WAEA Conference & Exhibition Draws Record Attendance As Organizaiton Moves Forward As APEX

31st annual event offers focused education, first-ever Passenger Choice Awards™ ceremony and largest display of IFE products and services under one roof

New York, NY., October 7, 2010 – The Airline Passenger Experience Association, APEX, formerly the World Airline Entertainment Association, drew a record attendance at the 31st Annual Conference & Exhibition, which offered an intensive day of education, a newly created recognition program honoring industry leaders for enhancing the passenger experience and a 3-day expo providing a window into the future of air travel.

More than 2,300 representatives of the world’s top airlines and companies delivering inflight entertainment, communications, connectivity, seats, cabin interiors and publishing attended the industry’s premier event at the Long Beach Convention and Entertainment Center in Long Beach, CA, USA, last month.

This year’s expo recorded the largest number of registered airline attendees with 396, representing 73 airline member companies from six of the seven continents. Vendor delegates accounted for 1,886, represented from 161 companies. In all, 2,343 people attended this year’s event.

The expo was collocated with the International Flight Services Association (IFSA) and Aircraft Interiors Expo Americas to form the largest, most comprehensive exhibit of IFEC technology, inflight products and services in the world.

“I’m pleased with the tremendous turnout at this year’s annual conference and exhibition,” said Patrick Brannelly, APEX President. “It’s a testament to the hard work, and quality education and innovative programs that we were able to produce a conference of this caliber. By the amount of people circling the expo hall, it’s clear that the airline industry is committed to enhancing the passenger experience and expanding into unchartered territories of technology and service.”

The organization officially retired WAEA and transitioned to APEX. The membership voted to change its name earlier in the year to better reflect the role it plays in delivering the passenger experience for the world’s commercial airlines. The association new APEX logo, designed by a member and voted on by the membership, was unveiled at the conference and will be used on all marketing collateral moving forward.

Approximately 550 people attended the educational sessions, which were led by APEX members and global industry leaders, and featured the latest trends in media programming, inflight broadband strategies, social networking opportunities and much more.

Keynote speaker Sarah DaVanzo of the Kaplan Thaler Group opened the conference with her session, “The Egg + Snowflake Zeitgeist: Two Global Consumer Trends Shaping Lifestyle, Travel and Technology.” A comprehensive day of education followed.

More than a dozen awards in a range of categories were given to recipients of the newly created Passenger Choice Awards™. Also handed out were the Avion Awards, Outstanding Contribution and Lifetime Achievement awards.

The APEX exhibition offers the opportunity for airline representatives and vendors to meet face-to-face in pre-scheduled appointments to discuss and demonstrate various inflight offerings. Nearly 100 vendors attend the event each year to showcase the latest state-of-the-art audio and video hardware; the latest films, music and special programming; inflight phone, fax, and satellite telecommunications; passenger services and technology.

The 2011 APEX Conference & Exhibition will be held in Seattle, WA, USA, 11-15 September. For more information visit APEX.