A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

This past weekend’s Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix provided a big win for private aviation, with thousands of spectators watching from stands along the city’s famed Strip as European driver Max Verstappen took home the trophy on Sunday.
A prior-permission-required (PPR) system was placed in effect for aircraft arrivals in the days leading up to the event, and Heidi Hayes, a spokeswoman from the Clark County Department of Aviation, told AIN it received more than 1,200 PPR requests across its general aviation operations. That aligns with the 1,211 business arrivals tracked into the city’s three main airports in the four days ahead of the race by FlightAware.
FBOs at the city’s three airports—including Signature Aviation and Atlantic Aviation at Harry Reid International (KLAS), Henderson Executive (KHND), and North Las Vegas (KVGT), the latter two operated by Clark County—imposed special-event surcharges mainly on larger aircraft. All three airports claimed to have filled their available aircraft parking space by last Wednesday, forcing latecomers to perform drop-and-goes.
“Overall, we handled more than 400 operations from Thursday to Monday as a result of Formula 1 in Las Vegas,” a Signature Aviation spokesperson reported, noting a significant increase compared with the same period last year. “Our team was ready, even during the busiest hours, to provide an exceptional customer experience without incident.”
At KHND, NetJets established its own parking/passenger drop-off area on the ramp occupied last month by the static display at NBAA-BACE. Gulfstream had one of its mobile service units on hand at the airport to assist customers.
According to industry data provider Argus International, the three airports saw a “visible increase” in arriving aircraft starting on Wednesday, with a peak of more than 400 arrivals between them on Thursday.
“This event gave us a good indication of what demand might be when Las Vegas hosts its first Super Bowl in February,” said Hayes.

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Las Vegas Grand Prix Race Draws Flocks of Private Aircraft

With hundreds of private aircraft arrivals to area airports, it served as a trial run for February's Super Bowl

This past weekend’s Formula 1 Las Vegas Grand Prix provided a big win for private aviation, with thousands of spectators arriving to watch from stands along the city’s famed Strip and local aviation officials viewing it as test run for the upcoming Super Bowl.

Vegas Grand Prix Draws Flocks of Private Aircraft

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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News and issues relating to the aerospace industry that are related to the science, engineering and business of flight in space involving civil, industrial and military applications, and similar topics related to flight in the atmosphere of the Earth that are not covered more directly by other AINonline subject channels. In other words, both astronautical and aeronautical subjects, except for those aeronautical topics that are specifically covered elsewhere on this website.

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News and developments about airplanes, helicopters and unmanned air vehicles used in all varieties of operations, including airlines, military, business, commercial, general aviation and private.

News and issues concerning the aviation charter and fractional-ownership industries and markets, including company announcements, regulations, new developments and labor issues.

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