“This day happens to be one of the most important days that we have seen in a long time,” NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen said this morning during the opening session at the association's 35th annual Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference (SDC). “That is because, over the last week, we have seen misstatements about business aviation and misperceptions being projected.”
He was referring to proposals in Washington regarding increasing jet fuel taxes on business aviation, lengthening aircraft depreciation schedules, and stepped-up IRS auditing of aircraft operators. “We see that our industry is effectively under attack,” Bolen stated.
Bolen urged the audience gathered at Texas' Fort Worth Convention Center to contact their elected officials and tell the industry’s story about how these aircraft are used and the essential and unique benefits they provide. "Let them know this is an industry that does great things,” Bolen said. Playing off this year’s SDC theme of “Engage and Empower: Where Your Quest Begins,” he added, “We need our community to feel empowered to tell Congress—we need people to be engaged to make that happen.”
The opening session also included the presentation of this year's Schedulers & Dispatchers Outstanding Achievement & Leadership Award to Chris Algee, manager of flight scheduling operations and administration with Encompass Health's flight department. The session concluded with a keynote address by retired USAF Colonel Merryl Tengesdal, a decorated veteran pilot who also served in the U.S. Navy and was the first and only Black woman to fly the U-2 high-altitude reconnaissance airplane, racking up more than 3,400 flight hours and 330 combat hours.