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Issue 50: May/June 1989
Australian Aviation Trade Fair 1990
Following on from the very successful Australian Business Aircraft Association’s series of annual conventions and the Helicopter Association of Australia’s Rotortech, moves are afoot to combine the activities and interests of allied general aviation associations into a joint format trade and industry show.
The proposed event would be designated the Australian Aviation Trade Fair and would encompass the combined interests of the Australian Business Aircraft Association (ABAA), the Helicopter Association of Australia (HAA), the Regional Airline Association (RAA) and the General Aviation Association (GAA). Between them these four industry bodies represent the vast majority of GA operators in this country and by and large are the biggest users of the services of the aviation support infrastructure. Their day to day operational problems are also closely aligned and thus such a show would also serve as a forum for their annual conventions where subjects of common interest could be reviewed in joint sessions.
Much of the impetus of such a trade event stemmed directly from the ultra successful Australian Bicentennial Air Show of last October. What ABAS did was to prove that aviation was not only vitally important to the long-term economic well being of Australia, but to also show the world what we had to offer. Following on from ABAS there came a number of suggestions towards staging a trade only show that would be optimised towards providing participants the best return in dollar terms by ensuring that a sufficiently large professional audience was present to promote a direct interest in their products and services.
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The proposed Australian Aviation Trade Fair would serve this need in both a cost sensitive and timely manner and would help promote the Australian general aviation industry both at home and throughout the region. The AATF would also complement the activities of many of our larger firms who participate in the bi-annual Singapore Air Show. Indeed, Singapore’s Asian Aerospace could be likened to the Paris Show of the Pacific Rim, whereas the AATF would be similar to the Hannover Air Show.
A precedent for such a convention was held back in late 1984 at Essendon by the General Aviation Association. This show was overwhelmed with support and was symptomatic of what was possible even though at that time much of Australia was just emerging from three painful years of the worst economic recession since the war. The proposed Australian Aviation Trade Fair would thus build on the GAA’s initial concept by combining with the impressively successful Rotortech, the ABAA’s annual convention, while also introducing a regional airline association presence similar to that enjoyed each year in the USA by their RAA.
The Australian aviation industry companies would find it difficult to support three or four trade and industry air shows if each of the general aviation associations was to stage a full convention every year. The 1984 GAA show and last year’s ABAS clearly highlighted the desire of aviation companies to go on display at a dedicated convention where they could meet their prospective clients. Their support at ABAA and Rotortech were evidence of the industry’s need for a regular marketplace, but one which their annual budgets could bear. The convention format which brings all of their customers together at one time is therefore a concept which makes sound economic sense to the aviation trading companies.
It is proposed that the inaugural Aviation Trade Fair be held at the new National Convention Centre at Canberra on 13th, 14th and 15th November 1990. This is appropriately the first year of the final decade of this century and such a high profile professional grouping of the bulk of general aviation in this country, encompassing their combined interests, would in this magazine’s view be a winner for all concerned.
Format of the three day Aviation Trade Fair would be a series of major addresses that would be of direct interest to all concerned while Association specific meetings would take place in the smaller convention rooms within the centre. Thus each association’s annual convention requirement would be satisfied whilst offering the bonus of an extensive trade display and a combined (and united) general aviation forum with which to venture into the 1990s.
This magazine wholly supports this highly meritorious proposal and sincerely hopes that the secretariats of the ABAA, GAA, the HAA and the RAA can join forces for what could prove to be Australian aviation’s greatest promotional and unifying endeavour in the years ahead.
ABAS proved that Australia could mount a highly professional aviation trade exposition of world class. The proposed Australian aviation trade fair would serve directly the common interests of Australia’s most powerful general aviation associations and help present a central marketplace each year for our enterprising aviation industry companies.
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