“Networking is everything.”
The Farnborough Airshow occurs every 2 years. It is held on an airfield and is a great place for military and commercial companies to exhibit aircraft and products. This can range from anything as large as the Hercules military transports and Apache gunships down to new brands of coffee makers and screens for in-flight entertainment. There are static displays inside enormous marquees where you can look at all the products and place orders with the vendor’s sales teams. Every major aeroplane manufacturer, such as Boeing and Airbus, has chalets at the airshow, which are large VIP areas where they can entertain customers and guests. All these chalets overlook the main runway on the airstrip, where you can see the various daily air displays. The airshow is only open to the public at weekends, where the displays are based on spectacle. But, during the week, displays are geared towards showing off the aircraft’s capabilities for prospective buyers.
The first time I went to the Farnborough Airshow was in 1989. I was based in Toulouse at the time and was invited by Airbus. I was delighted and graciously accepted. It was incredible to be there, witnessing state-of-the-art technology and aircraft being presented and demonstrated by the best in the field. Whilst there, I met up with Bob Lamb, a good friend from General Electric, who showed me the importance of networking. He also brought me into some of his circles and invited me to other social events, but more of that later…
When I returned to Heathrow in 1990 after leaving Toulouse, I was involved in the ATP deliveries. Due to my extensive work with the ATP and the strong connections made with Jetstream and BE Aerospace, they invited me to attend the Farnborough Airshow again. They were exhibiting the new Jetstream 61, a rebranding of the ATP. I was granted an all-access tour of the aircraft’s interior and even won the competition they had going on! I remembered the lesson my friend taught me, building on the connections I had made the previous year and quickly forging new ones. Due to my extensive work on delivery flights, I had a lot of close friends who were pilots. Talented pilots at that, and because of their skill, most of them were hired to be test pilots at the airshow. This was great as a customer, as we would get extra details on the aircraft capabilities. Sometimes, we even got shown round the aircraft interiors, which really helped when it came to delivering my report to my superiors. After this second trip, I had secured enough connections and my reputation was strong enough for me to be invited back every year. Whenever I returned, I made sure to bring someone with me so I could pass on the lesson my GE friend had first shown me. And so I had a designated driver! I would often go with my dear and close friend Doug Blackburn, with whom I shared lifts to and from Heathrow. We had a system where if I drove, he drank and vice versa. The spreads put on at the airshow were always incredible, so it didn’t feel right for at least one of us not to enjoy everything they had to offer. As my career progressed, so did my network of friends and colleagues, and because of this, I would get invited to more and more prestigious elements of the airshow – the inner circle! Sometimes we would have to go for more than one day, as both Boeing and Airbus had invited me to their chalets!
In 2006, I had left BA and was working for Etihad Airways. I was in my office in Abu Dhabi when I received another invitation to the Farnborough Airshow from Airbus. Although I was excited to go, an email had been received that week from the Chairman of Etihad stating that no one could attend the airshow without his express permission. By pure chance, the chairman happened to be on board one of my successful deliveries. We struck up a conversation during the 8-hour flight and forged a good relationship, where he gave me his personal line. I didn’t really know what to expect, but I went ahead and sent him a text message requesting permission, which he granted! I then went to put in my duty travel form, to which my boss reminded me that no one can go without the chairman’s permission. I smiled as I held my phone up to show him the message from the chairman.
‘How the fuck did you get that?!’ he spluttered.
“I asked and he said yes!” I smiled, probably a little too smugly.
And off I went to the Farnborough Airshow again. My friend Bob Lamb’s advice was sticking with me and proving true – networking is everything.
So, back in ’89, whilst being schmoozed by General Electric, I was invited to other social events. The most notable was a trip to London, where the first item on the itinerary was to have drinks on the terrace of the Houses of Parliament! My wife and I were picked up and driven to London. On arrival at Parliament, we had to show our invitations before being escorted onto the terrace that overlooked the River Thames. It was very decadent and prestigious to say the least! Other than my friends from GE, there were a few other people I knew, including my boss’s boss from British Airways. When he saw me, he looked shocked and immediately came over.
‘Why are you here, David?!’ He asked incredulously, whilst shaking my hand.
“Because I was invited,” I replied.
After spending an hour or so on the terrace, we then went to the theatre with my friends from General Electric. We went to see Cats, the musical, which was very interactive with the audience, which our American friends struggled with. After the show, we then went to dinner in A Russian restaurant called Nikitas, just off King’s Road in Chelsea. The restaurant was a converted house in a residential area, and the table was in a private room in the basement. The drinks were basically all vodka-based, kept in carafes surrounded by thick walls of ice to keep them chilled. I’m not a huge vodka drinker, but the orange-flavoured one went down smoother than the others! There must have been a dozen of us squeezed into this basement, all consuming different flavoured vodkas. To this day, I cannot remember what I ate, but it must have been good, as there were a lot of empty plates afterwards, perhaps some kind of stroganoff? By the time we had finished, it was 2 a.m. As we ascended the stairs to leave the premises, there was a big sign asking all patrons to be respectful of the restaurant’s neighbours and be quiet when leaving. Our party did not quite adhere to this request. But once taxis had been acquired, silence returned to the streets outside Nikitas.
This was my most memorable attendance of the Farnborough airshow, as it showed me the power of networking and where those connections can lead. As I have emphasised throughout this article, the primary focus of the airshow and all the events that come with it is networking. Of course, there is the business side, which is self-explanatory, but the other side of it is the human connections. The friends I have made at these events and throughout my career are still with me today, providing me with continued business long after leaving full-time employment, which has been a godsend for starting my own company. People always come first with me, and this ethos has stayed with me from my first day as a fitter to my last day as Head of Aircraft Delivery. And now even more so as head of Dalriada Aerospace. If you would like to know more or book one of our services, then please get in touch via our contact page.
