive Airport (HWD), was proud to participate in the largest business aviation event of the year by sending a team of 14 associates to represent the company at its 400 sq. ft. exhibit to welcome customers, prospects, visitors, and friends. NBAA-BACE is held annually by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). NBAA’s 2017 convention took place October 10-12 at the Las Vegas Convention Center and Henderson Executive Airport (HND).
This year’s convention coincided with the one-year anniversary of the opening of our new West Coast FBO, Meridian Hayward, located in Northern California. An article in the Autumn edition of Business Aviation Magazine featured an interview with our CEO, Ken Forester, about the facility and highlighted the importance of business aviation in the region. Meridian also ran print advertisements in major industry publications, while also drawing crowds to its exhibit with an exciting and well-attended raffle on the second day of the show. The grand prize was a briefcase filled with a mystery amount of cash. Two additional winners walked away with high-value Amazon gift cards, and and many lucky spectators were given Meridian t-shirts after the raffle was over. The company was well-represented at the show by all departments from both locations, including Customer Service, Charter Sales & Operations, Aircraft Management, Aircraft Maintenance, and Marketing.
Ken Forester, CEO, was at the event and had this to say, “We are extremely pleased to be at this year’s NBAA Convention during the 1st anniversary of the opening of Meridian Hayward. We have come a long way since opening our doors last year, and we are still welcoming new customers to our FBO everyday. This event is a great opportunity for us to share the message with our industry colleagues that we are now firmly established on the West Coast and receiving aircraft for both transient and charter customers. Hayward is the keystone of our long-term growth strategy, which also includes a new hangar project in Teterboro that is expected to be operational by year’s end, and the continued expansion of our managed fleet.”
NBAA’s Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition is the country’s sixth-largest trade show, and the largest in the world focused on business aviation. This year’s event likely set a record for number of attendees — about 27,000 were expected. Attendees represented all 50 U.S. states and dozens of countries. NBAA2017 also hosted 1,100 exhibitors (including more than 100 new exhibitors), a static display inside the Las Vegas Convention Center, and some 100 aircraft at the outdoor static display at Henderson Executive Airport. NBAA-BACE remains the preeminent venue for manufacturers to unveil new models. For example, this year, the Bombardier Global 7000, Gulfstream G600 and Pilatus PC-24 made their debut at the show.
All three days of the show were packed with well-attended education sessions, including half-day programs at the NBAA National Safety Forum and Single-Pilot Safety Standdown. Discussions featured top safety experts and representatives from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB). On the final day of the show, more than 1,000 students came to NBAA-BACE, many to participate in Careers in Business Aviation Day, hearing from Dreams Soar Founder and around-the-world pilot Shaesta Waiz – plus a chance to interact with industry leaders and potential employers at the College/University Roundtable event. A charity auction event, held by NBAA and the Corporate Angel Network, raised $435,000 for CAN’s mission to transport cancer patients to treatment centers.
Next year’s convention will be held at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, FL from October 16-18, 2018. We hope to see you there!