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

At the opening general session this morning for the 30th anniversary edition of the NBAA Schedulers and Dispatchers Conference in San Antonio, Texas, association president and CEO Ed Bolen thanked the audience for their engagement in last year’s fight over ATC privatization. “When we work together and we coordinate, and we can communicate, we can make a big difference,” he said. “We can solve problems.”

 


Among the next challenges facing the industry is the intensifying pressure on the workforce, with shortages of pilots and maintenance technicians already being felt, said Bolen. “Recognizing that there is a shortage out there, we’ve got to find some way to continue to attract and retain the very best.”

 


He detailed a number of efforts NBAA and the industry can further use to attract talent at the grassroots level. For example, NBAA has already modified its professional membership tier to welcome students, allowing them to participate in the organization and take advantage of its resources. Through NBAA's regional representatives, it also works to foster career events for students, along with internships at companies&nbsp;introducing people to the industry and mentorship programs guiding them.

 


The organization has also revamped its compensation survey to give employers a better idea of what talent is worth.

Bolen Notes Labor Shortage Strategies at SDC

He described steps the industry and NBAA are taking to attract and maintain aviation talent in a tight labot market this morning.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers 2019

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