Supporting the industry

What got you interested in aviation?

I’ve been in aviation from day one. I went to Cranfield University because I like flying. I like everything to do with aviation. The whole idea was that I wanted to become a pilot, which I am now. I started off in commercial aviation and converting passenger aircraft to freighters. Then I ended up in regional aviation, did some things in aviation training, and ended up in business aviation; that’s been my main focus for the last 15–18 years. Within business aviation, there’s a wide variety of things: I’ve been active for a charter operator, for a fractional operator, and I’ve been working and looking after aircraft management. And there’s a lot of business aviation operators who either as the primary or secondary source of income do medical flights in different shapes or forms.

You’ve said previously that this year’s EBACE has been “reimagined and evolved” following the departure of the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). What makes EBACE25 stand out from previous editions?

The first thing is that we are fully in control of the show and everything associated with it. So, at EBAA, our main aim is that EBACE is by the industry, for the industry. We want people to understand that actually our core business as EBAA is not shows, but that the show is there to support the industry and give a platform to the industry. Any funds that come out of the show are helping to protect the industry. Throughout the years, a lot of money that came out of the show has been used by the EBAA to support the industry.

We want people to know that this is ‘your’ show. It’s for our members, which is you. We’ve also tried to translate what’s happening at the show. So the layout is different. This year there are no static aircraft because we couldn’t pull it off with the timing, but there may be the static again in future.

The most important thing was that we said: “What do you really want?” One of our other successful shows is called AIROPS, which is more operationally focused, so we’ve integrated that. We’re also giving much more space to sessions on the floor, such as innovation and sustainability, but also operational issues, regulatory issues like Part-IS, and all the things that are hitting our members now, such as ReFuelEU and anti-tankering regulation.

We want everybody from CEO level to an operational level to really find something at the show. That’s a big change. And then on top of that, the way we have the layout of the show, we want it to feel different. Normally everything is in straight lines; this year is about the DNA of business aviation – there are circles around which the show is focused, so it feels different. We have the different stages and we try to do as much as we can on the floor.

There will be an Opening Celebration on the floor on the first night and we’ve created an Association Village purely for people to understand this is an association-run show. But we’re not the only association there. The EBAA has joint agreements with national associations in the UK, France, you name it, but also in Montreal, Canada; they’re all there. We want to guarantee that this show is for the industry; it’s not for somebody else trying to make money off the show.

Is there a theme to the conference and sessions?

We try to group different topics together. You have the Innovation Stage, so on one day, one stage is all about innovation. There’s another one about sustainability, so everything about sustainability will be discussed there. Then we have the AIROPS Stage and it is all about operational things. And then we have the FlightGlobal Stage and it will all be about news, news that’s relevant at the show but also around the industry.

How else is EBACE25 going to affect the special missions audience/sector?

Generally, special missions are weaving through a lot of the topics that are there, and that’s because a lot of these operators are also regular business aviation operators. We haven’t focused any specific additional topics on special missions, but it’s definitely an area we’re looking at for next year’s show because it’s a very important part of the industry.

Is there anything more that people can expect from EBACE25?

The thing is we’re completely reimagining everything – the look and feel of the show and the conference program. But the other thing is we’re also talking to everybody about next year. Where shall we go with the show? This is transition year. This is a year of change. We want to know what you want, both as exhibitors and attendees; what do you want from its location and everything. By 2026, you will see even further developments of where EBACE is going to go, to make sure it remains relevant. This is, after all, the main networking event for business aviation.

EBACE25 will take place from 20–22 May at Palexpo, Geneva, Switzerland. To buy tickets for EBACE25, visit https://ebace.aero/tickets