NBAA Reaches Membership Milestone

Washington, D.C. - National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) membership recently topped 9,000 companies, a new record reflecting a growth rate of 25 percent in recent years.

“Our membership growth is testimony to the value of business aviation and NBAA’s role in representing this essential industry,” says Ed Bolen, NBAA president and CEO. “Now more than ever, businesses depend on the use of aircraft to remain nimble, competitive and successful in a highly-challenging global marketplace, and we are proud to advocate for their interests.”

NBAA was established in 1947 with 19 charter members. Today, the association represents a diverse composite of 9,103 companies of all sizes all across the U.S. and which have in common a reliance on business aviation to be more efficient and productive.

Over the years, NBAA has promoted a host of initiatives that support business aviation, including improvements to airways and airports, better weather-reporting services, expansion of communications and air navigation facilities, higher standards for airport services, equitable tax rulings for business aircraft operations and better air traffic control procedures, among other priorities.

NBAA has also worked to defeat initiatives that would have an adverse impact on the industry, including proposals for aviation user fees, efforts to dismantle the Block Aircraft Registration Request (BARR) program, the Transportation Security Administration’s attempt to implement a Large Aircraft Security Program and other onerous policy proposals.

More broadly, the association has worked to educate policymakers and opinion leaders about the industry’s value, primarily through the association’s 'No Plane No Gain' advocacy campaign, which is co-sponsored by the General Aviation Manufacturers Association (GAMA). The campaign highlights the fact that business aviation supports 1.2 million jobs and $150 billion in economic activity each year, provides a transportation lifeline to communities without airline service, helps companies thrive and supports humanitarian initiatives across the country.

NBAA has also continually increased its offerings of events, products and services to help support member operations and help industry professionals ascend in their careers.

For example, in addition to the association’s annual meeting and convention, NBAA hosts a number of other seminars, conferences, forums and educational webinars each year. NBAA makes a variety of guidance resources available to members, to help companies of all sizes optimize the use of their flight operations. The association also provides an Operations Services Group, an Air Traffic Services desk, a professional staff of industry specialists and six regional representatives to assist member companies with their daily operational, management and other concerns.

“We are delighted that companies that rely on business aviation continue to find value in the support for the industry NBAA provides,” says Bolen. “In the years to come, we look forward to counting more companies among our members, and supporting their use of business aviation to meet their long-term goals.”

For more information, visit www.nbaa.org.