June is always a special time for me. It’s the month when the leaders of the Pinnacle Air Network gather for their annual meeting. My role as executive director of the organization is to determine the event’s location, plan it, and execute it. This year, we’ll have leaders from Cutter Aviation, Stevens Aerospace & Defense, Elliott Aviation, West Coast Aviation, Kansas City Aviation (KCAC), Fargo Jet Center, Flightcraft, Woodland Aviation, Eagle Aviation, Muncie Aviation, Signature TECHNICAir, Western Aircraft, and MAC Air (Maine Aviation) in attendance. These are some of the most renowned FBOs, MROs, aircraft sales, and charter organizations in the U.S., all in one place – Dallas, Texas. We don’t always hold it in Dallas; usually, it’s elsewhere. Last year, we held the meeting in Fargo, ND. But this year, our partner StandardAero will be announcing some great things going on at its DFW overhaul facility, so we, of course, need to see what the StandardAero folks are up to.
In addition to visiting StandardAero’s DFW facility, the group will be receiving industry updates from leaders at Blackhawk, NBAA, Ironfleet AI, IOA USA, and Pratt & Whitney Canada. It’ll be a truly enlightening meeting. With Maria Della Posta retiring later this year from her role as president, the updates from Pratt & Whitney Canada will be especially interesting. Mathieu Patino, Pratt’s director of North American turboprop customer programs, will come to Dallas to brief us on everything happening at the world’s top turboprop manufacturer. We thank Maria for her leadership; she built that leadership through years of hard work and great communication. Since 1985, she has been especially instrumental in growing Pratt’s aftermarket network.
One of the unique aspects of this year’s meeting is that Dallas (actually Arlington, TX) hosts several FIFA World Cup soccer games at the Dallas Cowboys’ AT &T Stadium. My town is planning to be overrun by soccer fans from all over the world. Hotels are booked to capacity, which is great. It also made the hotel search for my group’s meeting difficult. But it wasn’t impossible, and we found a great one. Right in Dallas’ Uptown neighborhood. My neighborhood.
With Oshkosh right around the corner, summer is shaping up properly.
