NBAA has added to the ranks of its Leadership Council, which consists of executives from more than 140 member companies. At the 2024 BACE show, the industry association is welcoming the following five companies: aircraft sales broker JetAviva, Concorde Battery Corporation, software specialist Web Manuals, business aviation services group Clay Lacy Aviation, and FBO operator Million Air.
According to NBAA, the Leadership Council’s advocacy role has become more critical as the industry faces criticism over issues such as the environmental impact of aviation and social justice. Its members have articulated the industry’s role as a generator of innovation, sustainability, and opportunities for future aviation professionals. They collaborate with the association’s government affairs team through campaigns such as No Plane No Gain and Climbing Fast.
“The need to demonstrate the vital role business aviation plays for citizens, companies, and communities across the U.S. is critical if we wanted to see our industry continue to thrive—or exist,” Lyndse Costabile, executive liaison for the Leadership Council told AIN. “The group’s simple yet bold mandate initially was to support the association’s work to shape the industry’s destiny.”
Since its inception in 2009, the Leadership Council has played a role in defeating air traffic control privatization, preserving access to airports and airspace, and upholding protections for the privacy of those using business aircraft. It has also supported representation of industry positions before international aviation bodies, as well as growing the business aviation workforce, and enhancing diversity across the industry.
At this week’s BACE show in Las Vegas, multiple Leadership Council companies are exhibiting. Executives designated by those companies are participating in NBAA’s new Flight Deck panel-and-discussion series.
Throughout the year, member companies are also involved in youth and community outreach events around STEM and aviation education. Companies support business aviation days and invest in their own young professionals engaged with NBAA’s YoPro programs.