How I survived #PAS11...just

Like more than 60 of my Flightglobal colleagues, I've just managed to survive another Paris air show. This one was my thirteenth successive Paris as a professional (I started young!), but it still has the ability to excite, entertain and depress me in equal measure.

This one ended slightly early for me as I headed to Brussels (which involved a particularly torrid and delayed 3h TGV train journey) to cover the SITA/Airline Business IT Summit. But I still covered the thick end of the Paris show week, managed to break a few stories and grab at least 4h sleep each night!

Here are a few of the high- and low-lights from the show, IMHO:

My Paris highlights

• Getting up close and personal to the 747-8I and meeting chief test pilot Capt Mark Feuerstein
• Fernandes' entertaining AirAsia A320neo order press conf (wasn't there but the tweets indicate that fun was had by all)
• Seeing KAL's A380 substitute for the Airbus demonstrator in the flying display (I don't need to explain why it had to stand in!)
• The superb food provided by Dawn and the girls in the Budgie News cafe

My Paris lowlights

• Getting up at 5am every day
• The show's usual confusing and inconsistent policy of traffic and people control which created unnecessary traffic jams and queues
• The torrential rain we had to endure at times (again, a familiar theme at Paris!)
• The lack of clarity on Boeing's A320neo competitive response
• The cool reception that the enhanced A350-1000 was given

So, it's time to regroup and get ready for "Funbro" 2012 in July next year. But before that we've got Dubai and Singapore to look forward to!

For all our news, video, digital and interactive content from an amazing Paris air show, visit: flightglobal.com/paris