EBACE 2022 — Best Shot Aircraft

EBACE 2022 – The European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition is finally back after the two-year Covid19 pandemic, and its return has been a success!

From 23th to 25th May 2022 at Geneva Palaexpo, after the long stop caused by the pandemic, one of the most waited and famous business aviation exhibitions in the world took place again: EBACE 2022, sponsored by the European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) and the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA). A long wait filled by perfect organization and new business jets presented at the event by the ever-present major aeronautical companies.

Opening

The opening of this year’s exhibition had the famous tennis player, lawyer and Pilot as keynote speaker: Martina Navratilova. The Czech-born and naturalized American tennis player opened the event together with Zara Rutherford, the youngest woman to fly alone around the world aboard an ultralight Shark aircraft from the Slovakian company Shark Aero. Zara talked about how she went on her record flight with all the anecdotes, unexpected events and special situations that occurred during the flight.

A nice opening by the two guests that gave the path to the event starting from the exceptional experience of these two great women, who were kindly hosted by NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen, EBAA Secretary General Athar Husain Khan and André Schneider CEO of Genève Aéroport and chairman of World Climate Ltd.

The Geneva exhibition therefore began on Monday 23th May and in the following days hosted the world of business aviation and also special guests to enrich the conferences and meetings of the event.

Special guest

Particularly awaited was the speech by Maya Ghazal, UNHCR Goodwill Ambassador and First female Syrian refugee pilot, who told her story in an interview moderated by Athar Husain Khan at the Innovation Zone of EBACE 2022.
“Everything Is Possible as Long as You Believe in Yourself” says Maya, forced to flee Syria in 2015 due to the war, she started her life again in the United Kingdom, today she has a degree in aeronautical engineering and has also realized her dream of becoming the first Syrian female refugee pilot.

Another important presence for business aviation concerns the world of social networks, in fact a very welcome guest this year at EBACE was the social media and aviation influencer Sam Chui.
Sam has shared with his followers all his impressions of this important and famous exhibition of business aviation and will certainly return next year as well.

Aircraft

The most important global business aviation companies took part in the Swiss exhibition and also brought many of their flagship aircraft for static display outside the pavilions of the Geneva Palaexpo, in fact in the apron of the Geneva airport there were 50 tra jet, propeller and business helicopters.

But also many innovative concepts and new business jet models made their debut at EBACE 2022. The Canadian Bombardier presented its Global 8000, unveiled in Geneva in world premiere, developed in part by the Global 7500 from 2025 it will be the business jet fastest and with the longest range (8,000 nm) and a maximum speed of Mach 0.94 (627 knot).

Among the aircraft present at EBACE, including airplanes and helicopters, we were able to admire a Boeing BBJ, Bombardier 7500, Dassault Falcon 6X, Gulfstream 700 and Tecnam P2012 and many more from the companies Airbus, Embraer, Honda Aircraft Company, Pilatus Aircraft Ltd, Textron Aviation, etc.

Sustainability

EBACE Business Aviation Sustainability Summit for the first time brought ambitious sustainability goals with revolutionary technologies and other innovations to ensure a zero-emissions future for the sector. The summit took place as part of the convention between 23th and 24th May 2022 and during these days the participants were able to learn about next generation propulsion systems, advanced air mobility, pioneering progress in carbon reduction and many other initiatives of sustainability.

The sustainability summit also featured the launch of S.T.A.R.S. (Standards & Training for Aviation Responsibility and Sustainability) sponsored by EBAA and International Business Aviation Council and conceived at EBACE19 by young professionals from half a dozen European countries. This initiative goes beyond emissions reduction to include best practices for workplace diversity, gender equality and inclusion.

The Innovation Pavilion will highlight the ongoing investment and development in bringing electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) and advanced air mobility (AAM) aircraft to market, featuring nearly a dozen models from these revolutionary companies. eHang, EVIATION, Hydroplane Ltd., Lilium, PAL-V, Pipistrel, SAMAD Aerospace and VoltAer.

At the close of the event, the aircraft present were refueled with SAF (Sustainable Aviation Fuel), thanks to a partnership with Geneva Airport, Jet Aviation and TotalEnergies. Available for the first time for EBACE outbound flights, SAF has the potential to reduce lifecycle greenhouse gas emissions as much as 80%, compared to fossil fuels.

Business aviation exhibitions

EBACE 2022, one of the most important European and world business aviation exhibitions, the cradle of sustainability and the development of innovative systems for the future of business aviation. Also this year, after a long awaited return, it has shown its importance and presented important conferences which, among the many topics covered, have also dealt with the current serious situation of war and the impact it is having in the aeronautical environment.

“EBACE2022 has been lightning in a bottle, bringing people from across the world together to see, touch and feel the future of business aviation,” said European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) Secretary-General Athar Husain Khan. “We depart Geneva driven by the innovation and enthusiasm turbocharged here at EBACE, thrilled to be part of an industry that’s leading, evolving and growing.”

The Aviation business is restarting with an important impact on the world of global aviation, new technologies, materials and ideas for a better and cleaner future. Next appointment at the 2022 NBAA Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (NBAA-BACE) in Orlando (USA) from October 18th to 20th with 100 different aircraft of all types.

EBACE will return to Palexpo and Geneva Airport next year’s from 23-25 May 2023 e we will be present again.

From Geneva (CH): Daniele Maiolo, Maria Sordon.