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The Boyd Group, Inc.
Advisors to the Aviation Industry
Since 1984
78 Beaver Brook Canyon Road
Evergreen, Colorado, 80439
303-674-2000
303-674-9995 Facsimile
aviation-info@aviationplanning.com

The First Forecast Conference Of
The New Aviation Era

Start Mapping The Future:
Information. Forecasts. Answers.

This will be the thirteenth year of The Boyd Group Aviation Forecast Conference. Because of the venue and because the industry is entering an entirely new era, this year we're structuring the event as The Aviation Forecast Summit At Aspen.

And it will be a Summit. A Summit of new ideas. A Summit covering the new future of aviation. A Summit that will provide attendees with a clearer view of what can be expected in the months ahead.

You have to deal with the real world, and as of today, that represents completely uncharted territory. Remember, the spike in oil prices affect the entire economy - distribution, logistics, consumer spending patterns, levels of discretionary income, capital spending across entire industries. Aviation is going to be buffeted and changed by these swirling dynamics, most of which have not yet fully manifested.

This Aviation Forecast Summit is not meant to be "thought-provoking." Other conferences can do that, wasting precious time. This Summit is intended to provoke action - outline the future and give the attendees information and insight they can apply immediately.

A Focused. No-Nonsense Format. This Summit will explore and define the new strategies for survival and success in the future. As our annual attendees know, this event is an activist and aggressive forecast conference - it is not a collection of rambling opinions and vapid panels. The Boyd Group is the foremost firm in providing no-nonsense aviation trend forecasts. And this year, it's going to be no different. Just more intense.

So clear your calendar for October 5-7 and prepare to get some hard forecast data on what we can expect in the next 18 months.

Covering New Territory - Not Re-hashing The Past

The old metrics are gone. Oil prices have erased the traditional underpinnings of the aviation business. How the business was approached, strategized, and executed have changed completely.

Just a brief outline of some of the concepts we're covering at the Summit:

• Fleets Not Designed For The Mission. At $3 a gallon jet-A, every airliner flying today is functionally obsolete within the current airline operating structure. And fuel is now hovering at 30% above that figure
  
• Need To Shed Small Jets. Whole fleets of airliners will need to get grounded. The Boyd Group was the first to forecast this for "regional jets." Agreements with some small jet providers will need to be changed - and soon. That means major shifts in air service patterns
  
• Outdated Airline Product Execution. How airlines do business has got to change, and fast. Carriers that can move, quickly and decisively - and in the right direction - will survive
  
• Near Irrelevance From Capitol Hill. Politicians are in complete confusion regarding aviation policy. That means the industry must take matters into its own hands. Waiting for the FAA to fix things is as useless as waiting for Elvis to arrive
  
• Not Necessarily No Air Service. Different Air Service. Air traffic patterns will dramatically change. That means change, not necessarily disappear. The Chicken Littles predicting dozens of airports losing all service are flat wrong. In fact, they're not chickens. They're parrots, just repeating what they hear. The lack of economically-viable airliners means that hub-reach is going to contract - not eliminate - air service options.
  
• New Fleet Demands. If airlines are to return to profitability, fuel consumption will need to be the new metric. That means re-fleeting. How this will affect financial institutions, airports, and suppliers will be a major change from the past.
  
• General & Business Aviation. The upper end of the business aviation industry may be somewhat less vulnerable to fuel prices. But the mid range and entry levels are anything but. How this will affect airports will not be pretty.

These are among the many trends we'll be covering at the Aviation Forecast Summit at Aspen, October 5-7. Unlike other conferences, this one actually focuses on reality, not hypothetical opinion. This conference has hard data, not carefully-worded "opinions" from bureaucrats or others.

Real Forecasts. Not Supposition

As with our prior conferences, the 2008 Summit will be an event that provides actual, independent forecasts of all areas of aviation. No supposition. No meandering panels of opinions. Just the direct, and focused data from The Boyd Group's three main annual forecasts.

• Aviation Trend Forecasts that outline how each sector will move in the coming year and beyond. The new strategies and tactics in the airline industry, in the aircraft manufacturing sector, and in other key areas.
  
• The Annual Boyd Group Global Aircraft Fleet Demand Forecast for the next decade. Where new airliner demand will be seen. Retirement trends. Capacity shifts and category overlaps. The only independent forecast of its kind, and with a track record unrivaled for accuracy. We don't follow the consensus. We look over the horizon and give our clients a better view of the future. 
  
