A world of opportunities

This year's Farnborough International Airshow (FIA) looks set to be another record year with exhibition space now sold out.

Event organisers, Farnborough International Ltd (FIL), say that the show – which takes place from 19-25 July 2010 – will be better than ever for business.

This positive news comes after significant investment into the event to improve networking opportunities and the overall visitor experience. As well as site infrastructure changes, specific advancements include the introduction of a Themed Conference Programme, a ‘Meet the Buyer' event, the return of the Business Aircraft Park, sponsored by Breitling and a more focused delegations programme.

Speaking at the recent media launch, FIL chief executive, Shaun Ormrod commented: “We have seen considerable interest in this year's show with exhibitors attending from 38 countries so far. We have sold 166 chalets; 22 International Pavilions - including new groups from Morocco, Brazil and Portugal; eight Regional UK Pavilions and all our new ‘first-time-exhibitor' packages.”

“Overall, we are encouraged that 2010 will be a very buoyant year for FIA,” Amanda Stainer, FIL's events and exhibitions director added. “The team here at FIL has worked hard to create an Airshow that will facilitate the best opportunities for business. We have listened to all our customers from business, commercial and defence sectors alike and have developed a number of initiatives that improve the show's offerings. Our impressive sales record reflects this and we expect our visitor numbers will do the same.”

Taking place on a biennial basis, the FIA is one of the world's most iconic global aviation events. 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. FIA 2008 was a record breaking year for business with a reported US$88.7 billion worth of orders announced during the show. 2008's event also featured 165 aircraft in flying displays and the public weekend attracted 153,000 visitors.

Farnborough International, in conjunction with A|D|S, has launched ticket sales for its Conference Programme which will form an integral component of this year's event. Taking place over the first four days of the show, the aim of the programme is to offer visitors and exhibitors greater focus to their visit and provide the opportunity to network and discuss key issues affecting their business with fellow members of the industry and government officials.

The conference programme is based on the core themes for each day of the trade event: Monday – aerospace; Tuesday – Defence; Wednesday – Space; and Thursday – Security. Each conference will be chaired by an A|D|S director and will feature speakers from both government and industry. Chaired by Manjit Sahota, chief technical officer at A|D|S, the aerospace conference on Monday 19th July will focus on some of the major issues affecting civil aviation today and specifically the future of aviation design and technology post Boeing's 787 Dreamliner and Airbus' A380. Other areas for discussion will be consumer experience at airports, airport security and sustainability.

The theme for Tuesday 20th July will focus on defence and will be chaired by A|D|S' Derek Marshall, director, policy. With a new Government in place, the conference is certain to offer a timely opportunity to discuss defence matters such as a Government Strategic Defence Review which would be the first in over 10 years.

With the Space Innovation and Growth Strategy launched earlier this year, the space conference, taking place on Wednesday 21st July, will provide the ideal platform to discuss what the strategy will mean for industry. Hosted in the brand new Space Zone at the show, Manjit Sahota of A|D|S will be presiding over events during the morning.

The final conference of the week on Thursday 22nd July will be security themed and will look at how events such as 9/11 and other terrorist attacks have shaped security priorities in the UK. With an increasing convergence between the defence and security sectors, Farnborough International Airshow 2010 will be the ideal venue to host a potentially lively debate. The conference will be chaired by Sir Edward Crew, A|D|S security consultant and former chief constable of West Midlands Police.

Speaking about the Conference Programme, Ian Godden, Chairman of A|D|S stated: “The conference programme will provide an excellent opportunity for visitors to the Airshow to discuss some of the major issues that are affecting their industry today. I look forward to welcoming the world's aerospace, defence, space and security industries to Farnborough and to our themed conference programme.”

Shaun Ormrod concluded: “The conference programme is an important first for the Farnborough International Airshow and part of our initiative to improve the visitor experience at the event. It will give visitors and exhibitors more opportunities to network ensuring better value for their time. Through our collaboration with A|D|S we have a first rate conference programme to offer our visitors and exhibitors alike.”

Farnborough Airshow
www.farnborough.com
 

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