AERO 2011 to run from Wednesday to Saturday
Next year’s show will begin earlier, and emphasize trade flights rather than public air displays
The AERO international aviation fair is continuing its shift of emphasis towards a trade show. As part of this strategy, next year’s event will run from Wednesday April 13 to Saturday April 16, instead of the usual Thursday to Sunday. The classic display previously held at AERO on Saturday and Sunday will now take place at Klassikwelt Bodensee, the historic vehicles, boats and aircraft exhibition to be held at Messe Friedrichshafen just under two months later.
These changes form part of a clearly defined policy of tailoring the event to exhibitors’ needs. “AERO is Europe’s leading general aviation trade fair, and these innovations send a clear message to the industry,” says Messe Friedrichshafen chief executive Klaus Wellmann.
This year’s AERO, held in April and featuring everything from business jets to propeller aircraft, helicopters and electric planes, attracted 39,700 visitors from Germany and abroad. “This leading European event has been a major boost for the general aviation sector, and a lot of exhibitors told us they were very happy with the way it went,” Wellmann added. He and his colleague, AERO project manager Roland Bosch, are convinced that the changes will make the 2011 event even more of a success.
AERO Friedrichahafen is also acquiring an increasing international role, with trade visitors coming from 31 countries in five continents this year. The changes begun in 2010 proved popular with exhibitors and visitors, and managers plan to introduce further innovations which will emphasise the event’s importance to industry professionals in the future.
Roland Bosch, 50, is new to the post, but has many years’ experience of trade fair management and a detailed knowledge of aviation trends. It was he who originally spun off AERO from an automobile fair in Friedrichshafen and turned it into an aviation event in its own right, and he was its project manager until 2001.
The next AERO takes place at the Messegelände in Friedrichshafen from Wednesday April 13 to Saturday April 16, 2011.
