The Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE) will rejoin the business aviation show circuit on February 28 to March 1, 2012 at Hongqiao Airport in Shanghai, China. ABACE had been held from 2004 through 2007, but the 2009 show was canceled due to the economic downturn. As before, ABACE will be hosted by the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and the Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA).
ABACE 2012 will be held at the Shanghai Hawker Pacific Business Aviation Center, a new facility that is a joint venture between Shanghai Airport Authority and Hawker Pacific. Exhibitors will display their services and products inside the facility's 4,000-square-meter hangar, while a static display of about 50 aircraft will fill the ramp next to the hangar. Another key feature of the ABACE show will be on-site educational sessions focused on business and regulatory issues in the Asia business aviation marketplace.
NBAA associate members and advisory council members expressed a strong interest in holding a show in Asia, said Kathleen Blouin, NBAA senior vice president, conventions, seminars and forums, at the association's MEBA stand (E158). "They feel the market is really starting to pop over there," she said.
Jason Liao was recently appointed as NBAA's chief representative in the region and he also serves as vice chairman of the AsBAA. Liao will play a key role in promoting and developing the ABACE show and encouraging "government officials to develop aviation-friendly regulations, pursue reasonable access rules and work to harmonize industry regulations across Asian countries," according to the NBAA.
At the Business Aviation Safety Seminar-Asia held in Singapore last month, Liao highlighted how different regulatory climates affect safety. "A patchwork of safety requirements across a geographic region can contribute to a reduction of safety as operators attempt to comply with myriad rules and procedures across states," he said. "We encourage states, as much as possible, to coordinate safety standards that reflect a harmonized approach to airspace use, airport access and safety oversight
