The Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) is one of the world’s most iconic global aviation events. FIA holds a prominent position within the aerospace calendar taking place on a biennial basis (once every two years) over one week in July. The first five days of the show are traditionally trade days only, followed by a weekend where the exhibition is opened up to the public.
The most recent airshow, FIA 2008, was a record-breaking year for business with US$88.7 billion worth of orders announced during the show. 2008’s event also featured 165 aircraft in static displays and spectacular flying displays and the public weekend attracted a staggering 153,000 visitors.
The 2010 show was sold out with an increased number of exhibiting companies (1,450) compared to the 2008 show (1,393). This year’s event saw good engagement from decision-makers with 11 UK Government ministers, as well as ministers from overseas plus 70 delegations from 44 countries, in attendance. With over 120,000 visitors on trade days and an expected 160,000 on the forthcoming public weekend, this will put 2010 almost on a par with the total numbers for 2008, which were 285,000. Orders for the show so far total $47 billion and the Airshow has welcomed 120,461 people.
