RIAT 2013 Super Early Bird Offer: Are they having a laugh?

[JeffreyK]

In their email RIAT say that the Super Early Bird Offer is £10 off their Standard Admission price, and they provide a link to their Standard Admission tickets on their website. Standard Admission is £35.00 and I seriously thought about buying tickets when I read the wording and realised that those £35.00 are AFTER the discount, so a normal ticket bought online will be a staggering £45.00!!! I checked what I paid last year and that was £39.00 per person, regular advance online price, no discounts. That is a 15% price hike - worse than many train companies!

I'm normally not one to moan about kit prices or the general cost of the hobby (after all it is a hobby and therefore not a life necessity), but an increase like that it will price many families out of the market. Let alone the cost of getting there, with the recent train price hikes.

Rant over...

Jeffrey

[BritJet]

I did exactly the same thing and totally agree they are taking the P***

Still bought my ticket though and just need decent weather this year as we got soaked last year.

Steve

[phildagreek]

I'm afraid I haven't bought tickets for this year. The cost of the fuel from 'oop north, hotel room, food & then the tickets, pushing me close to the edge of reason, a family holiday already booked for this year to the States, I'm having trouble justifying it.

 

Last year was excellent & the Monday departures was worth the trip alone. I know it has to pay for itself, but that is a lot of money for three adult tickets.

 

I may crack nearer the time of course.

[Albeback52]

I won't be going. Fairford has now priced itself out of my market. I accept that the ticket prices are probably as low as the organisers can make them & still get a good return but, that's beside the point. I used to go on both saturday & sunday. But, given that I have to travel to & from Edinburgh AND the (so far) very thin participation list, I simply cannot justify the expenditure. Put simply, it isn't worth it. I normally have my tickets & travel booked & paid for by now. I'm glad I haven't done so.

I don't want to get involved in a "compared to football/concerts it's good value" type argument. Maybe it is. I've just given my own thoughts here. My fear is that this could have a real detrimental effect on attendance this year with possible consequences for future shows.

Obviously the number of particpants will increase between now & July but, in my case it's now irrelevant

Allan

[Truro Model Builder]

I usually attend both days, but a combination of factors, not least that the line up so far is not exactly getting me excited, means that it will probably only be one day, and even then I'm not likely to book it until the week before.

A great shame, especially after last year.

[colin]

It's priced it self out for me, £39 and I though ok, £45 each, no, and it's getting a much the same thing, too many aerobatic displays for my liking not enough military hardware flying.

[Filler]

know we all have different financial constraints but the thing for me personally is, the saving offered on advance tickets simply isn't and possibly couldn't be enough for me to commit to attending any outdoor event that is months away and where I can be certain that it will not sell out in advance.

For the sake of a saving a tenner, I'd rather wait and be pretty confident that I will not have some conflicting event crop up, that there is sufficient interest in the line up and even to the point that I'd probably wait till the Friday before a final decision based on a weather forecast.

I appreciate this is not helpful for the organisers but sadly it just makes sense for me.

And I've got to admit that as things stand, even with a free ticket and a free chauffeur driven limo ride down to Fairford, the line up right now just doesn't inspire me to go. The participation list so far is so short of fast noisy things and large noisy things that it just doesn't capture my imagination. It seems to be the nature of modern air arms and the financial restrictions that most participants are biz jets and airliners that have been painted grey.

[Albeback52]

Doing Waddington instead. Advance ticket - £22 (full price £29). Even factoring in travel & accomodation ( I live in Edinburgh), I'm saving £50 - £60 compared to RIAT. Not a decision I made lightly.

I note that tickets for Leuchars 2013 are are also now on sale - £25 in advance or, £30 on the day.

Allan

[Albeback52]

know we all have different financial constraints but the thing for me personally is, the saving offered on advance tickets simply isn't and possibly couldn't be enough for me to commit to attending any outdoor event that is months away and where I can be certain that it will not sell out in advance.

For the sake of a saving a tenner, I'd rather wait and be pretty confident that I will not have some conflicting event crop up, that there is sufficient interest in the line up and even to the point that I'd probably wait till the Friday before a final decision based on a weather forecast.

I appreciate this is not helpful for the organisers but sadly it just makes sense for me.

And I've got to admit that as things stand, even with a free ticket and a free chauffeur driven limo ride down to Fairford, the line up right now just doesn't inspire me to go. The participation list so far is so short of fast noisy things and large noisy things that it just doesn't capture my imagination. It seems to be the nature of modern air arms and the financial restrictions that most participants are biz jets and airliners that have been painted grey.

Unfortunately, leaving it till the day before is unlikely to be an option. All standrard admission tickets must be pre booked as, they will not be available for purchase at the gate on the days of the show. Unless you can get a ticket by some other means, you are likely to have a wasted journey.

Allan

[Filler]

Cheers Allan, that's good to know. Guess I can still leave it till early in the week of. Got a real feeling that this is going to be a stinker of a year for participation though.

