Check out the full 2015 Conference agenda here.

Thinking Beyond Traditional Air Service – New Models, New Options: The last eight years have been difficult for many communities in retaining existing air services as airlines consolidated, exercised capacity discipline and changed aircraft types. While the growth of the ultra-low cost carriers has been a boon to some markets, airports have been forced to be creative and innovative in finding even more new types of air services. Hear from industry leaders about some of the latest in unconventional opportunities.

Building a Sustainable Workforce – Talent Farming Versus Talent Hunting: A new approach to sourcing talent might be necessary to increase the likelihood that airports have access to the talent necessary to execute their business strategy in the 21st century. Shifting an airport’s focus away from hunting for talent only when there is a specific need toward farming for talent, always and in all ways, should be considered. Innovative talent sourcing strategies, to sustain an organization’s talent pipeline, are essential to building a sustainable 21st century workforce with the skills necessary to execute current and future business strategies.

Creating a Culture of Stewardship – Sustainability at All Levels of the Organization: In order to realize the full benefits of sustainability initiatives, successful businesses have discovered the importance of implementing the triple bottom line at all organizational levels. It can be difficult, if not impossible for organizations to show measurable benefits of such sustainability efforts if only one line of business or department is engaged – sustainability is not referred to as a "one-legged stool" after all! Airports can learn from our business partners and stakeholders as they seek to create a culture of stewardship and embrace the triple bottom line at all levels.

Rise of the Drones – What Do Unmanned Aircraft Systems Mean to You? Whether you call them unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), remotely piloted vehicles (RPVs), or even "drones," these new generation aerial vehicles are having broad and significant impacts on both the U.S. and Canadian aviation industry. In this plenary session, we’ll discuss the rapidly evolving roles and capabilities of UASs as well as the safety, regulatory, and operational issues associated with their use.