Official RIAT Statement – November 2013

[Skyflash]

There were (vintage) fashion shows last year.

What on earth is a vintage fashion show? A bunch of folk in flares?

Mind you, it would perhaps kill off the continuing debate about the absence of flares at Fairford!!!

It was part of the Battle of Britain Village thing down at the eastern end of the airfield. Basically pretty, vaguely posh girls dressed in 1940s outfits. Not the worst thing to have happened at RIAT 2013, insofar as at least it had a vague tie-in to aspects of the flying.

Most of the other points made on this thread are depressingly accurate.

[Rule 27]

The RIAT TV ad, which is probably the broadest piece of marketing they do, was all about aircraft, none of the other 'attractions" featured in it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uogdizXVsY

Broadest in what terms? Certainly not geography! Audience, maybe?

[FlyingMachinesTV]

The RIAT TV ad, which is probably the broadest piece of marketing they do, was all about aircraft, none of the other 'attractions" featured in it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8uogdizXVsY

Broadest in what terms? Certainly not geography! Audience, maybe?

Yes, broadest audience. Fact is they have to get people through the gates, the scale of the show means they have to sell out or get close to it in order to make money for the causes they support and if all the "other stuff" does that then that's what they have to do.

[farnboroughrob]

I just feel that DBH don't know what they want out of the show? Looking at other large UK events do Glastonbury not book some bands because they spend money on side shows, no they maximize the music. RIAT has to concentrate on aircraft, it has always had the side shows since I was a kid going to Greenham Common. I would like to see the military arena displays back with the bands, display teams etc.
I generally do not reveal I am a spotter at work but I know a few people at work and family who go to RIAT as 'joe public' they go for the aircraft not for the side shows. Concentrate on the aircraft , there are so many fewer military shows that RIAT should be the number 1 showcase for the UK.
How about increasing air mindedness in a fun way? Get in touch with many of the cockpit owners and bring them along and get kids to sit in a jet fighter? Get the local flying clubs in and get people interested in flying as a hobby. What are we going to get next, the flying stopped for two hours while we have 'Top Gear live'?

[Brevet Cable]

The RIAT TV ad, which is probably the broadest piece of marketing they do, was all about aircraft, none of the other 'attractions" featured in it.

Broadest in what terms? Certainly not geography! Audience, maybe?

Yes, broadest audience. Fact is they have to get people through the gates, the scale of the show means they have to sell out or get close to it in order to make money for the causes they support and if all the "other stuff" does that then that's what they have to do.

If that's the case , maybe they should try advertising it further afield......heck , Wales is only 'just down the road' but I haven't seen any advertisments for RIAT in recent years.
Come to think of it , I can't recall it being on national telly this year , yet it used t be a regular thing that both BBC & ITV's breakfast telly progs would do various features about it from about the Wednesday onwards.
On top of that you've got the Metro free newspaper , which - if wales is anything to go by - is widely available in a large number of locations.......yet I've never seen an article or advertisment for RIAT in it.

[Rule 27]

Nothing up here in Manchester either, which was my point. Why bother spending so much time and money on your "broadest audience" when said audience are on your doorstep and probably know about it through all your other advertising!?

[Trebor1960]

I use the term enthusiast to mean those people who have more than a passing interest in aircraft (i.e. they could identify all the aircraft types at RIAT)
I have been attending airshows for nearly 50 years and there has always been sideshows,stalls,fairs,and other non-aircraft attractions, these give the organisers extra revenue.Let us all not forget that the sole purpose of RIAT is to the raise money for the RAFBF-a very worthwhile cause for people who risk their lives daily. The vast majority of people who help at RIAT are volunteers,so let us not disrespect them.Without them at any airshows there would be nothing.
I know that some people who comment on this forum have more than a passing interest in football. I bet they pay a similar amount to watch 90 minutes of football being played by overpaid prima donnas . I know I would rather pay £40 to watch a full day of aviation rather than 1 1/2 hours of football

[TYPHOON3]

Next year is a Farnborough year so maybe we should pass judgement once we have seen what aircraft are announced.What are the chances the Americans will be back next year?If so hopefully the static will be larger and maybe one flying act?If there is no improvement on the 2013 show next year then it really does look like RIAT is now basically a family fun day out with a smaller static and a less interesting flying display.I certainly wouldn't buy a Mach ticket of any kind based on the evidence of the 2013 show and on that official RIAT statement.That's the main reason RIAT should be worried once the die hard Mach ticket purchasers stop going.These people spend £100's of pounds on these packages,unlike most of joe public who do just one day.I suppose RIAT's thinking for all the other non aviation things is if a large family or group of people go and not all of the family/group are interested in the static/flying display.Fingers crossed for a show like 2012 was-hopefully better!

[boff180]

A lot of the Japanese FRIAT'ers were quite vocally not happy last year (I should know I stay at the same hotel as a lot of them) and were talking of not returning. I have no idea if they have or not though.

It is a key point though, the FRIAT members spend a significant amount of money in the local community. My FRIAT week cost me £1000 last year including the ticket.

