For more than 23 years, Aircraft Interiors Expo – the world’s leading marketplace for airlines and the supply chain to meet – has delivered the optimal platform for product specifiers to see and test more than 1,000 products from leading global airline suppliers based in 30-plus countries.
As the success of Aircraft Interiors Expo 2022 demonstrated, businesses and buyers now, more than ever, value the opportunity to meet face-to-face to build connections, share new ideas, and showcase new products.
The last edition of the show attracted more than 12,000 attendees, including 600 exhibitors and 180 airline representatives, and 2023 is expected to see even more industry professionals seek out the latest innovations.
This gathering of experts from all corners of the industry takes time and effort, but the opportunities it presents are endless. New partnerships, initiatives, ideas, and business growth can all be achieved. Put simply, for forward-thinking businesses with their eye on the bottom line, visiting Aircraft Interiors Expo 2023 is the smart way to save time and money.
Speaking about the value of attending Aircraft Interiors Expo, Gary Weissel, Managing Officer, Tronos Aviation Consulting, said:
“We do a lot of sourcing and spec for our airline clients, and it’s an enormous amount of time and effort to get them to come to you and put together mock-ups.
You may spend weeks trying to organise as well as a week and a half for people to come in and see the product. At Aircraft Interiors Expo, you can get everybody together in one building, spend 2-3 days walking around, meet with every supplier, and see every new idea along with where the trends are heading.
On the flip side, for suppliers, it’s an opportunity to get feedback from the airline on what’s working and what’s not working.”
For airlines, attending the show presents a significant opportunity to see a range of products and how they can benefit the passenger experience.
Craig Schifferdecker, Director – Inflight Safety, United Airlines, said:
“We attend Aircraft Interiors Expo as it provides us with an overall perspective on what products are out in the market and how they can benefit our airline in regard to the passenger experience, as well as the cabin experience for flight attendants. Being available to look at all these products and meet the vendors is a really, really important thing.”
Nicolas Leopold, a fellow VIP attendee, added:
“It’s very important to come to Aircraft Interiors Expo and meet with many vendors, get the data of productibility, and discuss contract terms and commercial discussions. This is how we build relationships.”
And, with representatives from eight of the top 10 airlines confirmed to attend AIX 2023, including Air France, ANA (All Nippon Airways), Emirates, Japan Airlines, Qatar Airways, Singapore Airlines, SWISS International Air Lines and Turkish Airlines, suppliers have a significant opportunity to capture the attention of key airline buyers, creating new partnership and business opportunities.
Delivering productivity gains at AIX
According to aircraft interiors industry experts, the amount of time spent travelling and meeting suppliers – not including the time spent organising, preparing, and following up on meetings as Gary suggests – can range from between two and three business days for a ‘local’ meeting on the same continent, and up to five days for an international meeting.
Take, for example, an airline buyer looking to update its seating. Leading players operating in the aircraft seating market are based across the globe, from Safran in France and Recaro in Germany, to Collins Aerospace in the US, JAMCO in Japan, and HAECO in Hong Kong.
For an airline based in the UK, visiting all five could easily amount to three weeks of travel and meetings. However, with all the leading suppliers coming together to exhibit at Aircraft Interiors Expo, this time could be dramatically reduced, saving time on preliminary discussions and the opportunity to test and try multiple products from various suppliers all in one place.
In another example, a buyer may look to travel to Europe to hold meetings over the course of 2-3 days, followed by an international trip to the US, then to Asia; spending more than 10 days travelling and in meetings.
The equivalent time spent at AIX could see a 50% saving with three days spent at the show and an allowance of two days travelling to/from the event.
Attendees can simply calculate the time saved by multiplying the number of suppliers they intend on visiting by the total days of travel, and subtracting the time taken to attend AIX (five days).
For example, five European meetings multiplied by 1.5 days for travel and appointments, per supplier, would equate to 7.5 days, compared to just five at AIX.
Furthermore, while this only takes into account the time saved, the cost of flights, accommodation, and the knock-on effect on a company’s carbon footprint, leads to even further advantages.
Alternatively, many industry professionals may consider virtual meetings an opportunity to cut travel time and costs all together. However, the reality is that industry professionals would spend on average two full days researching a product area, scheduling and attending meetings with five suppliers, and following up.
All this before they would inevitably need to then travel to a showroom/office to see the shortlisted solutions/products in person. This clearly then makes virtual business less effective than attending Aircraft Interiors Expo.
And, with the opportunity to schedule up to 10 meetings per day – based on 30 minutes per meeting – airlines could hold up to 30 meetings throughout the event. This does not account for business meetings in the evening, ahead of or after the event – creating a massive saving of time, travel, and expenditure.
Alain Bordeau, VP of Global Sales and Marketing at STELIA Aerospace, said:
“Aircraft Interiors Expo is very important for our business because we have everybody around the cabin – we have the customer, the partner. It’s really an opportunity to reconnect with everybody.”
As illustrated by Alain, it is not only an opportunity to see, test and try new potential products for the cabin but to continue conversations with current suppliers about ongoing projects.
Andy Masson, VP of Product Management at Panasonic Avionics, agrees:
“Our customers come in, our partners come in, our suppliers come here. We get to see old faces, and friends who have left. It’s just been a wonderful collaboration event. It’s just excellent to be back all together as an industry and as a market. You know, competitors, suppliers, we’re all one family, really.”
