With $124 billion of orders and options for aircraft, engines and supply chain orders confirmed at Farnborough International Airshow 2016, organisers say they are pleased that the event has worked so well for its exhibitors.
International co-operation was the order of the day, allaying fears that Britain’s exit from the EU would see a downturn in business with 1500 exhibitors taking 550m2 more space than in 2014, of which 70% were from outside the UK.
Across the five day trade show, and despite day one being closed early due to extreme heavy rainfall, Farnborough International recorded just over 73,000 trade visits over the week with approximately 25% of its visitor base being either CEO or Director-level and a significant increase in attendance of people directly responsible for procurement.
On day one, the show saw over 50% of visitors coming from overseas with many attending the show with pre-arranged meetings with exhibitors. The show also saw a significant increase in airline presence with many making large order announcements.
Delegation visits have also increased with 98 military delegations attending from 66 countries and 29 commercial and civil delegations attending from 22 countries. The timetabled and escorted meetings organised by Farnborough International are one of the show’s key USPs and a reason the show is so popular with exhibitors.
At a supply chain level, the Meet-The-Buyer programme has also proved popular with 1680 meetings taken place between 40 buyers from 13 countries and 177 suppliers over the three day event designed to allow companies of all sizes to form new business relationships with international companies.
Farnborough International chief executive Shaun Ormrod said: “We are delighted that the show has been such a success - the orders announced together with the large number of aircraft coming to Farnborough for the first time is a promising indicator that the industry is in great shape and that Farnborough maintains its crown as the most international airshow on the circuit.
“We’ve been focusing on ensuring we get the right audiences, demonstrating that whilst still a global meeting place for the industry, Farnborough is also an important place for the supply chain to get business done.”
Commercial director, Amanda Stainer, further added: “It’s been a really successful show for our exhibitors. Our marketing suite has been busy and we have already taken a considerable amount of re-bookings for the 2018 show. What’s been really positive is whilst the tier one companies have been announcing large orders, we’ve seen an increase in activity and announcements from the supply chain companies too.”
