While attendees described the 13th annual NBAA Flight Attendants Conference, held June 25 to 27 in New Orleans, as “upbeat,” the economic recession had an obvious effect. With flight departments being closed, flight hours reduced and jobs at a premium, the total number of attendees was 117, less than half the total of 250 who attended last year’s event, according to Steve Brown, senior v-p of operations, speaking for the NBAA Flight Attendant Committee.
Among those who did attend, Brown said, were flight attendants from Europe and South America, as well as the U.S. And while this was the first year the conference included exhibitors, there were only a handful: seven caterers, flight attendant training specialist FACTS and FlightSafety International.
Small, But Informative Conference
Some first-time attendees expressed surprise at what one called “such a low-budget” convention. “It was a very small show,” said another, a full-time flight attendant for a major corporation. “I wasn’t expecting that.” On the other hand, both seemed to feel that the special sessions were “professional and the subject matter was timely.” Sessions ranged from “Anatomy of an Accident” and “Altitude Physiology” to “Regulatory and Security Updates” and “Conflict Resolution.”
