One of the aviation industry's top trade shows is aloft in Orlando this week, though it is being buffeted by the increasingly turbulent U.S. economy.
Organizers of the National Business Aviation Association's annual convention say the show has drawn just a shade fewer than 30,000 industry people this year, with the crowds split between the Orange County Convention Center and Orlando Executive Airport. That's about 3,000 fewer people than the convention attracted last year in Atlanta.
Still, promoters say they are pleased with the turnout considering the hurdles now facing aviation businesses -- from tightening credit markets to unprecedented fuel prices.
"We're delighted with this level of attendance," said Dan Hubbard, a spokesman for the NBAA, which represents more than 8,000 companies. "I think we recognize that the industry is going through some economic gyrations."
That's not to say the NBAA's three-day convention, which is primarily for industry professionals and concludes today, is a quiet affair.
The show's nearly 1,200 exhibitors have parked a convention-record 139 aircraft for display at Orlando Executive and erected more than 5,300 booths in the convention center's North-South building. Across the cavernous convention floor, companies are hawking everything from corporate jets and helicopters to electric massage chairs that can be installed inside the cabin. |
