This year’s MRO took place at the Georgia World Congress Center in Atlanta. Featuring keynote speaker Ed Bastian, CEO of Delta Air Lines, 850+ exhibitors on the show floor and plenty of networking opportunities, this was guaranteed to be a great trip for the team.
The LJS team for MRO Americas was Joe Ferrett, VP Sales & Business Development, Lia Triunfo, Purchasing Manager, Lidia Skoczen, Sales Manager and Ben Hoad, MRO Manager.
Joe, Lia and Lidia were the first to depart, and they had a great flight over to Atlanta on the Sunday curtesy of British Airways, where they mixed with some familiar faces from the industry on the flight. Arriving in the evening of the Sunday, it was time to unpack, and enjoy some sleep!
Monday was all about seeing the sights. The team started the day off with a nice breakfast in the hotel and planned their activities for the day ahead. Whilst Lia and Lidia headed back to their rooms to get themselves ready, Joe decided to stretch those gigantic legs of his, and took a walk to Centennial Olympic Park, a legacy dedicated to the 1996 Summer Olympic Games. Being the athlete he naturally is, he felt right at home here; check out some of the pictures he took.
Joe then met Lia and Lidia at the Georgia Aquarium, before they proceeded on a tour of the Coca Cola factory; talk about being proper tourists for the day!
Whilst the majority of the team were sampling all the different Coca Cola products, Ben was embarking on his journey, courtesy of Virgin Atlantic Airways. An early start for Ben meant that the whole LJS team could rendezvous at the hotel early on the Monday evening, and head out for a team meal in preparation for the few busy days ahead.
Tuesday meant the first day of MRO Americas, and what a busy day it was. The group spent their time walking around the show floor, visiting stalls, hosting meetings and catching up with people in the industry. But the networking didn’t stop there. In the evening Joe, Lia, Lidia and Ben went for a group dinner before heading to the Lufthansa party and then onto the DASI Party. Both were great for catching up with people and meeting new connections.
It was another full day for the team on the Wednesday, as they headed back to the show for a 9:30am meeting to start the day. That kicked off another very busy day, and to cover the enormous venue the team had to split several times to accommodate planned and ad-hoc meetings.
Another day means another party and this time it was hosted by Aventure Aviation, who had secured the impressive Mercedes Benz Stadium, home to the Atlanta Falcons and Atlanta United FC, which for Joe, a keen football fan, was a great experience. The event was followed by an evening meal and saying farewell to our MRO Manger Ben, who was returning home that evening.
Ben Hoad, MRO Manger (First visit to MRO Americas)
"I had an absolute blast attending the MRO Americas in sunny Atlanta with my esteemed LJS colleagues. It was my first MRO Americas and I was blown away by the scale of it! It was great to see the industry bouncing back and being able to network in person again which was a great chance to catch up with lots of familiar faces & friends whilst meeting new ones too. I’m hoping to be lucky enough to attend again!"
Lidia Skoczen, Sales Manager (First time in America)
"MRO Americas in Atlanta was my first aviation show hosted in USA and it did not disappoint. The exhibitor list was quite versatile, presenting great opportunities to learn more about our industry.
I liked the relaxed atmosphere of the show. It had great balance of professional opportunities and entertainment. Perfect setting to meet new and catch up with old aviation friends."
On their final day the team checked out of the hotel in the morning, took the opportunity to visit Atlanta Zoo in the afternoon, before flying back to the UK in the evening.
We’d like to thank Aviation Week for hosting such a brilliant conference, Lufthansa, DASI and Aventure Aviation for hosting some great parties, and to everyone we met whilst we were there; it was great to see you all.
Next stop, New York and the ACPC!