Our air show<\/p>\n
It has long been a hallmark of aerospace that politics
\ninfluences the industry as much as economics does. But the nine-
\nday Indonesia Air Show which opened at Soekarno-Hatta airport
\nlast weekend reflects the increasing international recognition of
\nIndonesia's growing role in the aerospace industry and Asia's
\ngreatly promising market for new commercial and military
\naircraft.<\/p>\n
Politics alone would not have been enough to attract so many
\nmajor aerospace companies to take part in the air show. The
\norganization of an international air show, besides requiring
\nhigh-quality technical preparation and complex logistical
\narrangements, is much more expensive than the usual trade
\nexhibitions. The exercise also exacts high costs on the
\nexhibitors. No wonder not many countries, even industrialized
\nones, stage international aerospace exhibitions.<\/p>\n
The Indonesia Air Show's organizing committee should be
\ncommended for its capability to attract nearly all the major
\nmanufacturers of commercial and military aircraft. The
\nachievement is even more significant because Singapore and
\nMalaysia regularly stage international aerospace shows which by
\nand large feature the same exhibitors in the current air show.<\/p>\n
There are, we reckon, two primary factors which prompted the
\n257 companies to participate in the show. The professional
\norganization of the show and price competitiveness is surely one
\nreason. The promising market in the Asia-Pacific region is the
\nother compelling factor because the exhibitors come here not only
\nto promote sales in the Indonesian market but also in the Asian
\nregion.<\/p>\n
The ultimate success of the show will undoubtedly be measured
\nby the sum of business deals concluded or other forms of
\nagreements or market recognition which eventually lead to firm
\ncontracts. It is understandable, therefore, that the first five
\ndays of the show have been restricted to business and
\nprofessional visitors.<\/p>\n
It is still too soon to assess the commercial performance of
\nthe show. Indonesia's state-owned PT Industri Pesawat Terbang
\nNusantara aerospace company did sign a number of sales contracts
\nfor its N-250 turboprop aircraft which is slated to enter the
\nmarket in 1998, and the N-2130 jetliner which is scheduled to be
\nrolled out in 2004.<\/p>\n
We do not mean to belittle the significance of these deals but
\nthese contracts cannot be attributed to the show. Moreover, the
\nsigning of the contracts seemed to have been timed to coincide
\nwith the show. We get the impression that the deals with state
\nand private companies are 50 percent politics and 50 percent
\neconomics. What will count greatly and determine the fate of the
\nnext show will be the business deals or points of sales leads
\ngained by foreign exhibitors.<\/p>\n
We are therefore surprised by the government's bold decision
\nto step up the frequency of the international air show -- from
\nonce a decade to one every two years -- and to expand the event
\ninto Asia-Pacific Hi-Tech and Aerospace Show. True, as President
\nSoeharto noted in his opening address at the air show, the
\nprogress in aerospace technology has been quite rapid.
\nNonetheless, holding such a hi-tech exhibition every other year
\nrisks degrading the quality of the show in view of the
\nincreasingly keen competition, which is a result of the
\nproliferation of similar shows in other countries.<\/p>\n
Despite the rapid progress in aerospace technology, the life
\ncycle of aerospace products, being highly capital intensive and
\nrequiring high economies of scale, is much longer than most other
\nmanufactured goods. Attracting high-quality exhibitors with new
\nhi-tech products to an international show at Soekarno-Hatta
\nairport area every two years would be a formidable task.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/our-air-show-1447899208",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}