One of the biggest questions of the conference was how the United States would adjust to the new leadership. Adam Pilarski, Ph.D, senior vice president, consulting, AVITAS, Inc., explored this topic during the Keynote Address, saying the "Make America Great Again" campaign slogan is an internal call-to-arms and not a pledge to make the country great as the top world leader.

"The U.S. has been sacrificing efficiency for quality, and now I wonder if the country can be run as a business," Pilarski said. "If America will not lead the world, who will?"

Other panels juxtaposed leasing, OEM, airline, finance and other industry updates with the shifting government and economic tides, as John Leahy, chief operating officer – customers, Airbus, announced a growing backlog of airplanes and Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing, Boeing Commercial Airplanes, urged for open borders to allow the industry to flourish.

Beyond the sessions, Marc S. Allinson, executive director, Charlotte Parker Associates, passed the torch of ISTAT president to Doug Runte, managing director & head of aviation research, Deutsche Bank, in a teary-eyed address that received a standing ovation. "We are all family in this industry," Allinson said.

Look for more ISTAT Americas coverage in the Summer edition of Jetrader.

Presentations and photos from ISTAT Americas are now available via the ISTAT mobile app and the ISTAT website.

 

With a successful ISTAT Americas in the books, members can now turn their attention toward Hong Kong and ISTAT Asia, which is set for Tuesday, 9 May – Thursday, 11 May. Attendees will explore Asia's growing influence in aircraft leasing, financing, trading and manufacturing, while making valuable connections with industry peers.

 

ISTAT EMEA
24-26 September 2017
Edinburgh International Conference Centre
Edinburgh, Scotland

ISTAT Holiday Receptions
6 December 2017
Locations around the globe

ISTAT Americas
4-6 March 2018
San Diego Marriott Marquis & Marina
San Diego, CA

 

ISTAT is pleased to announce these new and returning members.

 

Congratulations to these ISTAT members on their new positions.

 

In 2016, the ISTAT Foundation provided over $660,000 to support the future of aviation and humanitarianism. Learn more about the Foundation’s 2016 activities by viewing the Annual Report Video.

 

This year, the ISTAT Foundation hosted 16 students from the Scholarship, Internship and ISTAT University Programs at the ISTAT Americas conference in San Diego. Check out footage from their experience on our Facebook page.

 

Congratulations to the ISTAT Americas raffle winners!
Josephine Herrera-Rivera – United 787-9 model (donated by Pacmin)
Linn Shaw – JetBlue A321 model (donated by Pacmin)

Support the ISTAT Foundation by bidding on rare PacMin models including a Donghai 737, a JetBlue A321, and an AeroMexico 787! Pacmin is holding their first charity eBay auction of the year on 20 April. Look more details on the auction in the April ISTAT UPdate.

Click here to access the PacMin eBay auction page. All models are donated by PacMin.

 

The ISTAT Foundation is accepting applications for the 2017 ISTAT Foundation Scholarship Program. The Foundation is actively engaged in helping university students develop potential careers in aviation by offering scholarship support. To learn more about the scholarship program and student eligibility requirements, please visit our website.

 

 

Britain left the European Union, and the United States elected Donald J. Trump. The Western world has made a move from globalization to isolationism. What will this do to the global economy, and what will it mean for an industry that connects the globe? Not much in 2017, industry bellwethers say. But a downturn is coming. And fuel prices are going up.

 

 

 

U.S. and Chinese officials are collaborating on a new conference that will be held later this month in Southern California to explore possibilities for expanding the business and general aviation sector in China. The new U.S.-China General Aviation Business Conference, to be held March 25-31 and hosted by Threshold Aviation, is attracting more than 30 representatives from Chinese government agencies, investment organizations, airport operations and academia.

 

The Hong Kong Government on March 10 published the Inland Revenue Amendment (No. 2) Bill 2017, which contains measures designed to boost the territory's attractiveness as a location for aircraft leasing. Plans to give profits tax concessions to qualifying aircraft lessors and qualifying aircraft leasing managers were flagged up earlier in the year, and in his 2017-18 budget, delivered in late February, Financial Secretary Paul Chan reiterated the Government's plans to introduce incentives in this area.

 

Lufthansa’s chief executive said on Thursday that Middle Eastern airlines will be forced to introduce "structural changes" to their operating models as passenger demand falls short of capacity.