CONTACT:

Caleb Tiller, +1 703-684-0836, ext. 138

Nicole Hayes, +1 703-684-0836, ext. 133

Alexandria, VA (January 16, 2009) –The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) Executive Director & COO Bill Connors has been appointed by Michael Chertoff, Secretary, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), to serve as a member of the Aviation Security Advisory Committee (ASAC). In this two-year term, Connors has been asked to represent the viewpoint of aviation consumer advocates and the corporate travel industry.

”I am honored to serve as a member of this vital committee and proud that Secretary Chertoff chose NBTA to help shape U.S. government policies and regulations that affect the business and travel industries,” said Connors. “NBTA has been an active and respected voice in the aviation community for many years, and I look forward to bringing our business travel expertise to the table.”

ASAC’s mission is to examine areas of civil aviation security as tasked by the U.S. Transportation Security Administration to develop recommendations for the improvement of aviation security, equipment and procedures.

Chertoff said in a letter to Connors, “I greatly appreciate [Connors’] willingness to serve on the Committee and am confident the Department will benefit from [his] ideas and experiences.”

The National Business Travel Association (NBTA) is the world’s premier business travel and corporate meetings organization. NBTA and its regional affiliates – NBTA Australia / New Zealand, the Brazilian Business Travel Association (ABGEV), NBTA Canada, NBTA Europe, NBTA Mexico, and NBTA USA – serve a network of more than 17,000 business travel professionals around the globe with industry-leading events, networking, education & professional development, research, news & information, and advocacy. NBTA members, numbering more than 5,000 in 30 nations, are corporate and government travel and meetings managers, as well as travel service providers. They collectively manage and direct more than US$340 billion of global business travel and meetings expenditures annually on behalf of more than 13 million business travelers within their organizations. For more information, visit www.nbta.org