Andy

[Maverick]

The Mach pass buyers are the ones the local area needs. They're the ones who book the hotels, drink in the pubs, eat in the restaurants. If they desert the show, you're left with the day-trippers who offer nothing to the local community but traffic congestion on the show days.

Lose the local community's goodwill at your peril...

Would be interesting to know what our overseas readers make of all this - Dutch, Belgian, Japanese enthusiasts have been part of the fabric of the show for years. Wonder how many of them have turned their back on the show?

I can't imagine the local community depend on the Mach pass buyers alone?

How about the thousands of volunteers, military personnel , those who camp but aren't members of Friat ?

I agree Mach pass members must have a contribution to the local community, but they are NOT the only ones.

[Brevet Cable]

...those who camp but aren't members of Friat ?

I can only speak regarding what I've seen at the Kempsford campsite , but there are only a small number of campers there for the whole week.
Whilst there's usually a number who arrive on the Thursday , the vast majority don't arrive until the Friday afternoon/evening.

[Trebor1960]

We FRIAT members go so that we can have between 2 to 6 days of aviation. I know that it`s expensive but when you price the benefits it is pretty good value.
DBH do make mistakes but on the whole we have had more good years than bad.
I agree with a previous comment that this years DVD/Bluray was poor-pretty amatuerish.
The things that we all love the aircraft -are at the mercy of the organisers. What we pay as FRIAT members is not what pays for the show,it is the sponsers and jo public that do that.
Have faith this year will be good. Maybe it should go back to being biannual to coincide with Farnborough.

[TYPHOON3]

Out of interest does anybody know roughly how many people purchased mach packages this year?Should these people decide that the show is no longer aviation related enough to part with their hard earned cash then RIAT's revenue will be substantially down.Can they rely on joe public alone to keep the money coming in?

[boff180]

Out of interest does anybody know roughly how many people purchased mach packages this year?Should these people decide that the show is no longer aviation related enough to part with their hard earned cash then RIAT's revenue will be substantially down.Can they rely on joe public alone to keep the money coming in?

Since the 2008 mud bath, a lot of Mach 3 members now stay in hotels.

Just doing the sums from the ticket prices on the website...

Mach 3 = 900... at say a 95% to 5% adult to child basis (not allowed to take children out of school for holidays in term time now technically since the beginning of this academic year) = £184,650
Mach 2 = 450... at say the same ratio (it is still term time remember) = £78,975
Mach 1 = 150... at say a 50% adult to child basis = £15,975

So in tickets, on a rough calculation, the FRIAT membership is worth roughly £279,600 to DBH before the operating cost of the FRIAT membership.

If you say that on average a Mach 3 member spends £550 on attending the show (hotel being more than that but a camper being less) and then a Mach 2 member spends say £300 each and Mach 1 say £150 each.

Doing the sums, the additional money put into the community and the local economy by the FRIAT membership could be in the region of £652,500

Those are not small figures we are talking about.

Combine the two and FRIAT could be "worth" £932,100 every year... and as hotel and food costs go up every year it won't be too long before that figure could top £1,000,000.

[RAF4EVER]

Have been to every Fairford since 1984,except for the 2 at Cottesmore.Since 2006 have lived in The Netherlands and have come over every year even 2008 when it was washed out. I agree that the lines of C130 and C135 have gone and will probably never be seen again, unless there is a Herk anniversary, the only shows I do now are Fairford, Farnborough and the Dutch Luftmacht days.The Dutch shows are free ,it only costs me for the train to the nearest railway station.
I will continue to go to Fairford for as long as I can afford to.

[Brevet Cable]

Did the Mach 2 & 3 tickets actually sell-out this year ??
I know the Mach 1s did , but not sure about the others.

[FGR2]

The signals coming out remind me very much of Top Gear. Once a programme for enthusiasts, now dumbed down for mass entertainment consumption. It may be popular for the mass audience, (and profitable), but no longer relevant for the hardcore enthusiast.

I am not sure that enthusiasts/airshow goers are a dying breed though. When you look at the Manston debacle this year, when half of North Kent turned into a large car park, this was purely an airshow but people still turned out in huge numbers.

Looking beyond next year, 2015 will in my opinion be a more challenging prospect.

[Trebor1960]

you guys are over estimating your importance to the aviation world!!

[MicrolightDriver]

Honest communication from a tremendous airshow that remains determined to maximise its aviation but has to diversify its product and widen its appeal to remain viable into the future.

[FGR2]

I would say that it is purely enthusiasts who pay for the Park and View days which is money for very little (apart from possibly a toilet block). Aircraft are going to arrive, depart and practice anyway.
£20 for the arrival/departures days is not far short of a full day at Waddington or Yeovilton Airshow. The General non-enthusiast public are not going to pay to see a few aircraft land or practice, whereas an enthusiast will. The MACH packages must make up a chunk of the revenue for these days which is something non-enthusiasts would not be taking up.

[Russ]

Waddington sold out this year and more people attended it than RIAT. They didn't feel the need to bring in non-aviation items to the extent RIAT did, they also promoted it as nothing other than an airshow, as well as single-handedly booking the Swedish Historics. So why do RIAT now feel the and to change the direction of the show? History has shown promoting it as an airshow is all that needs to be done. Aren't airshows, after football, the second most attended events in the UK? Says it all.

