More business aircraft and helicopters operate in Germany than any other country in Europe, making it the single largest market outside North America for many U.S. manufacturers and suppliers.

Germany's ILA 2000 plans to showcase business and general aviation as part of the International Aerospace Exhibition at Berlin-Schoenefeld next June 6-12. It is exhibiting here at NBAA (Booth 3345) to press home those very points -- and to persuade companies it is the best place in Europe for them to see and be seen when it comes to selling their wares. Aviation Week & Space Technology (Booth 4238) and Aviation Week's Show News are the official publications.

The exhibition site is already a center for business aviation: Bombardier chose Berlin-Schoenefeld itself as the location for its Lufthansa Bombardier service center offering complete service for all Learjet, Challenger and Global Express aircraft in Europe; and the resident Lufthansa Technik has begun completing Airbus A319CJ Corporate Jets.

As German industry takes a leading role in European aerospace, and Germany's seat of government completes its move from Bonn to Berlin, so business aviation will become more important to the fast-growing capital city which is already attracting corporate HQs and European sales offices, ILA organizers point out.

The show now claims what it deems a rightful place as one of Europe's three major air and space trade shows, alongside Paris and Farnborough. Its advantages, ILA notes, are that while Farnborough is in an English-speaking country the U.K itself is not a large market and cannot help its location as an island off the far Western end of Europe; Paris has prestige, but is a difficult show in terms of crowds, logistics, and national bias. ILA, in contrast, is easy to get to and is in the very center of the second-largest market in the world.

"Germany has the biggest single economy in Europe -- the most important economic power," ILA's organizers point out. "This is true whichever way you measure it-in gross national product, export sales, total population, or number of airports."

Bookings for next year's ILA are running 20% higher than in 1998, when some 825 exhibitors took part-itself a huge 42% jump from 1996. Of these 144 were from the U.S. and 57 from Russia, with the remainder representing another 30 countries. Aircraft on display rose 4.5% to 278, of which 80 were military aircraft, 30 fighters and high performance combat aircraft, and 43 helicopters. The organizers claim the breadth of exhibiting aircraft is unmatched by any other show.

German organizers hope many exhibitors are on short finals for ILA. Business aircraft salesman regard ILA as a central showcase.

Access to the show site will be improved by smoothing out traffic flows, and increasing the number of trains that run directly between Downtown Berlin and the station at the show site.

Arrangements are also being made for visitors to ILA to attend the EXPO2000 world exhibition (June 1-October 30) in Hanover, with direct shuttle services between the two exhibitions.