A Night in Cleveland That Felt Like the Real Industry

During this year’s NBAA Schedulers & Dispatchers Conference in Cleveland, we hosted a small dinner at Truss.

Nothing massive.Operators, schedulers, dispatchers, the people who actually make flights happen.

And honestly, it ended up being one of those nights that reminds you what this industry really is.

It’s Not What People Think

From the outside, private aviation still gets framed the same way, aircraft, interiors, pricing.

But when you sit in a room like that, you realize how far that is from reality.

Most of the conversation wasn’t about jets at all.

It was about:

• last-minute changes

• operational pressure

• decisions that have to be made fast, but right

• and the constant balance between client expectations and what’s actually possible

This industry runs on people solving problems in real time.

The Difference When You Actually Sit Down Together

What changed that night was simple, time.

Instead of quick emails or calls, people had space to actually talk.

Not just “confirm” things.

Explain them.

Compare how different teams handle the same situations.

And that’s where it gets interesting.

Because you realize: everyone is dealing with the same challenges, just in slightly different ways.

What Elliot Said (and Why It Landed)

At one point, Elliot Ross Surgenor shared a few words.

Nothing rehearsed.

More of a reminder than a speech.

That in private aviation, small details aren’t small. And consistency isn’t something you claim, it’s something people experience over time.

It’s easy to talk about service.It’s much harder to deliver it every single time.

That’s really where reputations are built.

Why These Smaller Dinners Matter More Than Big Events

You go to enough industry events and you start to notice something.

The bigger they are, the more surface-level the interactions can become.

This felt different.

Because with a smaller group:

• conversations go deeper

• people are more open

• and you actually leave with something useful

Not contacts — perspective.

What Stayed With Me After

If anything, the night just reinforced something simple.

This industry is evolving, yes.

More tech, more data, more structure.

But at the core, nothing has really changed.

Flights still depend on:

• trust

• experience

• and people who know how to make the right call under pressure

And that’s not something you automate.

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To everyone who joined us that night, thank you.

Not just for being there, but for the conversations.

Those are the ones that actually move things forward.