He enjoys seeing the vendors at the conference who are his friends . His motivation in attending is to share ideas and innovate . With this year ’ s conference , he started with an “ open mind ” regarding the topics to be discussed . He noted , “ Everyone is working in the same space and with the same mindset . Collaboration is the key to innovation ; you can ’ t just sit in a room by yourself and come up with great ideas . It really takes large diverse groups if you really want to innovate the best products .”
Coder said that some things come to market faster than others , but grassroots ideas can take five or six years . “ There are things I am working on now that will come to fruition a little faster , but it is nice to look out . Airlines are so focused on today ’ s operation , so a small group of us can strategize a little bit and get ahead of it , so that we can have a better experience .”
OCTOBER | NOVEMBER 2023 ISSUE NO . 35 25