Tue, May 26, 2009
Airshows Prove To Be Too Popular To Miss!
Although much of the country has
experienced unusually poor weather during the first two months of
the 2009 air show season, the initial trend toward higher
attendance has continued throughout the country. MCAS Beaufort
(5/16-17) in South Carolina had heavy rain on Sunday, but near
record crowds on Saturday.
On the same weekend, the Joint Services Open House at Andrews
AFB in Maryland had threatening weather all weekend, but still
welcomed huge crowds. This past weekend, the New York Air Show at
Jones Beach and the NAS Patuxent River Air Show in Maryland were
the latest ICAS member shows to welcome record or near-record
crowds.
And the media is paying attention to the increased popularity of
air shows during these difficult economic times. Last Saturday, the
Los Angeles Times ran a story on the front page of its business
section entitled, "Air shows deliver adrenaline without bleeding
family budgets" with this subhead: "Attendance soars as families
seek more bang for the buck."
The product of a national public relations effort initiated by
ICAS last month, the story was subsequently picked up by a wide
range of newspaper websites, ranging from USA Today to the Chicago
Tribune and New York Times.
"Weather-wise, we've had bad luck during the first several weeks
of the season, particularly on the east coast. But the large crowds
- sometimes in spite of that poor weather - have been encouraging,"
said ICAS President John Cudahy.
"As an industry, the challenge that we face now is to turn these
larger crowds of first-timers into dedicated air show fans who
attend our events year after year."
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