Jetrader - Autumn 2016 - 18

Red Arrows and F35 opening the 2016 airshow.

A recap of the
2016 Farnborough
International Airshow
Article and photos by DVB Bank's Bert van Leeuwen

The A350-900 on display.

Sunshine and rain. Show debuts for the
MAX and the E2, but no MRJ and no NEO.
A decent volume of new orders, but no
announcements of new commercial jet
programs; we left Farnborough 2016
with mixed feelings. After Le Bourget
in 2015, it was again up to the British
to host the most important commercial
aviation event of the year (apart from
the ISTAT conferences): the Farnborough
International Airshow. The U.K. is a country with more things going on in one weekend than many other countries have in a
whole year. On the weekend before the
official opening of the 2016 Farnborough
International Airshow (the "Airshow"), the
U.K. hosted the finals of the Wimbledon
Tennis Championships, the 10K London Run
with 25,000 participants, the Silverstone
Formula One Grand Prix (won by Brit Lewis
Hamilton) and, for the military aircraft
spotters, the Royal International Air
Tattoo at RAF Fairford.

In a way, the Airshow had already started
on Sunday, as Bombardier had organized a
few demo-flights with their new CSeries
jet. Representatives of the media, airlines,
suppliers and other stakeholders were given
the opportunity to experience the benefits
of an all-new single-aisle jet design. It must
be said that, after a few difficult years for
Bombardier, in 2016 the sun has come out
again, and major orders from Delta Airlines
and Air Canada have put this "cute little
airplane" firmly on the map. For passengers
still flying the aging AVRO Jumbolinos on
Swiss' European network, the move by this
airline to the new CSeries will be a huge
improvement in terms of personal space,
cabin comfort, window size and bin size.
Swiss passengers definitely have something
to look forward to.
The official opening act of the Airshow
2016 on Monday morning was a flyby of the
Red Arrows in formation with a Lockheed
Martin F-35B. However, the trip from central

18 The official publication of the International Society of Transport Aircraft Trading

London to Farnborough airport was a bit
of a challenge and may have meant that
some visitors missed the flyby. As to be
expected, undertaking this trip by car was
no fun because of the predictable Monday
morning traffic jam around the British capital. The train from London Waterloo station
to Farnborough Main actually has always
been an excellent alternative. Southwest
trains did a great job again this year and
the direct Farnborough express trains only
took about 30-35 minutes. Unfortunately,
arriving at Farnborough Main, the traditional double-decker bus shuttle between
Farnborough Main and the Airshow didn't
run as smoothly as 2014. Under a rainpregnant sky, the long queue of trade
visitors had to wait a considerable time
before any of the buses arrived. Because
the organizers had not been able to arrange
a dedicated bus lane this time, most buses
got stuck in morning rush hour traffic. Of
those visitors fortunate enough to get on

Jetrader - Autumn 2016

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