A lifelong aviation enthusiast who joined&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;in 2007, Curt came to&nbsp;the publication&nbsp;from the broadcast industry where he was a national science and technology television reporter and producer. He writes on the FBO field, aviation finance, and sustainable aviation and occasionally contributes to&nbsp;AIN&nbsp;sister publication&nbsp;Business Jet Traveler. Curt was a member of the AINtv reporting staff that won the 2008 Aerospace Journalist of the Year award for Best Airshow Daily. That same year, he was a finalist for another AJOYA award. He earned an AJOYA for Best Business Aviation Submission in 2018 and was a finalist in that category in 2021. He received the National Air Transportation Association’s&nbsp; Aviation Journalist Award in 2012 and won a Pegasus Sapphire Business Aviation Award for outstanding journalism in 2021.
Before joining AIN, Curt worked with&nbsp;Consumer Reports’ television division, CRTV, and for several local television news staffs. An honors graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook, he earned a master’s degree in broadcast journalism from Boston University in 1995. Curt lives in New York State with his wife and two young sons.

Senior Editor

Curt Epstein

With the general elections less than two months away, the business aviation industry should expect a continuing debate on the possibility of ATC privatization. That was the message from NBAA president and CEO Ed Bolen as he opened the association's regional forum at Westchester County Airport in White Plains, New York, this morning. “This is not a fight that is going to go away,” he said.&nbsp;Indeed, at the <a href="https://www.ainonline.com/aviation-news/air-transport/2016-09-14/airlines-look-passengers-fight-atc-reform">Airlines for America (A4A) summit</a> in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday , A4A chairman and American Airlines president and CEO Doug Parker warned of "myths and distortions" by "corporate jet lobbyists who accuse the commercial airlines of plotting to take over the air traffic control system through privatization..."

 


Meanwhile, Bolen called today's event a “celebration of business aviation,” noting the jobs and economic development it fosters. Westchester County executive Robert Astorino acknowledged the industry's impact, stating, "Whatever it is that we can do to make your life easier, we will try to do, because we want you here.”

 


The one-day forum kicked off this morning&nbsp;with 184 exhibitors and 50 aircraft on static display. The show is expected to attract several thousand visitors, bringing it close in size to NBAA's co-organized annual ABACE show in Shanghai.

 


The session concluded with the presentation of the association’s Order of the Silk Scarf to Westchester Aviation Association’s John Johnston, the former director of flight operations for Verizon and McGraw-Hill. He is currently a contract corporate pilot.

ATC Privatization Fight Not Over, Bolen Says at Forum

The association is hosting a regional forum at HPN.

2024 Corporate Aviation Leadership Summit

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