My Experience at WAI 2026: Dallas

I recently attended WAI 2026 in Dallas! I have never attended WAI before, but I have been to other great conferences such as NBAA in Las Vegas and UAA. They hosted WAI at the Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, Texas.

It was such a well organized event with plenty of opportunity to walk the exhibit floor or go to speaker sessions: Day in the Life of a pilot, Airline Panel, imposter syndrome, etc.

There, I spoke with regional airline recruiters from Republic, GoJet, Endeavor, Envoy, PSA, Piedmont to 135 operators such as JSX or Empire Air, or even major airlines such as FedEx, Atlas, Southwest, and many more!

It was a conference filled with all ages and expereinces. There was truly something there for everyone. Whether you were a 5,000 hour airline pilot looking for a change of job to another major airline, a CFI who is at /near their hours, CFIs searching for jobs at flight schools, or someone looking to join the military with options from the Air Force to NOAA (national oceanic avation and atmophseric administration).

I also had the pleasure of meeting my heroes! Shout out John and Martha King!