Contact: Cassandra Bosco
Geneva, Switzerland, May 24, 2004 – The 4th Annual European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE2004) will begin tomorrow at Geneva Palexpo with an Opening General Session featuring keynote speaker Patrick Goudou, executive director of the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA). Pierre Muller, vice president, City of Geneva Executive Council, will provide a welcome address. The session will be moderated by Brian M. Humphries, European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) chairman, and Donald E. Baldwin, National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) chairman, interim president and CEO.
EBACE2004, a three-day Show held from Tuesday, May 25 until Thursday, May 27, is expected to register more than 6,000 Attendees. As of May 19, EBACE2004 had registered 247 Exhibiting Companies occupying 728 3-meter by 3-meter booth spaces and 37 aircraft on Static Display at Geneva International Airport. By comparison, EBACE2003 registered 5,984 Attendees and featured 248 Exhibitors occupying 615 booth spaces.
Opening General Session keynote speaker Patrick Goudou is an engineer of French nationality who graduated from the Ecole Polytechnique in Paris in 1970, going on to train at the Ecole Supérieure de l’Aéronautique et de l’Espace in Toulouse with a specialization in aero-engines. Until recently, his professional career has been spent in France at the General Delegation for Armament, primarily in the aeronautical sector. In early 2002, he assumed the role of chief executive of the Aeronautical Maintenance Agency, and in September 2003 he was appointed EASA executive director.
The EBACE2004 Opening General Session also will include presentations by Roger Gardner, head of air quality and environmental technology of the Department of Transport, UK, and Bo Redeborn, director ATM strategies, Eurocontrol, on the following topics:
- Business aviation and the operating environment
- EASA status
- Environmental issues
- European Union capacity and access
In addition to the Opening General Session, this week’s EBACE will feature Maintenance & Operations Sessions hosted by original equipment manufacturers and Informational Sessions on a variety of business aviation topics, including Eurocontrol and European operational issues, the International Standard for Business Aircraft Operations (IS-BAO), future business aviation concerns, security in the European Union and abroad, and operational issues for those traveling from the European Union to the United States and vice versa.
The EBACE 4th Annual Awards Reception & Banquet will be held Wednesday, May 26 at Geneva’s Hotel President Wilson. The highlight of this event will be the presentation of the 2004 EBACE European Business Aviation Awards to Jean-Francois Georges, retired president and CEO of Dassault Falcon Jet Corp. and senior vice president of civil aircraft for Dassault Aviation, and Fernand Francois, EBAA CEO. For more information about the awards, visit www.ebace.aero/welcome/pressroom/20040510.php.
EBACE2005 has been scheduled for Wednesday, May 18 to Friday, May 20, 2005, in Geneva, Switzerland. For more information about EBACE or to view photos from the 2004 event, visit the official web site this week at www.ebace.aero.
NBAA represents the aviation interests of more than 7,600 companies that own or operate general aviation aircraft as an aid to the conduct of their business, or are involved with business aviation. NBAA Member Companies earn annual revenues approaching $5 trillion — a number that is about half the gross domestic product — and employ more than 19 million people worldwide. The NBAA Annual Meeting & Convention is the world’s largest display of civil aviation products and services.
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International Business Aviation Council Ltd.