Future Aviation Activities 10th International Conference

This workshop, the most recent in a biennial series that was initiated in 1979, was conducted to assist public and private-sector managers and decision makers in forecasting long-term trends and developments in commercial, business, and personal air transport. Topics discussed included the domestic and international macroeconomic outlook, the structure and operating patterns of major and regional U.S. air carriers, expected developments in international aviation, aircraft and engine manufacture, and trends in business aviation--including fractional ownership, civil helicopter transport services, and the improving future for personally owned and operated light aircraft. A new addition to this year's workshop was the inclusion of an air cargo panel to discuss this dynamic and expanding element of commercial aviation. More than 100 participants, drawn from government, industry, academic institutions, and private consulting firms both here and abroad, took part in this three-day meeting. Most came from the United States, but there was substantial representation from Europe, Asia, and foreign firms with offices in the United States. The program consisted of three major parts: an opening plenary session with presentations on the broad outlook and strategic issues, ten concurrent discussion panels on sectoral trends and problems, and a concluding plenary session in which the findings and forecasts of the discussion panels were presented.