Ian Sheppard has acted as Editor International Show Editions for AIN since June 2013. Based in the Redhill, England, Ian reports for the various AIN publications as well as providing support to International Editor Charles Alcock in covering international air shows (such as Farnborough, Paris, Singapore and Dubai), and the EBACE and MEBA business aviation events. His central role is to cover Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA).
Prior to becoming more involved with AIN in mid-2011 (initially as deputy international editor), Ian worked for various aviation publications through his company, First Aerospace Media. This included being part of the AIN team covering daily news at international air shows.
Ian has worked for publications such as Flight International (technical reporter, 1997-8) and Aerospace International (editor, 1999-2000). He was publications manager at Airclaims (Ascend) between 2000 and 2004 before forming First Aerospace Media. Since mid-2009 Ian has also been managing editor of Regional International, the journal of the European Regions Airline Association (ERA).
Ian hasis working towards a European commercial pilot licence, having held an FAA private pilot license in 1991, and instructor rating. He also has a degree in aeronautical engineering from the University of Bath, England, and a graduate diploma in law from Kingston University, and is a graduate of the legal practice course (College of Law, Guildford).

Editor

Ian Sheppard

Abdullah Al-Sayed, founder and chairman of ambitious Saudi Arabian flight operations services specialist Nexus, visited ABACE 2016 this week to sign a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with a Chinese company to establish an aviation training company.
“We signed an MoU on Tuesday with a Chinese general aviation operator, to establish a Nexus Aviation College in Xinjiang province, western China,” Lydia Sheng, Nexus business development director, told AIN. She was accompanying Al-Sayed on a tour of the ABACE show.
The college will offer a broad range of courses across the aviation spectrum, including ATC, flight training, maintenance, dispatch/ground handling and cabin crew, said Sheng. “It is mainly to support the general aviation (GA) industry in China, as the sector has huge potential,” she added. “There is a serious lack of infrastructure and the [Chinese] government is looking to make GA a pillar of the economy by 2020.”
Sheng said that Nexus and its JV partner had been “working closely with the provincial government. We aim to finish the joint-venture agreement in the third quarter and hopefully operate the college from the start of 2017.” The college will be set up by Nexus subsidiary Wyvern Aviation Services, she added, and will be probably be called Nexus Aviation College China. “We have not worked out all the details yet,” Sheng admitted.
“In China, we are also looking to start our flight operations services–we already have a flight operations services center opening in Manila [in the Philippines] in June with 60 staff.” Sheng also said, “We are in discussions with another Chinese company about a joint venture for flight operations here. This could happen even faster [than the college].”

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