I fear hugely for the future of the show after Tim Prince retires. I wouldn't be surprised in five years if RIAT is like a "Spirit of Adventure" type event.

[tu16]

The 2013 flying display wasn't that bad (Eurocopters apart): MiG29, A400, Rafale, A380, Red Bulls, C27J, Finn NH90, ITAF Tiffie & KC767 - not a classic, but solid enough. The static suffered hugely from the lack of USAF partcipation, but there were still some nice aircraft.

I am interested to see how RIAT's plan to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of the F-16 will go down with the European (a further afield) air arms. It will be an indication as to where RIAT sits in their minds if only 5 or 6 of the type rock up from the usual suspects.

Regardless of where RIAT is going, there must be much to be optimistic about for 2014, with Farnborough bringing in some tasty bits for the air display (Boeing F-18 & F-35?). Hopefully the Reds Anniversary will attract more than just the usual PdeF, PdeS & Frecce. Whether the retirement of Tim Prince will add anything to the static participation I'm not sure - certainly if sequestration is still in progress, I doubt Tim's swansong will be enough to get the USAF to RIAT, but I live in hope.

Commentators, Caterhams, DVD - as long as the Air Tattoo looks like 2012 on the aircraft front, I'm not that bothered.

[alizam]

The Mach pass buyers are the ones the local area needs. They're the ones who book the hotels, drink in the pubs, eat in the restaurants. If they desert the show, you're left with the day-trippers who offer nothing to the local community but traffic congestion on the show days.

Lose the local community's goodwill at your peril...

Would be interesting to know what our overseas readers make of all this - Dutch, Belgian, Japanese enthusiasts have been part of the fabric of the show for years. Wonder how many of them have turned their back on the show?

I'm Maltese, and i'm definitely not turning my back on RIAT and i am coming back to RIAT next year... I love RIAT and even though 2013 was not as good as 2012, i still enjoyed it and managed to see aircraft you don't see at any other show... I couldn't care less about the commentary and the showground attractions to be honest.. Even if they will still be there in 2014, its not an issue for me... i will just ignore them as i have done in 2012 and 2013.

[zigzag]

Well thats an interesting statement from RIAT.

One of my quick thoughts about the frustration with RIAT, in our enthusiast eyes, turning away from being an airshow is that the large foreign airshows are on the whole still trying to be airshow and yet they still attract huge crowds (more than RIAT). As enthusiasts we see this and wonder why RIAT feels the need to diversify to attract the crowds when a focus on core aviation aspects seems to do the job elsewhere. It puzzles us why we can see this but RIAT cant. (Im sure we will have the debate that many of the European shows are miliary shows, agreed, but RIAT also attracts levels of sponsorship that other show scan only dream of).

In my opinion the core of RIATs shift in emphasis probably has its roots back in the cancellation year. What RIAT now want to do is to more or less guarantee a surplus of £xx (whatver that figure is Im not sure). So, in simple terms, to do that they work out thier costs and income and then see what attendance will guarantee that income, they can then cap numbers at that level (capping numbers will also make insurance premiums more certain, less open ended and expensive - and Im sure the insurers have a had a big say in things as they probably got badly burned with the cancellation). Having then worked out that a break even attendance is, say, 50,000 they can then construct the demogaphic of this (family, enthusiast, 1 day, 2 day, FRIAT, etc. Thier results and feedback probably show that they can achieve this without the enthusiast, result is they can then shift the shows focus. (an aside here is perhaps thier feedback questionnaire should not ask if you are/arent an enthusiast but merely ask if interested in aircraft/avaition - might prodcue an entirely different result than the 90% family/10% enthusiast split)

In operating this 'play it safe' model RIAT will get its £x surplus each and every year, the risks will be minimised, its safe, conservative, and predictable. But where this model fails is that it removes all possibility of an upside to the surplus, RIAT will now never generate a surplus of £xxx. Thats because it has limited its product, it has limited/capped its attendance, it has limited its earnings. It has been possible, pre 2008, to have huge attendances with pay on the day on a good weather weekend - but it has also been possible have a smaller surplus, £x, or even a loss with a bad weather weeekend. RIAT have gone for the safe, more or less guaranteed, £xx surplus year after year rather than see just what they could get in good years £xxx with the risk of some bad years too £x.

Safe and predictable, and the bank mager probably loves it.

If the organisation is risk adverse, as they probably are after the cancellation, this might be an attractive way to run things. But it does leave things precariously balanced should the general appeal falter as by that time you will have lost your core audience who could have been relied upon to come year after year for the duration, who would have paid a substantial amount up-front which would be an important part of keeping the cash-flow going through the winter/spring months.

[DeanW]

Nothing up here in Manchester either, which was my point. Why bother spending so much time and money on your "broadest audience" when said audience are on your doorstep and probably know about it through all your other advertising!?

RIAT only have TV advertising on a few small ITV regions in the south of the UK. Their regional advertising is a cost efficient way of hitting a huge audience, as up to 7m people could be exposed to the advert on TV!