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Static display at NBAA-BACE in Las Vegas in 2025.
LAS VEGAS—NBAA-BACE 2026 opens with a packed agenda spanning new technology, sustainability initiatives and keynote sessions. With a mix of new and returning exhibits on the show floor, the event offers far-reaching insight into where business aviation is headed next.
“By every yardstick, this year's show is coming together as an outstanding success,” says Dan Hubbard, NBAA's communications senior vice president and interim COO.
The National Business Aviation Association – Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition, running Oct. 20-22, opens with more than 700 exhibitors, including about 100 first-time participants. In addition, 80 aircraft ranging from piston single-engine aircraft to intercontinental business jets, are scheduled for the static display at Henderson Executive Airport.
It is a good reminder that companies are in a growth phase today, Hubbard says. “Whether well established or just getting started, they look at [the show] as part of their business plan for the future,” he tells Aviation Week.
There is one notable absence, however: NBAA President and CEO Ed Bolen is taking leave this year to focus on his battle with cancer. A Kansas native, Bolen will be enshrined in the Kansas Hall of Fame in November. In his honor, lapel pins featuring the sunflower, the Kansas state flower, will be placed at NBAA’s membership booth and at several other locations. NBAA encourages exhibitors and visitors to wear one in his honor.
Gulfstream is back and rolling out the G800, G700, G600, G500 and a G400 test aircraft, plus G400 and G300 mockups for a closer look. The manufacturer is also hosting an invitation-only Operators' Conference.
Bombardier is bringing the Global 8000, Global 6500 and Challenger 3500 to the static display. On opening day, the manufacturer rolls out the star power with an exclusive Pilot Talk featuring pilot and actor John Travolta, also at the static display. Additionally, attendees can wander into L'Experience by Bombardier, tucked inside the company's chalet.
Textron Aviation, meanwhile, is making the show debut of its Cessna Citation CJ3 Gen2 business jet, flanked by displays of the Citation Longitude, Citation Latitude and Citation Ascend.
The manufacturer lineup also includes Aviat, Cirrus Aircraft, Dassault, Daher Aircraft, Pilatus, Boeing Business Jets, Piaggio, Epic Aircraft, Piper Aircraft, SyberJet and others.
The future of on-demand air transport has claimed its own spotlight, with electric, hybrid and hydrogen aircraft on display. Among them: Beyond Aero, developing a hydrogen-electric business aircraft called ONE; DTA Aircraft, maker of the two-seat, hybrid electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing (eVTOL) dubbed the DTA JP1; and Regent Craft, developer of the all-electric Seaglider, a zero-emissions maritime vessel that's turning heads for all the right reasons.
Beyond the aircraft, NBAA-BACE brings the conversation across three stages inside the convention center—including the new Horizon stage, alongside the Flight Deck and Content Creator stages—to host industry voices throughout the week. Other features include the Career Zone and Military Connect.
The show launches with a fireside chat between NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman and former space shuttle commander Charlie Precourt, a four-time space shuttle astronaut. Slated to follow is a chat between Steven Udvar-Házy and Ross Perot, Jr.
In a Meet the Regulators panel, FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford tackles the industry's most pressing issues, from air traffic control modernization efforts to international operations, safety, certification and more.
This year marks the fourth stop in NBAA-BACE's five-year commitment to Las Vegas. After one more round in 2027, the show heads to New Orleans in 2028—its first return to the city in 27 years. The last time NBAA-BACE touched down in New Orleans was in 2001.
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