The 2024 NBAA White Plains Regional Forum opened this morning with a central theme: a “fiery passion” for the business aviation community. “We band together to nurture aviation career paths to sustain our fiery passion and operation for 1,600 airport employees. When I say fiery passion, I mean it,” said NBAA northeast regional director Brittany Davies.
NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen echoed that sentiment. “Today is a great celebration of our industry. You’re gonna see products, you’re gonna see services. Most importantly, you’re gonna see people that help make this industry what it is, people who are coming here today with a fiery passion,” he said.
Bolen made note of the political opposition to the business aviation industry, similar to the pushback he offered in his opening statements weeks earlier at EBACE 2024.
“As many of you know, we’ve got legislation that has been proposed to quintuple our fuel taxes, to lengthen our depreciation schedules. Those are issues that have the ability to impact us,” he said. “We need to make sure people understand that this is a great industry that is part of an ecosystem, that operates as a family, that nurtures young people, and provides opportunities that connect cities and counties to our country and to the world.”
Bolen argued that business aviation is positioning itself as a leader in net-zero carbon emissions through the Climbing Fast initiative.
“We’re helping the world be a better place, but Climbing Fast takes all of those societal benefits and transitions. It transforms it as well into a discussion about business aviation’s mission to net-zero carbon emissions by 2050,” he said. “Going all the way back to 2009, the business aviation community came forward and we said, ‘We have a long history of being responsible and being sustainable, but we’re going to do more, we’re going to do better.’’”
Bolen also praised the industry for doing more to embrace sustainable aviation fuel (SAF). “What we’ve seen as our community has come forward, we’ve promoted the idea that we can constantly bring new technologies to the market that can help us get people where they need to be when they need to be there and we can adapt to technologies to help make that mission possible,” he noted.
The NBAA leader also praised the recent passage of the FAA reauthorization bill and the confirmation of Michael Whitaker as FAA Administrator. “We were in an acting capacity and we were looking for a strong and effective leader at the FAA,” Bolen said. “Now we have Mike Whitaker, who’s been nominated and confirmed and is now functioning at a very high level as our safety regulator.”
According to Bolen, FAA authorization also affirms business aviation’s role as “a vital link in our transportation system and an important leader throughout our community.”
Bolen made a note of the political undercurrent of the election year, arguing that whoever the attendees vote for in the election will directly impact the nature of the industry.
“I want to just underscore the importance of engagement at every level of our democracy. You know, they say sometimes in a democracy, we get the government we deserve,” he said. “You all have to participate; you have to engage. Elected officials are elected representatives, and their purpose is to represent you, the people that vote. As we move into an election year, my simple message is to be active and be engaged and recognize we can control our destiny by how we vote, how we act, and how we engage as a community.”
Bolen stopped short of making an implicit endorsement of any political candidate. Bolen also made the case for business aviation’s role in the history of human aviation.
“The last thing I want to say—because I want to draw on history—all great cities, all great countries, and all great civilizations throughout history have been based on great transportation systems,” he said. “Think about the Silk Road, think about when all roads led to Rome, think about the great port cities, the great rail cities, the way the highways connected cities in the United States to give them strength and vitality. Airports help connect the world. It brings our country together; it brings our globe together.”