September heralds the end of summer, and for 26 years now, it also heralded the World Airline Entertainment Conference and Exhibition this year; the 27th annual meeting - is in Miami, Florida on September 15 thru 19. We could repeat the WAEA website on the particulars but you can find them out for yourselves at http://www.waea.org/events/conference/2006/indexmain.htm with just a click.

In case you are new to the WAEA hosted Conference and Exhibition, it is the world stage for the latest in IFE and communication hardware as well as entertainment content and all the technology that comes together to bring first run movies and games to airline passengers. With all the chatter about in-flight telephony, fiber optics, satellite communication, Connexion replacements, portable gadgets, and issues that challenge flying today, this is where you can expect to see how and what industry has in store for airlines and passengers. With a new ground-based emphasis on mobile entertainment, communication and productivity, there are crossover technologies that seem to end up in front of passengers. We have never been disappointed with offerings by the likes of Panasonic, Thales, Astronics, AirCell, IMS, just to name a few of the big dogs. Perhaps even more to the point, this show is stage center for the new and smaller companies who are going to wow you in the next ten years. Companies like ASI of Australia, Lumexis of Irvine, California, Wencor in Utah, and InFlight Peripherals of jolly old England (or from whatever craggy British island they hail) will demonstrate products and concepts you never have seen before. If you are an industry watcher, IFE player, or a financial analyst who follows the trade, this is the place to see the right stuff and meet new and old players.

And by the way, if your company is going to feature some new gadget, movie, service, product, or whatever in Miami and you want our readers to hear about it first, send us an email (patriciaw@airfax.com) and we will feature it in an upcoming publication. Please list what it is you want our readers to see at the show, the booth number where you will be located and showing it, and an email contact in your company to request a dance card meeting. See you there! (Editors Note: If for no other reason, we are going to Miami to see if New Line Cinema is planning to offer Snakes On A Plane for inflight viewing - and we want a t-shirt for that plug!)