ICAS Releases Additional Convention Details

With a month to go before the North American air show industry travels to Las Vegas, ICAS has released additional details on the schedule and programming for the 2021 ICAS Convention (see the details of this year’s schedule by clicking here).

“Some pandemic-related issues have complicated our planning, but the program is now fully developed and especially strong,” said ICAS President John Cudahy. “It is both broad and deep, with a mixture of our ‘standard’ ICAS Convention programming and a number of never-before-offered sessions that suit the unique times we are currently living in.”

As has become a convention custom, the educational programming will kick off with several workshop programs on Monday, December 6, including the Air Shows 101 Air/Ground Operations Training Workshop, the Air Boss 201 Advanced Air Boss Workshop, the Sponsorship for Events Workshop, and – for the first time ever – our custom-built, air show-specific Media Training Workshop.

The opening general session will feature Captain Charlie Plumb (U.S. Navy, retired) and the release of the military performance schedule details for 2022 and 2023 (Blue Angels and Thunderbirds, only). At the Wednesday afternoon Pinnacle Awards luncheon and keynote address, we’ll recognize some of the most creative and impactful new ideas of the 2020 and 2021 air show seasons, and hear from Kristin Spiotto, who will explain the importance and benefits of more clearly and effectively telling the story of your air show business. On Thursday morning, as the convention draws to a close, the Annual ICAS Membership Meeting will this year include a presentation by Red Bull Air Force member Luke Aikins who jumped out of a perfectly good airplane without a parachute in 2016; you will be captivated by his story of why and how he did that.

The convention exhibit hall will be open for a total of ten hours on Tuesday morning, Tuesday afternoon, Wednesday afternoon and Thursday morning. And, for the first time ever, ICAS will conduct a two-hour long drawing during the Thursday morning session, with Apple watches, iPads, and a MacBook Pro given away throughout the two-hour exhibit hall session.

The 2021 Convention will also feature more than 40 different break-out education sessions, including our traditional Forum briefings (Thunderbirds, Blue Angels, Snowbirds, Golden Knights, Air Force tac demos, Navy tac demos, CF-18 tac demo, Marine Corps Osprey and Harrier demos, and the FAA), and a number of sessions that have long served as annual industry updates/check-ins, including the Air Boss Safety Stand-Down and the two-hour Performer Safety Stand-Down.

But this year’s convention will also include extensive new programming oriented at the challenges and opportunities currently facing the air show community, including 45-minute break-out sessions on event sponsorship in the post-pandemic era, air shows and public health in 2022, emerging trends in ticketing and admissions, the future of air shows in North America, adding non-flying program content to your air show, a conversation with jet team event coordinators, and using social media and email to hyper-focus tickets sales efforts.

To initiate the fast and simple online convention registration process, click here.

To make your hotel sleeping room reservation at the Paris Las Vegas Hotel, our host hotel for the 2021 ICAS Convention, click here.