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Aviation History
2003
2003 - 2304.PDF
2004 event ^SIAfl ;.;•••*; *"J I Show business What is the point of air shows and industry conventions? Despite reports of their terminal decline in an era of modern communications, the busy calendar of 2004 events shows an industry still convinced of their benefits MURDO MORRISON / LONDON T here are few occasions as good as air shows for gauging the health of the aerospace industry - or a particular sector or region within that industry. Numbers of exhibitors, visitors, product launches or order announcements are all strong indica tors of the feelgood factor and the way the market is headed. However, for years sceptics have been predicting the slow death of the air show as a vital industry forum. While a Farn- borough or Paris would once have been the world's chance to glimpse the latest air craft, today genuinely new programmes are few and far between. Airframers are ending the charade of storing up orders to announce at shows. Modern media meth ods mean there are more cost-effective ways of communicating with existing and potential customers than the vast expense of taking a large contingent of marketing and sales staff - and products - half way around the world. Yet the tmth is that air shows are flour ishing and expanding, even in the current economic climate. The last few years have seen the emergence of two small, but suc cessful, annual business aviation conven tions in South America and Europe - both offshoots of the giant National Business Aviation Association event in the USA. And, while the world's biggest aviation market has to make do with the Wright Brothers first flight celebrations this December as its main aerospace showpiece (another centennial-based event Aviation's World Fair - was set for this summer but failed), Europe continues to support three multi-sector aviation shows every two-year cycle: Berlin, Farnborough and Paris. Bouncing back Meanwhile, Dubai, shaken by a spate of cancellations in the immediate aftermath of 11 September 2001, is set to bounce back in December 2003, and Asian Aerospace in Singapore in February will benefit from the post-SARS recovery among the region's airlines, all keen to add capacity as tourist and business traffic grows. Next year's biggest air show, Farnborough in July, suffers from the prox imity of Berlin's ILA two months earlier, which enjoys the patronage of German industry, including EADS, and the European Business Aviation Convention and Exhibition (EBACE), in May, which has creamed off the UK show's business aviation clientele. But the Society of British Aerospace Companies, which organises Farnborough, is unlikely to yield to long- running pressure from some international companies for a single big European show every other year, especially after its more successful rival, Paris, was this year hit by a transatlantic boycott over France's policy on Iraq. Later in the year, NBAA in October - returning to Las Vegas for the first time in six years - could be the launch pad for the long-awaited recovery in the business avia tion sector, which most pundits predict will kick in properly in 2005, sparked by pent up demand caused by an ageing fleet and rising corporate travel budgets. Other biennial events making their return in an even-numbered year include Africa Aerospace in South Africa in October. The organisers portray the event as an ideal shop window for international companies looking to do business in Africa as well as an opportunity for the country's own defence sector - which grew up dur ing the country's apartheid isolation - to display its wares. Also in the defence mar ket, Paris's Eurosatory in June remains the region's biggest arms fair, while South America's aerospace market is served by FIDAE in Santiago, Chile, in April. A host of annual shows serving niche markets make up the year's calendar. These include the World Airline Entertainment Assoc iation convention in Seattle in September, the Air Venture general aviation get- together in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, in August and the Regional Airlines Association con ference in St Louis, Missouri, in April. On the conference front, Flight Inter national will address the issue of missile pro tection on civil airliners with a conference in Washington DC on 28 January (contact sallie.Edwards@rbi.co.uk for information). AAAE Aviation Issues Conference 2004 Date 11-15 January Venue Kauai Hawaii Contact America Association of Airport Executives Tel +1 703 824 0500 todd.hauptli@airportnet.org www.airportnet.org Network Centric 2004 Date 21-21 January Venue Washington DC, USA Contact IQPC Tel +1 973 256 0211 info@iqpc.com www.iqpc-defence.com AIAA Aerospace Sciences Meeting and Exhibition Date 26-28 January Venue Reno, Nevada, USA Contact American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics Tel +1 703 264 7500 custserv@aiaa.org www.aiaa.org Flight International Countermeasures Conference Date 28 January Venue Washington DC Contact Reed Business information Tel +44 20 8652 8718 sallie.edwards@rbi.co.uk www.flightinternational.com Air Power 2004 Date 28-29 January Venue London, UK Contact Shephard Conferences and Exhibitions Tel+44 1628 604 311 sf@shephard.co.uk www.shephard.co.uk FEBRUARY AFCEA West Date 3-5 February Venue San Diego, CA, USA Contact Armed Forces Communication and Electronics Association Tel +1 703 631 6158 events@afcea.org www.weest2004.org NDIA SO/LIC Symposium & Exhibition Date 4-6 February Venue Washington DC, USA Contact National Defence Industrial Association Tel +1 703 522 1820 djenks@ndia.org www.ndia.org Great Lakes International Aviation Conference Date 6-8 February Venue Lansing, Michigan, USA Contact Kellogg Hotel and Conference Centre Tel+1 517 432 4000 www.greatlakesaviationconfer ence.com AAS/AIAA Space Flight Mechanics Meeting Date 8-12 February 46 14-20 OCTOBER 2003 FLIGHT INTERNATIONAL www.flightinternational.com
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