One of the things I like about SQLSaturday is that it’s a place to try new ideas. This year on the Monday prior to the PASS Summit we’re doing something totally new, a SQLSaturday held aboard a charter flight that will start in Orlando, then stop in Atlanta, Dallas, Denver, and then finish up in Seattle. It will be a long trip, but that works in our favor as we will have time for a full 8 sessions, all presented live on the plane and broadcast over the in plane TV system – sort of a combination of live and webcast!
Lunch and dinner will be provided on the plane. And while the presentations are free, the tickets for the flight of course are not. We’re working on final pricing, but I’m expecting it to be in the $400-$500 range from Orlando, with a bit of a drop for those joining in Dallas and Denver.
Picking speakers is going to be tough! They have to be willing to pay their own way as we’re not sure we’ll get enough sponsor money to cover the additional expenses. We’ll open up the call for speakers in May and announce in June to give everyone time to make travel plans. While we normally try to pick local speakers, for this one we’ll be going for more star power than usual,but don’t let that dissuade you from applying!
I think it’s going to be a unique experience. Networking with seat mates should be fun,and we’ll try to move everyone around at each stop to mix it up. We can all ride the train into Seattle together as well, ready to continue a great week of learning. Registration (which will include paying for the airline ticket) will open as soon as we announce the speakers and we’ll hold open until all the seats are filled or it’s time for wheels up!
What else? Well, I guess I should also add that it’s not a coincidence that we’re announcing this on April 1st!