• And The Boyd Group's exclusive Airports:USA(TM) enplanement growth data. Where traffic growth will manifest, where it will decline. And the trends that will be in play over the next five years.

Interviews & Discussions With Industry Leaders

In addition to the aviation industry's most incisive and valuable forecasts, we're also going to have an agenda that will provide insights and perspectives that are available nowhere else.

Discussions - not rambling panels - with key leaders in aviation. You get real information - not supposition - not only from The Boyd Group's professional forecasts, but also from key leaders in aviation. We ask hard questions. And hard follow-up questions.

Sorry, We're Not Inviting The Secretary of Transportation. This Summit concentrates on providing information, data, and insight available no where else. It is an event focused on futurist concepts, straight talk, and real forecasts. Political correctness is not allowed in the door, because we look for the bottom line. Not the party line.

Other conferences gravitate around rambling "keynote" speeches made by FAA administrators, DOT secretaries, and various federal bureaucrats. In virtually all cases, such presentations are carefully-prepared canned speeches that fail to advance the forum of discussion. The fact that Washington has accomplished very little in regard to meeting aviation's challenges should clearly explain why these people are not invited to The Boyd Group Forecast Conferences.

Our regular attendees will confirm that this Summit is different. Instead of presentations from government officials that only repeat what's been said before, and usually say nothing pertinent to the real challenges facing aviation, this event deals with hard realities. When it comes to telling it like it is, The Boyd Group Conference has earned the reputation of taking no prisoners.

Discussions With Decision-Makers In Aviation Leaders

Presenters at The Aviation Forecast Summit At Aspen 2008 are confirmed from companies and airlines that are setting the pace in this new and difficult aviation environment:

Alaska Airlines
El Al
Armbrust Aviation
Boeing
Airbus
Embraer
Frontier Airlines
American Airlines
Northwest Airlines
KLM
Air Transport Association
AirIT
US Airways

With more to be announced in the coming weeks.

Presentations From Real Leaders. To give an idea of the scope of our forecast speakers, at our 2007 Event, hosted by Sarasota Bradenton International Airport, we had outstanding presentations from key CEOs and decision-makers from:

AirTran - Robert Fornaro - CEO
Frontier Airlines - Sean Menke - President
KLM - Pieter Elbers - SR VP Network
Embraer - Gordon Preston - VP
Delta Air Lines - Lee Macenczak - Exec VP Sales & Customer Service
Boeing - Richard Wynn - Director Business Strategies
Airbus - Simon Pickup - Director Business Operations
Bombardier - Barry MacKinnon - VP Airline Analysis
Republic Airways - Jeff Jones - VP Market Planning
Northwest Airlines - Laura Liu - VP International Revenue & Planning
American Airlines - Will Ris - VP - Government

Attendees at The Boyd Group Annual Aviation Forecast Conferences leave the event armed with vision and insight that better prepares them for the future. At this year's Summit, that will be the case as well. In the meantime, we'd suggest you clear your calendar for October 5-7.

Added Value Workshops, Too

This year, we have five exciting optional workshops. If you can arrive a bit early on Sunday October 5, or get in the evening before, you should consider these workshops.

Airline 101 For Board Members & Staff New To The Industry

This is a must for airports that have new board members who do not come from the aviation industry. Often, an airport director's life is complicated by such members not having a full understanding of airline realities and strategies. This workshop covers a basic understanding of how airlines work, how they make decisions, what the limitations are in serving small and mid-size airports, etc.

When your board has a clear view of what can be accomplished and what cannot, energies can be focused on attainable goals more efficiently. In addition to this workshop, we'd suggest that if your board members attend only one conference annually, this should be it. Having the information from the Forecast sessions alone will bring enormous insight.

This is also a must-attend for people in the travel industry who may want to learn more about the new emerging dynamics of the industry.

Airline Metrics

Highly popular at prior Boyd Group Forecast Conferences, this workshop reviews airline financials and operational metrics, and how to interpret them. There's a wealth of insight in these data, and Tim Sieber will be on hand to help you learn to use them to your advantage.

