Our second Avinode Academy, held in Moscow on the 7th of April, was an unparalleled success, with attendance figures nearly double those of the first Academy in Gothenburg. Among the attendees were representatives from twenty-four companies and four magazines, and their response to the event was overwhelmingly positive.
“Academy had an atmosphere of friendship,” says Olga Smiryagina, of the Moscow based brokerage firm, Business Aviation. “It was very useful for meeting other people in the industry and making connections for future business.”
In addition to making new contacts, many of those who attended Avinode Academy Moscow felt that it was a great opportunity to meet and mingle with people with whom they work often but rarely have the chance to meet in person.
“This was a great event for Russian business aviation,” explains Nikolai Yakubnko of Moscow-based Polet Airlines. “We have very few events like this, so it was a good opportunity to meet people from around the country to discuss business.”
Overall the event had a very upbeat and friendly atmosphere as colleges had the chance to meet and mingle in person, some for the first time.
“There is a definite need for these events,” Says Avinode EMEA Sales Director Johan Sjöberg, “Our members don’t often get the chance to meet and mingle in person, but Avinode Academy gives them the opportunity to turn the Avinode Marketplace into a real-life experience.”
In addition to mingling with their industry peers, this was the first opportunity for many attendees to meet and discuss the Marketplace with the ‘Noders themselves. Those in attendance were given the chance to air opinions and discuss ideas throughout the day, and they gladly took the opportunity to share their thoughts with us.
“There were a lot of good questions and ideas from the audience,” explains Russian Regional Sales Manager, Max Liebermann, “Avinode Academy is always a great opportunity to learn how people in different regions work with the Marketplace, and our Russia audience was very happy to share experiences and ideas, both with us and with each other.”
Throughout the day, Academy attendees had the opportunity to learn the about the Avinode Marketplace in detail, and to discover features and functions that many had never tried.
“This event has made Avinode even more useful for me,” says Yakubnko. “Many things have changed and improved since I first started using the marketplace. At Academy we had the chance to talk with Max and discuss all of the features. It was very useful.”
Among the more popular features were the statistics report, helicopter search function and airport information page, which many members had never really explored prior to Academy. Avinode’s new mobile apps also garnered a lot of interest amongst the crowd, many of whom had brought their iPhones and iPads along to the event.
In addition to the popular seminars and lectures, the day also featured a number of mingling opportunities. Most notable of these was the post-Academy Cocktail event at Novotel Moscow City, where Amira Air, one of our generous event sponsors, raffled off a trio of iPods to the crowd. Congratulations to Sergey from Jet2000, Ekaterina from Moscow Sky, and Andrew from Fort Aero, who took home the top prizes.
We would like to thank Amira Air and Upcast Media for their generous sponsorship and help in making this event such a success, and we would also like to welcome you to join us in June for Avinode Academy 3 in sunny Miami, Florida!
For more photos from the event please check out Avinode on Facebook.
