CBAA 2011 Looks to the “Next 50 Years” as the Voice of Business Aviation
CBAA’s 50th Anniversary celebration, CBAA 2011, held in Calgary July 6 & 7 was the place to be for everyone involved in Canada’s business aviation community.
“The CBAA convention and trade show is known as a place where relationships are built and business gets done” said Sam Barone, CBAA President and CEO. “This year, it was also about turning the page and looking ahead to our future.”
The successful trade show was complemented by a series of plenary sessions and presentations that laid out the association’s direction, and explained how CBAA has strengthened its ability to represent business aviation and build membership, adding a new emphasis on single-plane operators.
“The transfer of POC to Transport Canada has, and continues to be a major focus for CBAA, and we continue to push TC for answers and for a program that works for our industry.” said Sam. “But it is not the only issue we are tackling, and the convention was an excellent venue to share our plans and vision for the future.”
In his President’s Address, Sam detailed the steps that the association has taken to ensure its continued relevance to business aviation. “We have retooled virtually every element of the CBAA, inside and out. We’ve rebuilt our value proposition to produce results based on leadership, support and solutions that save our members time, money and political capital. This change is reflected in CBAA’s new brand: a new corporate logo, a new, more useful web site, and a new strategy in how we represent, and profile, our sector.”b
Sam was joined on the podium by Ed Bolen, President & CEO of NBAA who shared two key messages with the audience: the importance of the BA sector to the North American economy, and the commitment to working with CBAA to resolve cross-border issues. “I am not preaching to the choir, I am preaching to missionaries –we’ve got a great story to tell “ he said “ we are an essential industry; we are an important industry. Working together, working cross border, we can do that.”
CBAA and NBAA’s close working relationship includes ongoing collaboration on shared issues, as well as the second Cross Border Issues Conference, to be held later this year in Toronto, December 8 & 9.
CBAA 2011 also encouraged members’ to share their input and guidance, with an open Operators Forum, which allowed senior staff to hear the views and concerns of members in an informal and frank session, and with the first Industry Round Table, held by WINGS Magazine and CBAA. “These sessions have given us invaluable insight into what our real job is” Sam explained “and I am grateful both to WINGS Magazine, and our operators for their support and input”.
Both Transport Canada and Nav Canada provided updates on their activities. Martin Eley, Director General, Civil Aviation, TC, was center stage, reporting on what has and has not yet be done on POC. The session provided another opportunity to identify the gaps in the transition, and their serious nature.
Transport Canada’s unsatisfying responses regarding POC as well as a number of other issues looming on the horizon reaffirmed the importance of having a united front and strong association, going forward.
CBAA`s Chairman, Rob Madden, summed it up. “My strongest message for you today is this is an association we must continue to support. CBAA membership is no longer a requirement for POC – but it is an absolute necessity if business aviation is to thrive in this country. I believe that without the CBAA, business aviation would soon become little more than an afterthought tacked on to other forms of aviation and other regulatory regimes. And we and our customers would be the losers.”
