News that Farnborough is changing is welcome; what the world's number two air show changes into will be harder to decide
A casual visitor to next week's Farnborough air show might be forgiven for glancing at the eager crowds, packed halls and chalets decked with logos of the world's leading aerospace companies and judging the event a massive success. Yet the show - with its heady mix of hot-dog stands, flying displays, corporate lunches and top-level business haggling - is almost certain to be the last of its kind. The 2006 version will, says organiser the Society of British Aerospace Companies, be a "smaller, shorter" affair more focused on the needs of the show's international exhibitors and trade visitors. After 2006, almost every aspect of Farnborough - including frequency and location - is up for review.
This will be welcome both to exhibitors - some of whom will this week be ferrying equipment and staff to their fourth international air show in little over half a year - and Farnborough householders, for whom pride in having this prestigious event on their doorstep pales at the prospect of seven days of traffic jams, road closures and fighters roaring overhead each afternoon.
The Farnborough air show has long had an identity crisis. When it began in 1948 it was a chance for a nation, victorious in war, to celebrate its world-leading aerospace industry and present a shop window to customers throughout the Empire. Farnborough's Britishness began to erode over the decades as the industry became more global and overseas companies were permitted to exhibit. By the end of the century, the show had become simply a venue for the international aerospace community to meet and do business, and for members of the public to glimpse the industry's latest products at first hand.
That worked as long as Farnborough and its odd-years counterpart at Le Bourget had a duopoly on the air show market. But the last 15 years have seen the growth of state-backed regional events in Dubai and Singapore as well as sector-specific gatherings such as Geneva's business aviation convention, EBACE, which have become highly effective at addressing the needs of niche markets.
Farnborough has felt the squeeze. This year's event will benefit from the "Iraq pay-back" - a grateful US government and its defence contractors supporting Farnborough after shunning Paris last year. But, in the long term, every exhibitor is seriously questioning the number of air shows they are expected to attend. The axe has to fall somewhere.
The SBAC's dilemma is what to replace the current model with. Using an outside contractor to run, if not take on the risk of, the event - as the car industry does with the UK motor show - makes sense: around 10 of the SBAC's 54 employees are tied up full-time on Farnborough. Fewer trade days and a reduced flying display on these days is also logical. Watching a Eurofighter go through its paces might get pulses racing, but try negotiating a deal against the din. And by the Thursday and Friday of the show, most of the business has been done and the big hitters have left. Yet exhibitors must still keep stands and chalets open and aircraft on display until Sunday.
Beyond that, more radical changes will be hard. Ditch public days and the entertainment aspects altogether and you not only lose valuable revenue, but change the entire character of the event. Rather than an air show, it ends up an open-air trade convention. Relocate to an airfield away from London's commuter belt and you cut the umbilical cord with the capital, with its airports, top hotels, restaurants and attractions. Moving to a four-year frequency might work - if Paris did the same. If not (and Le Bourget is more bound up in national prestige than its cross-Channel rival), Farnborough would end up marginalised and forgotten.
Yet these sort of tough decisions will have to be made if Farnborough is to survive as one of the big two industry forums. The key question the SBAC must ask is: "What is Farnborough for?" Is it a showcase for members - UK aerospace manufacturers and service-providers - to advertise to the world? Or is it a cash cow providing funds for the SBAC to plough back into services to its members? The answer should be both. The UK is world number two in terms of the size of its industry and defence market. Its airline sector, including fast-expanding EasyJet and (albeit Irish-registered) Ryanair, is the healthiest in Europe. There ought to be a market for a UK air show. But keep it focused on business. Leave the aircraft spotting, the flying displays and the stands selling baseball caps to events that do it much better - such as the Royal International Air Tattoo at Fairford.
Source: Flight International
