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!
Tag: convention
Last week, Meridian was well-represented at the 2016 Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Orlando, FL. Meridian, headquartered at Teterboro Airport (TEB), was proud to participate in the largest business aviation event of the year by sending a team of 13 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 2016 convention took place from Nov. 1-3 at the Orange County Convention Center, and at Orlando Executive Airport (ORL).
This year’s convention was particularly important for the NJ-based aviation company because it recently opened a new FBO and hangar on the West Coast. The company took the opportunity of being in front of industry peers to announce that Meridian Hayward is now open for business at Hayward Executive Airport (HWD) in Hayward, CA. In addition to press coverage in the convention dailies and print advertisements in major industry publications, the company also held an exciting and well-attended raffle at its booth to help generate the buzz behind Hayward. In addition, Meridian HWD t-shirts were given out to 150 lucky recipients.
The new facility features the services and amenities that discerning passengers and flight crews should expect to find when traveling through a Meridian FBO, including professionally-trained customer service and line service teams, an elegant main lobby, business center, conference room, pilot briefing area, pilot lounge, coffee bar, kitchen/catering area, sleep room, shower and locker room, rental cars, and crew cars.
EPIC Fuels, a leading fuel supplier in the general and commercial aviation industries, is the branded fuel supplier for Meridian Hayward. The company offers the highest quality jet and avgas, and the EPIC card is proudly accepted at this location.
A great location for business and charter aircraft, Meridian Hayward is located at an airport with no curfew and, like Teterboro, is a General Aviation-specific airport, with no commercial airline traffic. This initial opening features a newly constructed 6,300 square foot terminal with support offices, a 30,000 square foot hanger and 3.5 acres of ramp area.
Additional phases of construction are planned, and will include a second 12,000 square foot terminal, two 40,000 square foot hangers and an additional seven acres of ramp space. The facility will serve as a West Coast base for Meridian Air Charter and Meridian Aircraft Management. Aircraft maintenance support is also available.
While the FBO is now officially operational, Meridian Hayward will be celebrating its Grand Opening on December 15, 2016.
Ken Forester, CEO, was at the event and had this to say, “We are extremely pleased to be able to announce the opening of our new FBO, Meridian Hayward, at this year’s NBAA Convention. We are now pumping fuel and ready to serve our customers at Hayward Executive Airport. Our team is excited to share this news with our aviation partners and friends in the industry, and we hope they will help us to spread the word that we have a new location in the San Francisco Bay area. The genesis of this project began four years ago, and now it’s no longer a vision, but a reality. Hayward is the keystone of our long-term growth strategy, which also includes a new hangar project happening in Teterboro, and the continued expansion of our charter 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. Next year’s convention will be held at the Las Vegas Convention Center in Las Vegas, NV, from October 10-12, 2017.
Teterboro, NJ – Last week, amid a hurricane and temporary flight restrictions in the local area, the NBAA held its 65th Annual Meeting & Convention (NBAA2012), which is considered by most to be the flagship event in the business aviation industry. The trade show was held in Orlando, Florida at the Orange County Convention Center from Tuesday, October 30 through Thursday, November 1. The annual convention was recently ranked #5 among all US trade shows.
Meridian participated in the event with a large 20’ x 20’ exhibitor booth. With a reduced staff due to Hurricane Sandy, five Meridian associates were able to get down to Orlando and represent the various business units of the company, including Air Charter, Aircraft Management, FBO, and Aircraft Maintenance.
“Despite some significant challenges this year, we were glad to be in Orlando representing Meridian at our industry’s biggest event. The hurricane hit Teterboro Airport and surrounding area very hard, but we wanted to let people know that we are still here and open for business. Overall, this year’s show was very productive for us, but more importantly, we were very appreciative of the concern expressed by industry colleagues and friends, who came by our booth to ask how our company was doing during the storm”, according to Kirk Stephen, Marketing Manager.
National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen said, “Attendees and Exhibitors at this year’s show have told us that it was a very strong event, despite its timing alongside Hurricane Sandy’s landfall on the East Coast, and a temporary flight restriction for the Orlando area late on Sunday evening and Monday morning before the show. We’re delighted that, especially given those challenges, Convention participants reported strong traffic on the exhibit floor and at the aircraft static displays, along with a high level of enthusiasm among Attendees.”
Some highlights include:
• The show closed with 25,150 people in attendance, a number comparable to the final Attendee total of 26,077 for the 2011 Convention, and to the final Attendee total of 24,206 for the 2012 event.
• The number of Exhibitors at the Orange County Convention Center was 1,073; booth spaces totaled 4,361, an increase over last year’s booth-space total.
• A total of 105 aircraft were shown on two separate static displays, and an additional four aircraft were shown inside the convention center.
• The show drew Attendees from all 50 U.S. states and 87 countries.