Press Release
Issued by Austrian Business Aviation Association.
February 12, 2021
On January 21st, 2021 the Austrian Business Aviation Association (ABAA) elected its new board.
In order to bring the association onto another level, the statutes of the association have been modernised and a new team of the board has been set up. Antonia Gilbert will be serving as president, supported by eight further members of the board:
- Antonia Gilbert, president
- Konstantin Essler, vice president (deputy)
- Thomas Frank, secretary general
- Darko Cvijetinovic, vice president governmental affairs
- Florian Samsinger, vice president EU affairs
- Jonathan Deutsch, vice president member services
- Martina Flitsch, vice president communications
- Irina Samsinger, vice president marketing and events
- Nina Schnelzer, treasurer
Antonia Gilbert has spent more than 12 years in various positions within business aviation, touching different angles of the industry. After finishing her Bachelor's degree she started working as a sales representative at Jetalliance in Austria and then continued her career at Global Jet Concept in Geneva, Switzerland. In 2015 Antonia decided to sell aircraft maintenance and FBO services for Jet Aviation. Since 1st of March 2021, she has been part of the Gulfstream MRO customer sales support team.
In her first statement Antonia reveals: “I am thankful for the trust given to me and the new team by all ABAA members. I am also grateful for the previous board of directors who dedicated their time to building the association. I am looking forward to working together with our new, extended board team. We have pre-selected multiple projects to improve member benefits and communications to build stronger synergies among our members.”
The European Business Aviation Association (EBAA) is delighted about the recent developments in Austria. Robert Baltus, COO, congratulates ABAA on behalf of the EBAA from Brussels: "We would like to congratulate ABAA on the election of its new board and president. Given the many challenges facing business aviation in this period, it is more important than ever for business aviation associations to work together for the benefit of members. ABAA has been a valued partner to the EBAA since its foundation, and we look forward to continuing our close relationship.“
The German Business Aviation Association (GBAA) is also excited about the future collaboration: “We are very pleased that Antonia has been elected as president of the Austrian Business Aviation Association and that we will continue our long-standing cooperation with the ABAA. The manifold topics on the European level have to be solved together. Additionally, we are pleased that Antonia is increasing the diversity among business aviation association leaders. We wish her all the best,” says Andreas Mundsinger, CEO of GBAA.
The Austrian Business Aviation Association (ABAA) is a professional alliance whose mission is to promote the interests and communicate the concerns of business aviation companies (non-scheduled commercial air transportation) in the regulatory and economic environment in Austria, in the European Union as well as at an international level. In particular, the ABAA acts as a point of contact to Austrian authorities, regulatory bodies, government offices and relevant institutions, representing the interests of its members in order to to be heard in legislative and rulemaking processes. The objective of the ABAA is to maintain an environment in which business aviation can grow and secure workable solutions to all issues affecting business aviation.
