The Big One at Farnborough International Airshow

5 stands, 4 chalets, 1 epic week.

After a long 4-year wait, last week we took 10 of our top clients to the international aviation stage at the 52^ndFarnborough International Airshow (FIA). This landmark event in our show calendar returns bi-annually to the Farnborough Airport, hosting everyone who is anyone in the aviation and aerospace industry for a week of international collaboration. Since its cancellation in 2020 due to the Covid-19, we’ve been hungry to transform our client’s spaces into bigger and better brand-owning experiences – so let’s look back at one of the biggest Airshows in the world, exactly as it happened.

The week kicked off with a bang as the UK heatwave bought a warm welcome to the global aerospace industry as 36-degree heat arrived on the opening day of FIA. With the benefit of air-conditioning, the buzz on the show floor was electric as the show was officially opened by Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. Quality and capability are built into the foundations of every experience we design and the return to FIA brought new meaning to business as usual for our client. We produced 4 bespoke chalets for Qatar Airways, Spirit AeroSystems, A.I.A and new client Dassault Systémes creating a welcoming, familiar hospitality environment that focused on an informative, immersive delegate journey. Dassault Systémes took to the stage with a new biophilic design orientated around sustainable innovation, combining practicality and experience with an all-new immersive 3D experience theatre and warm hospitality space.

“A truly fantastic job you have done! We cannot thank you all enough for the dedication, support, and unfailingly good humour your team has exhibited throughout the trials and tribulations. The chalet is exceptional!”– Liz Sargent, Senior Manager of Global Corporate Events at Dassault Systèmes.

Qatar Airways briefed a chalet to cater for “VIP guests, which reflects our product, services, and ethos. The design shall imbue a style that is reflective of a highly progressive, contemporary, international organisation.” Therefore, our solution was to design a chalet which displayed luxury in every detail, down to the materials, shape and finishing touches, to deliver an exceptional customer experience ahead of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022. Over the 5-day event, Qatar Airways showcased its Gulfstream private jets and state-of-the-art Boeing 787-9 Dreamliner as they finalised a deal with Boeing to order 25 new passenger jets on Day 4 of the show.

Digital innovation was a hot topic at FIA, igniting new forms of brand engagement as Spirit AeroSystems transformed its reception area into a technology experience with an interactive video wall to keep delegates entertained between meetings. Inside the Exhibition Hall, Teledyne Flir and Moog Aircraft utilised digital innovations with full-height LED motion graphics and touchscreen information points to capture the attention of passers-by as we focused their FIA efforts on lead generation and brand awareness. New client Facom, Derco and long-standing client Crane Aerospace and Electronics also returned to the FIA stage with a new design focused on customer journeys and hospitality experiences.

After 4 years away from the FIA floor, it certainly felt great to be back in action with 10 clients in toe. After months of designing and planning it’s fantastic to see the results of all our hard work for some very happy clients! We’re excited for what’s to come and for Paris Airshow coming next year!