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They Shoot Air Shows Don't They?
Fears the End Is Nigh For Farnborough
"Farnborough is dying," worries Eurofighter test pilot Chris Worning, and he believes the location is what's killing it. Worning's thoughts are among many similar opinions expressed by senior industry figures here. While their assessments of the show and its future are sometimes conflicting, all are agreed on one thing—Farnborough is in big trouble.
From a purely air show point of view this year's revised, and even more restrictive, flying regulations are undermining manufacturers' attempts to display their aircraft. One major combat aircraft supplier told ShowNews that they would not have bothered bringing an aircraft had they known how onerous the limits would be.
The managing director of a leading European defense exporter summed up the views of many saying, "It's just too expensive to be here. It has cost us over £1 million this year. We have heard that revenue for this show is in the region of £350 million—where does it all go? Another issue with our investment in Farnborough is the level of delegations we meet. Increasingly there are fewer and fewer, of a declining level of seniority. Now we spend perhaps 20% of our time with meeting potential customers and the other 80% just talking to the rest of industry."
There is a huge conflict of interest in supporting back-to-back events at Farnborough and the Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT). No-one seems to be happy with the current arrangement of concurrent UK shows—and if asked to choose, many Farnborough exhibitors say that RIAT is a better venue to meet customers. RIAT in turn has its own problems with spiraling costs and falling public attendance. The SBAC is understood to have been brokering a deal that would see a UK trade show held at a convention center site, followed by a RIAT-style flying display. While an announcement on this move was once planned for Farnborough week, nothing has yet been agreed.
Suggestions that Farnborough could become a 'trade-only' show with no public access and no flying display were slammed by one experienced company pilot who said, "You can't treat your customers, your taxpayers, like that—and the media would slaughter us."
There is also a sizeable movement within industry to shift Farnborough back to its 'natural' September dates. No-one can remember any more why Farnborough was moved in the first place—and supporters of the July dates are few and far between.
It all adds up to a lot of unhappy people, and a once world-beating
event in danger of becoming an also-ran. Worning echoes many when
he wonders, "What is the SBAC doing to protect the UK interest
in a national aerospace forum and air show?"
—Robert Hewson
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