FLUG REVUE July 2002: ILA 2002 was a success

ILA 2002: POSITION SECURED

By Volker K. Thomalla

This year's Berlin Air Show ILA 2002 was a huge success on many counts: never before have so many exhibitors and trade visitors attended this air show, never before have visitors seen so many aircraft and never before have so many VIPs from the world of politics found their way to the show.

Numbers like this would have been a mere dream to the ILA organisers a few years ago: this year's 1,067 exhibitors signified breaching the psychologically important threshold of 1,000 for the first time. The exhibiting companies have thus given a big thumbs-up to the Berlin Air Show and shown by their example that this event is now an indisputable element of the international air show scene. In an independent exhibitor survey that was conducted during the show, over 76% rated the business results of having attended as either very good or satisfactory. Exhibitors were likewise predominantly satisfied with the quality of the trade visitors.

Above all, small and medium-sized enterprises used ILA 2002 as a marketplace and an opportunity for making contacts. They had plenty of opportunity for this, as the exhibitors from 40 nations occupied 49,000m2 of covered floor space and 93,000m2 of open ground.

Although Boeing, the world's largest aerospace company, stayed away from Berlin, EADS, Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman lent the air show their support by their own strong presence, so that the absence of Boeing was noticed only by the trade visitors.

There was no shortage of discussion topics at the air show. The future of Fairchild Dornier and ways of saving the company dominated the first few days. Other major topics were new aircraft programmes such as the A380 and the different aspects of security in air transport in the post-11 September world. The integration of air and rail travel was another important item on the ILA agenda.

The stars of the air show were the aircraft themselves. Here visitors were offered the biggest possible variety, from vintage planes like the Bf 109 through Airbus types A340-600 and A318 to military aircraft like the Eurofighter and the Boeing F-18. Among the 340 flying vehicles in Berlin there were also a number of unmanned air vehicles (UAVs), primarily for military applications. The spectrum of UAVs ranged from types that resembled model aircraft through to ones of airliner size in the form of the Global Hawk.

The attendance figures and quality of the speakers at the 60 conferences which took place in parallel to the air show, showed that the event had significantly upgraded its profile in this area.

The joint organisers, the German Aerospace Industries Association (BDLI) and Messe Berlin, were pleased with the way things went and with the results of the air show. Dr. Hans Eberhard Birke, Managing Director of the BDLI, summed it up with the words, "The aerospace industry is gaining impetus following the successful Berlin Air Show. ILA 2002 was a huge success – despite the present difficult aviation situation.”

Spectators streamed into the grounds in even greater numbers than two years ago. When the cash tills closed on the last day of the air show, 220,000 visitors had passed the gates, up from 212,000 in 2000. 90,000 trade visitors was a new record for the air show, up 7% on ILA 2000 – an increase which few would have believed possible beforehand. Dr. Christian Göke, Managing Director of Messe Berlin, says, "The concept of the Berlin Air Show as a concentrated trade fair that gives coverage to the different business areas of aerospace combined with a unique public display worked out very well.” The exhibition and conference part of ILA 2002 profited from a significantly higher technical quality.

The Berlin Air Show has thus also done justice to its role as showcase for the aerospace industry. It brought the products and services of aerospace to a broad public. The flying programme sparkled with many high points, among them the Eurofighter, the Airbus A340-600, the Eurocopter Tiger and the display given by the Italian G. 222. However, the favourites of the public were quite clearly the Patrouille Suisse. The Swiss Air Force's aerobatics team may have slimmed down their programme, but the enthusiasm of the public was evident in the spontaneous applause, especially when the flares lit up at the conclusion of the F-5 Tiger air display.

The next Berlin Air Show is scheduled for 17-23 May 2004.

From page 8 of FLUG REVUE 7/2002

Last updated 3 June 2002

FLUG REVUE, Ubierstr. 83, 53173 Bonn, Germany