Speaking about the role of the event in facilitating these conversations, industry veteran Vern Alg, Strategic Consultant for Aircraft Interiors Expo, whose career spanned over 15 years with United Airlines said:
“Aircraft Interiors Expo brings together all of the interiors community – from suppliers, buyers, observers – in one place. For airlines already in conversation with suppliers, it presents an opportunity to get everyone involved in a project together to troubleshoot, gain feedback, and understand the challenges or roadblocks facing a project.
To get this face time outside of the show creates a significant logistical challenge and cost that AIX provides the solution to.”
The alternative, to bring the suppliers to the airline to showcase their innovations, is equally as cost-intensive to each supplier and creates a significant logistical issue when transporting mock-ups for airlines to see and try.
At Aircraft Interiors Expo, attendees can save time by combining meetings and product testing all in one place. More than 600 suppliers will return to AIX this June, creating a significant opportunity to save hours of business time and air miles – all while being facilitated by its innovative show planning tool: AIX Connect.
“AIX has made it possible for us to make some introductions with some key companies in the supply chain at C-level. All companies we have dealt with have unanimously reported great feedback and we have uncovered some great export opportunities.
The system was really useful and the ability to allow clients to select meeting slots and location made it very easy to navigate.”
International Trade Advisor – Invest Northern Ireland (Exhibitor)
AIX Connect
Last year, Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX) brought together 12,000 attendees (with decision-makers from across 180 VIP companies) with 600 exhibitors and global suppliers from the aircraft cabin interiors industry
And our show-planning tool, AIX Connect, both streamlined the show experience for attendees and helped decision-makers and exhibitors come together to have meaningful conversations that opened up business opportunities.
AIX Connect Adoption Rate
Last year AIX’s Connect tool was utilised by 90% of exhibitors. With comprehensive VIP concierge services and exhibitor education, both buyer and supplier goals and objectives at show were fully understood. With the tool, both visitors and exhibitor could build wish-lists and received personalised recommendations for potential meeting opportunities.
How many people use AIX Connect at the show?
The busiest day of use for AIX saw a total of 1,337 contacts logging into the platform.
How can AIX Connect help you to secure meetings?
Across both on-stand and lounge meetings, a total of 2,633 meetings were confirmed in the run-up to the show using the tool.
Who was in those meetings?
The majority of exhibitors using the tool who sent out invites, sent them to visitors, including buyers (86%). Exhibitors who sent out an invite had an average of 5.4 meetings confirmed. In total, 820 exhibitor contacts from 300+ companies had confirmed meetings.
Visitors who sent out an invite also had an average of 5.8 meetings confirmed. By the end of the show, 478 visitor contacts from 384 companies had confirmed meeting.
AIX Connect surpassed expectations
2,801 meeting attended at the show last year, with an 80% meeting attendance rate.
And the meetings were a success
With an average meeting rating upon feedback of 4.5 stars out of 5, visitors and exhibitors alike have the following to say:
“Excellent introductory meeting with follow up required”
SHD Composites – Business Development Manager
“AIX connect is the best innovation in the last 2 years!”
Aviation Scouts GMBH – Marketing Manager
“Great meeting and good to have the talk and see each other face to face.”
Fokker Techniek B.V – Senior Product and Proposal Manager
Who were exhibitors meeting with?
With a total of 12,477 individual contact profiles created, most engaged users sent or received a meeting invitation whilst using the tool.
Exhibiting companies using the tool for meetings included:
- J&C AERO
- STG Aerospace
- TSI Seats
- KID Systeme GmbH
- Bluebox Aviation Systems Ltd.
- Geven SpA
and many more.
And visiting companies using the tool for meetings included:
- Airbus
- Turkish Airlines
- Embraer
- Egyptair
- Delta Air Lines
- Spirit Airlines
and many more.
Decision makers from 180 VIP companies
With senior buyers from 180 VIP companies, exhibitors had the chance to meet with decision makers either on-stand or in various lounges at the show.
Were VIPs satisfied with AIX and Connect?
With a full concierge service offered for AIX VIPs (employees of airlines, leasing company or BizJet operators), visitors were worked with to understand their goals and objectives whilst also confirming meetings.
What else was going on at AIX?
Aircraft Interiors Expo also offers the opportunity to save on a year’s worth of data and learning at the CabinSpace Live Theatre and seminars programme. Hosting the Crystal Cabin Awards, the theatre also featured industry thought leaders and fellow peers sharing experiences and case studies to help attendees source solutions and elevate their business strategies.
Were there other spaces are available at AIX?
As well as a dedicated VIP lounge, the AIX Connect lounge was used also used to network and host meetings.
What can AIX do for you business as an exhibitor OR visitor?
AIX is the industry’s main marketplace for airlines and the global supply chain to meet. And streamlining this meeting process is key. That’s why attendees saw a 127% increasing in meeting opportunities at the show compared to a 12-month cycle organising meetings themselves.
With key buyers, such as Aircraft Manufacturers, in attendence and highly sought-after product areas including Bizjet and In-Flight Entertainment championed at-show, AIX can boost business on both sides of the table.
How much time will attending AIX save you, on average?
Attending AIX, whether it be on travel, accommodation costs, time spent on logistics have been proven to save both buyers and suppliers a minimum of 15 days through meetings held at the show.
Polly Magraw, Event Director of Aircraft Interiors Expo said:
“Connecting people to make new business contacts and source the right products is the cornerstone of Aircraft Interiors Expo (AIX).
We know that suppliers and airlines return year-on-year as they recognise the show helps them save time and resources in their efforts to meet with suppliers and discover the latest cabin innovations to enhance the passenger experience.
The chance to facilitate targeted business connections has never been easier with the AIX Connect Lounge and concierge service helping to make scheduling and efficiency a top priority for all.”