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ILA 2000 EVEN BETTER THAN EXPECTED

The Berlin air show was fortuitously timed. With a number of debuts and record new orders, the ILA demonstrated that it is a serious contender among the European aerospace fairs.

The figures are truly impressive: 950 exhibitors from 38 nations had made their way to Berlin, and when they set off home again it was with orders worth several billion dollars under their belts. "The ILA is bigger and more international than ever before," said Gustav Humbert, President of the German Aerospace Industries Association (BDLI) at the start of the exhibition, which was held at Berlin's Schönefeld airport. Despite the added competition due to the Farnborough air show having been brought forward from September to July, ILA 2000 succeeded in spectacular manner. It was not just a matter of quantity, but the quality of this year's ILA was particularly impressive. Some major decisions (on the A400M, A3XX and NH90) were due for decisions and were either discussed or settled in Berlin.

ILA 2000 also saw a number of debuts. The aerospace companies DASA, Aérospatiale-Matra and CASA, which will be officially merging into the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company (EADS) on 10 July, appeared for the first time under a single roof as "EADS in formation" and displayed their product portfolio, which ranges from the single-engined TB10 through to the Airbus A3XX and the Eurofighter. The recently formed European satellite construction consortium Astrium was also making its first appearance at an air show.

Regional passenger aircraft currently constitute the most dynamic sector of the aircraft market. ILA was able to benefit from this too. Never before at an ILA have as many orders been placed for air carriers as were this year. The leasing company General Electric Commercial Aviation Services (GECAS) placed an order for 150 aircraft (50 firm orders plus 100 options) with the Brazilian Embraer, making its ILA debut, only to go on to order an identical number of jets from Fairchild-Dornier Aerospace. Bombardier Aerospace also enjoyed a hefty order from GECAS.

Fairchild-Dornier secured additional orders from KLM Alps (two 428JETs) and Bavaria Leasing (two 728JETs with two options plus four 928JETs with two options). Another newcomer to ILA was the recently formed Alliance Aircraft company, which has its sights set on a good chunk of the regional jet market for its planned StarLiner family of aircraft.

Again, ILA was the setting for the signing of an intergovernmental agreement on the future procurement of the NATO NH90 transport helicopter.

The attractions of the air show were not confined to industry: NASA had sent its X-38 space shuttle to Berlin, while the US Air Force's F-117 was the first stealth fighter to appear in public in Germany. Especially on the days open to the public, the so-called Millennium Air & Space Festival, the air show organisers had assembled an attractive flying programme which afforded the public an insight into the capability of the individual aircraft. As a showcase for the aerospace industry, the ILA is a major public relations instrument.

The ILA is known for the large number of aircraft it attracts. This year over 310 flying vehicles were on view on the ground and in the air, from a reproduction Etrich Taube through the Swiss single-engined PC-12 business aircraft to the F-117 and the giant Airbus A300-600ST Beluga freighter. The formation flying highlights of the flying display programme included the Swiss PC-7 aerobatics team and, above all, the superlative Patrouille de France with their Alpha Jets. The Ukrainian-Russian Antonov An-70 transport aircraft had been due to appear, but due to Germany's decision to purchase the A400M, it did not come after all.

The number of visitors attending was slightly down on 1998 (212,000 compared with 226,000), but at ILA 1998 the public were admitted every day whereas this year certain days were trade-only.

From page 24 of FLUG REVUE 8/2000