In the same week that NBAA reported that fewer than 100 exhibit spaces are available for the 2021 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE), the organisation hosted a delegation of enthusiastic exhibitors at the Las Vegas Convention Center, who detailed plans for new product introductions, announcements and other special events at the popular show.

Excitement was palpable among exhibitors throughout the visit to the convention centre's West Hall, where the show will take place from 12-14 October. The 1.4 million sq ft venue features bright and open exhibit areas and meeting rooms, digital signage and large ‘elephant doors’ specifically designed to better accommodate NBAA's indoor aircraft display and advanced air mobility pavilion. A rooftop terrace will be the location for receptions and other gatherings throughout the show.

“Having seen the new West Hall makes me even more excited about the live, and more importantly, in-person NBAA-BACE event in October,” says Dawn Leeper of Universal Avionics. “It's going to be great to see everyone in a few months.”

“October is going to be the perfect time to kick off our first big, in-person event; a coming back together for the industry in so many ways,” adds Kassidy Carpenter of World Fuel Services. “You can see people are ready to get back together, and the new West Hall is the perfect place to do that.”

“Textron Aviation is looking forward to the return of NBAA-BACE,” enthuses EJ Corporan of Textron Aviation. “The team at NBAA is doing an amazing job with its plans to bring everyone back together safely in this new space. While the virtual events have kept us all connected throughout this time, there really is no substitute for the in-person networking platform that NBAA-BACE provides our industry.”

Chris Strong, NBAA senior vice president for events, provided a report to the delegation detailing the continuing momentum leading up to the show: exhibitor hotel registrations are on par with Las Vegas NBAA conventions in recent years, and it increasingly appears that the convention's aircraft display at Henderson Executive airport will sell out.

Strong added that Las Vegas lifted all COVID restrictions effective 1 June. The delegation was able to see a live event underway, with the World of Concrete exhibition taking place during the group's convention centre visit. NBAA-BACE exhibitors noted that, despite a few reasonable measures in consideration of the current environment, including online registration, wider show floor aisles and temperature screenings, the WoC show was otherwise “business as usual.”

Strong acknowledged the hard work done by LVCC staff and construction crews in bringing best practices to bear during the COVID pandemic, while simultaneously readying the West Hall facility for a return to in-person events.

“On every level, Las Vegas is ready to host NBAA-BACE,” Strong concludes. “We are going to host one of the most impactful and inspiring events in the show's history, and we look forward to seeing everyone at NBAA-BACE this October.”