Story ID: 
Farnborough cuts airshow costs
By: Ian Goold
Caption: Exhibitors at next year’s 45th Farnborough airshow (July 17 to 23) will benefit from a freezing of 2004’s general costs.
Word Count: 537
Exhibitors at next year’s 45th Farnborough airshow (July 17 to 23) will benefit from a freezing of 2004’s general costs. And companies displaying aircraft in the static park will enjoy a 50-percent rate cut as part of the organizer’s wider moves to make the airshow better value for exhibitors.

Also new at the UK show will be fully fitted and equipped hospitality chalets. Frozen exhibitor charges cover chalet, stand and outdoor space and will include a higher allocation of exhibitor tickets. The reduced static display fees now recognize the cost of taking aircraft out of service or from a flight test program.

Business aircraft shown in a dedicated park for a shorter three-day period (July 17 to 19) don’t get the discount but now will be within the main static display and right next to two chalet lines. Importantly, exhibitors here have the flexibility to withdraw their aircraft from the show early and they can also schedule customer demonstration flights. The park has its own reception area and exhibitors also may have structures next to their aircraft.

Farnborough International 2006 will begin with a shortened “industry day” from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on July 17 that will feature workshops and conferences, followed by an early evening opening ceremony in London. There will also be a truncated flying display on this first day. The official SBAC dinner event has been brought forward to free Tuesday evening for individual exhibitor events.

July 18 to 20 will be full trade days, followed on Friday July 21 by a new educational youth day supported by the aerospace industry, with exhibitors’ families and friends and nominated local schools, colleges and youth clubs permitted to attend. The day will include an extended flying display as will the closing two public days on July 22 and 23. 

To bring some remote facilities more into the central show area, a new feature will be the two-story Hall 1A, containing main exhibitor restaurant (including display viewing balcony and bar-area jazz band), cafeteria, media and business centers and private meeting rooms.

There will grandstand seating at extra cost for 2,000 people to view the flying display. Other changes include increased on-site exhibitor car parking capacity.

Among the conferences arranged during FI06 is a two-day unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) event taking place alongside a UAV pavilion. There will also be a Space pavilion. Also, FI is repeating its 2004 initiative by providing a motor-sport pavilion to demonstrate the synergy between that industry and aerospace.

The 2004 Farnborough Show, which involved 1,360 exhibitors from 32 countries and 113 aircraft, saw announcement of airliner orders and defense contracts worth $21 billion. The event was visited by 133,000 trade visitors, slightly ahead of the additional 110,000 public attendees.

The show is now run by Farnborough International (Hall 2B Stand J12), a newly created subsidiary of the Society of British Aerospace Companies (SBAC). Amanda Stainer, director of exhibitions and events, said that Farnborough’s temporary structures allow it to be more responsive to requests for different exhibit configurations. For instance, some companies are now looking to combine chalets and stands.