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Beyond VEGAS INC
In the coming days, the tarmac at the Henderson Executive Airport will be turned into a first-class showroom for business jets as part of a national aviation convention.
More than 200 planes will be at the airport for the National Business Aviation Association’s annual conference. Their combined value is well into the hundreds of millions of dollars.
The event is expected to draw 25,000 people to the valley and have an economic impact of about $40 million.
Already, jets have begun landing at the airport and large tents are being set up for attendees to tour state-of-the art planes, mingle with other businesspeople, and hopefully make some deals.
“This is all about buying, selling and refurbishing airplanes,” said Katrina Bradshaw, the association’s vice president of sales and static displays.
About 85 of the planes will be showcase items from the industry’s top manufacturers, including Gulfstream Aerospace, Cessna Aircraft, Bombardier Aerospace, and Embraer.
The planes range from single-engine outfits costing $200,000 all the way up to jets capable of accommodating 15 to 18 people that cost tens of millions of dollars each.
The main convention will be at the Las Vegas Convention Center, but the Henderson Executive Airport will serve as a display space for an up-close look at what’s new in aviation technology.
“There are so many types of business jets on the market and having them all in one place at one time is unusual,” Bradshaw said. “It’s about comparing them and seeing what’s new.”
The displays are open only to conventiongoers, although registration for the three-day event — set for Oct. 10-12 — is still open.
Many of the convention’s visitors will arrive by private jet, and the Henderson Executive Airport will also serve as long-term parking for planes during the week.
All 159 slots were reserved months in advance, the fullest the airport has ever been, said Clark County Aviation Department spokesman Chris Jones. Coordinating the arrivals and departures of the aircraft took a joint, months-long effort by the aviation department, the Federal Aviation Administration, and the aviation association.
Jones said the experience helped the aviation department develop a plan that can be used during future conventions and events.
This is the second time in the past decade the association has hosted its convention in Las Vegas, although it’s the first time since the Henderson Executive Airport underwent renovations that expanded its tarmac and upgraded its facilities.
The expanded airport was designed in part to host large gatherings of planes for events, Jones said.
“We wanted to have a venue that could draw general aviation events,” Jones said. “Our airspace is limited and we like to use McCarran (International Airport) for commercial traffic.”
The plan is paying off, with the aviation association already committed to return to Las Vegas in 2013, and possibly in 2015 and 2017, pending negotiations.
“Our problem is who can accommodate that much indoor space at a convention center and not have an airport a million miles away,” Bradshaw said. “There aren’t too many cities that can accommodate this large of a show.”