Air Traffic Control - Fixing It Without The FAA

Last year, one of our most talked-about conference sessions was with Captain Michael Baiada of the ATH Group. He illuminated the fact that while the FAA was "working hard" on upgrading the ATC system, they were going totally in the wrong direction, and getting little accomplished, anyway. Here we are, a year later, and no progress. So, there are two conclusions that aviation professionals must come to. The first is that the FAA is irrelevant to fixing the problem. The second is that it's the aviation industry that needs to craft its own solutions, within the context of this FAA reality.

Today, Delta Air Lines is saving millions in fuel costs doing just that, with a system called Attila. Captain Baiada will illuminate how airlines, airports, and general aviation can take back the skies.

Air Service Development In Tough Times

The Boyd Group is the industry leader in assisting communities in crafting workable and successful air service recruitment and retainment programs. Again this year, Mike Mooney will be discussing the new realities of such efforts within a contracting airline industry. It's not all doom and gloom, and there are skills that can be applied to make the most of the service that is in place, and competitively position your airport to get through the next 18 months.

Life Beyond Air Service. Airport Business Opportunities

In a constricting airline environment, it's important that small and mid-size airports look for opportunities to build alternative revenue streams. Airports are not just terminals and runways - they are in many cases greenfield business opportunities. There are some real success stories where airports have concentrated on using their location and available land as jobs-generators for the region.

This workshop will be a  combination of presentation, discussion, and intellectual tag-team match with  Mike Boyd, Mike Hainsey, Director of Golden Triangle Regional Airport in Mississippi, and Nick Ardillo, a visionary economic development expert. Concepts that have worked to attract new industry will be the subject matter, including information on where to find funding, where to find civic allies - and most important, how to identify and contact target industries. We promise to pummel the subject matter.

(Note: Registration for this event is under the title "G/A Workshop")

Workshops must be booked in advance when registering for the Summit. Fees are $50 per person, and attendance at each is limited. If you're already registered for the Summit and want to add a workshop, just send us an e-mail and we'll get you set up.

Conference Venue: Aspen, Colorado

We are honored to have the Aspen Pitkin County Airport, StayAspenSnowmass, and Aspen Ski Company as our hosts in 2008.

Aspen is easy get to. Pitkin County Airport is served by United and Delta, and by Frontier as well. Furthermore, the drive up from Denver International is breathtakingly beautiful this time of year. The aspens are changing color, and autumn days in the Rockies tend to be incredibly clear. So, the drive would be well worth the time.

No matter how you decide to get to Aspen, you'll be arriving at our 2008 venue, the St. Regis Hotel & Resort.

As with the Stein Eriksen Lodge, the site of the 2006 Conference, this is a five-star resort. And the St. Regis is right in downtown Aspen, an easy walk to the really fabulous shops, galleries, and world-class restaurants in downtown Aspen.

The St. Regis has free transportation to and from your flights, with representatives right on site at Aspen-Pitkin County Airport.There's 24-hour access to their fabulous fitness center, turndown service with complimentary bottled water each evening, a 24-hour Business Center, and complimentary coffee and tea service in the Shadow Mountain Lounge every morning. For special requests, there's a Conference Concierge ready to assist Summit Attendees.

And we've arranged some great room rates, too. Just $189, single or double. And if you want a suite, we have rates on these, too. To reserve your room on line at The St. Regis, click here, or on the link below.

The Forecast Summit will take place just about at the peak of aspens turning gold, painting the entire valley. (Another reason that the drive up from Denver would be a great option.) The weather in the Rocky Mountains at this time of year tends to be mild in the daytime and brisk in the evening.

A Monday Night Event To Remember.

We're also happy to announce that the Aspen Ski Company, one of our hosts, will open the Aspen Gondola to take Summit attendees up to a really fabulous Monday night event at the Lodge at the top of world-famous (at least among skiers) Ajax Mountain, high above the Town of Aspen.

If you haven't skied Aspen, the Lodge will be something not to miss, by the way.

So, make plans to join your colleagues October 5-7, 2008 for the industry's most prestigious and most valuable conference - The Boyd Group Aviation Forecast Summit At Aspen.

Conference Rates

To reserve your space at the conference, you can register securely on-line by clicking here. If you'd prefer to do so directly by phone, give us a call at (303) 674-2000.

Conference fees are $1095. Additional attendees from the same organization are $595.

Reserve your room at our special rates by clicking here.

But in any case do register and join your colleagues - We look forward to seeing you!

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