At its inaugural staging in April, the European Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (EBACE) did more than enough to seize a space for itself in the world’s crowded airshow calendar. So next May 28 to 30 EBACE will be returning to its launch venue at Geneva International Airport’s Palais d’Expositions (Palexpo) and is provisionally slated to remain at the Swiss gateway at least through 2004 before other European locations are considered.
The 2001 show drew 3,620 professional visitors to meet 190 exhibitors in Palexpo’s 172,000-sq-ft Hall 7. Using a specially built footbridge (which, through a neat feat of diplomacy on the part of organizers, actually straddled the French-Swiss border), showgoers could step right out onto a static display area to view 31 business aircraft. This was a degree of convenience that has yet to be achieved at NBAA shows, where visitors inevitably need to be bused between downtown convention centers and the airport. Indeed, by holding the show at an airport with excellent scheduled services from throughout the continent, EBACE was able to encourage busy European corporate pilots to at least make a day trip to the event.
