A Glimpse of the 1980s

This summer represents a milestone for GBTA, as we will be celebrating our 50^th annual Convention in August! In the lead-up, we’ve been sharing snippets of our history as well as the evolution of the business travel industry. Today’s Throwback Thursday post highlights a handful of mementos from the 1980s, during which the National Passenger Traffic Association (NPTA), as GBTA was known back then, officially became the National Business Travel Association (NBTA) in 1989.

1980 – Arlene D. Macchia commenced her role as NPTA President

1981 – Former NPTA President Ed Rathke at ITM Congress in Birmingham, England

1983-1985 – John H. Bacon served as NPTA President

1984 – Pan Am schedule of domestic flights departing from JFK

1985-1987 – Richard G. Rudkin served as NPTA President

1986 – An issue of the Business Travel Review, the official publication of NPTA

1986 – A feature story on the conference committee for NPTA’s 18^th annual conference

1987-1989 – Jack L. Witherspoon served as NPTA President

1989 – NPTA changed its name to the National Business Travel Association and moved its office to Alexandria, Virginia with four executive staff

1989 – Margie L. Crace began her role as NBTA President

Stay tuned every Thursday for more throwback posts, and share your favorite Convention memories with us on Twitter using #TBT and tagging @GlobalBTA!