October 21, 2026 | Seattle, Washington
FlightBI was proud to serve as a Gold Sponsor of the 2026 Airports Council International–North America (ACI-NA) Marketing & Communications Conference, held October 19–21 in Seattle, Washington. The event brought together airport marketing, communications, and customer experience professionals from across North America to exchange ideas, share best practices, and explore innovative approaches to engaging travelers and local communities.
For FlightBI, the conference marked an important milestone: the debut of our Airport True Cost Calculator, a new tool designed to help airports communicate the full cost of air travel and encourage passengers to fly local.
Helping Airports Demonstrate the True Value of Flying Local
One of the challenges facing regional and secondary airports is passenger leakage to larger competing airports. Travelers often compare flights based primarily on airfare, overlooking additional expenses associated with driving farther to catch a flight.
FlightBI’s new Airport True Cost Calculator helps address this challenge by comparing the total cost of traveling through different airports, considering factors such as:
- Airfare differences between competing airports
- Driving distances and associated vehicle expenses
- Airport parking costs
- Travel time and its estimated monetary value
- Travel party size and trip duration
By bringing these factors together, the calculator helps travelers make more informed decisions about which airport offers the best overall value.
For airport marketing teams, the calculator also provides a practical way to communicate the convenience and potential cost savings of choosing their local airport.
Rather than simply asking passengers to “Fly Local,” airports can now support that message with personalized, data-driven cost comparisons.
Turning Passenger Data into More Effective Marketing
The conference featured discussions on digital marketing strategies, community engagement, customer experience, and measuring marketing effectiveness.
These themes align closely with FlightBI’s mission of helping airports turn complex aviation data into actionable insights.
Our Fligence ZIP-OD platform, currently serving 15 airport customers across North America, provides detailed passenger origin-and-destination intelligence at the ZIP-code level. Airports can use these insights to better understand their catchment areas, identify passenger leakage, and target marketing efforts toward geographic markets with the greatest potential.
Combined with the Airport True Cost Calculator, these capabilities help airports answer two important questions:
- Where should we focus our marketing efforts? Fligence ZIP-OD helps identify passenger demand and geographic opportunities.
- What message will encourage travelers to choose our airport? The True Cost Calculator helps demonstrate the potential financial and time-saving benefits of flying local.
Together, these tools support more targeted, measurable, and persuasive airport marketing campaigns.
Connecting with Airport Marketing Leaders
Beyond introducing our latest technology, the conference provided valuable opportunities to connect with airport professionals, learn about their priorities, and discuss the evolving challenges of airport marketing.
The conference program covered topics ranging from artificial intelligence and digital advertising to media relations, organizational leadership, and collaboration between airport marketing and air service development teams.
A recurring theme was the importance of using data to make better decisions, demonstrate results, and strengthen connections with travelers and communities.
These conversations reinforced FlightBI’s commitment to developing accessible, practical analytics solutions that help airports translate data into meaningful action.
Thank You to ACI-NA and the Airport Community
FlightBI extends its appreciation to ACI-NA, host airport Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, the conference organizers, speakers, and attendees for making the 2026 Marketing & Communications Conference such a valuable experience.
As a Gold Sponsor, we were pleased to support an event that brings together professionals dedicated to advancing airport marketing, communications, and customer experience.
We look forward to continuing the conversations started in Seattle and working with airports across North America to strengthen their competitive positioning, improve marketing effectiveness, and help more travelers recognize the value of flying local.
Learn More About FlightBI
FlightBI provides aviation business intelligence and data analytics solutions to help airports understand passenger demand, analyze catchment areas, identify market opportunities, and support strategic decision-making.
Interested in learning how the Airport True Cost Calculator or Fligence ZIP-OD can support your airport’s marketing strategy?
Visit www.flightbi.com or schedule a demonstration to learn more.
FlightBI — Turning Aviation Data into Actionable Intelligence.