[eagle]

Years ago I went there with Mrs Eagle and what we found uncomfortable was the fact we had to park outside the event and had to walk and queue for ages ,yep you guess it in the rain .We suffered it to the gate and then nearly fainted when we had to pay.(cant remember how much but it was numbing.)

Because of that we never entered the event again.

However

What we did do was to camp in a tent a couple of times in a pub garden I think its called the Trout Inn and we saw most of the Air show because its right on the flight line. And could get a drink and something better than burgers to eat and it didn't rain.

But sadly that was over 10 years ago .Wont catch us doing it now.

However

We will most likely get to Culdrose.

[colin]

Last year I was stood by a fellow who turned up on the day and got in but had to pay I think he said £64.

I got my tickets on the Saturday for the Sunday from the Nationwide.Was holding out to see what the weather was going to do, took a chance that they would have some,and said the the person behind the counter this, to which she replied don't worry we've got plenty left.

[geedubelyer]

This is an interesting topic.

I'm unlikely to go to RIAT. Not because of the price but more the likely lack of attendees on this occasion. (I hope I'm wrong)

I'm guessing it is different for many aviation enthusiasts because they will attend more than one airshow in a season. Adding up the cost of everything for more than one event and things start to get out of hand quickly.

However, for those that do attend there will be lots to see on the static areas and a flying display (weather permitting) from 10:00 until 17:00...ish That's alot of entertainment.

Compare this to motorsport and in particular, F1.

I have n't looked at the prices but I'd guess they are signifcantly higher. Even some lesser formula events are approaching the cost of a RIAT one day ticket and there are many more motorsports weekends than airshow weekends across the summer.

No, to put it in perspective, RIAT probably provides reasonably good return on your money compared to many other hobbies and interests.

On a related issue and again, by comparison, is the RAF Waddington open day worth the entrance fee? My recent experiences over recent years suggest possibly not.....

[Filler]

The last time went to Fairford was about 4 years ago I think. I took a day off and went down on maybe the Thursday for arrivals. And if my memory serves me right it was only in the 10 to 20 pound bracket and was a good day. I recall stressing over picking a 'good' arrivals day but was quite happy as I saw several fast jet practice displays and saw a B-52 fly in. And the traffic was no problem getting in or out. Always preferred arrivals days to be honest. Many happy Fridays were spent down a country lane at the back entrance to BAe Woodford. The weather was always glorious too but, you could pretty much guarantee torrential rain for the Saturday.

I may be tempted to do an arrivals day again this year. It's just the old, which is the best day question again...

[Albeback52]

This is an interesting topic.

I'm unlikely to go to RIAT. Not because of the price but more the likely lack of attendees on this occasion. (I hope I'm wrong)

I'm guessing it is different for many aviation enthusiasts because they will attend more than one airshow in a season. Adding up the cost of everything for more than one event and things start to get out of hand quickly.

However, for those that do attend there will be lots to see on the static areas and a flying display (weather permitting) from 10:00 until 17:00...ish That's alot of entertainment.

Compare this to motorsport and in particular, F1.

I have n't looked at the prices but I'd guess they are signifcantly higher. Even some lesser formula events are approaching the cost of a RIAT one day ticket and there are many more motorsports weekends than airshow weekends across the summer.

No, to put it in perspective, RIAT probably provides reasonably good return on your money compared to many other hobbies and interests.

On a related issue and again, by comparison, is the RAF Waddington open day worth the entrance fee? My recent experiences over recent years suggest possibly not.....

Value for money is of course very subjective and down to the individual. I went to Waddington in 2011 and, I felt that compared to what was on offer at RIAT it WAS decent value for money - especially as a lot of the participants were going to RIAT anyway. I don't think there is anything to be gained by comparing RIAT with F1 events( for example) because fans of such events will very likely try to convince US how F1 is good value for money!

In my case, it boils down to THIS - ! Waddington £22 , Fairford £45 RIAT may be twice the price but, will it be twice as nice?. Add to that, Waddington is easily accessible from Lincoln & not stuck in the middle of nowhere like Fairford. In essence, I could do 2 days at Waddington for the price of 1 at Fairford. Simple economics ruled my decision. Even allowing for travel & accomodation, I estimate that I've saved nearly £70 compared to what I would have to spend over the weekend at RIAT. I'll be travelling home via York which means of course I get the opportunity to vist the National Railway Museum!!

Allan

[Iain Ogilvie]

As I suspect I may have mentioned in previous years Fairford is almost on our doorstep - but we won't be going.

IMHO RIAT a very pale shadow of it's former glory - not the organisers fault - just a reflection of every shrinking defence budgets, rising fuel costs and other taskings.

Last time I went was about three years ago with my son...

Iain

[Scarlet]

Unfortunately, leaving it till the day before is unlikely to be an option. All standard admission tickets must be pre booked as, they will not be available for purchase at the gate on the days of the show. Unless you can get a ticket by some other means, you are likely to have a wasted journey.

They were selling 'e' tickets up to mid morning on the Saturday last year. You had to buy them from their website and print them out yourself.

[George Norman]

You can get tickets in the Local shops in Fairford, There open pretty early as well over the weekend.

Look like after going since 1989 I will be looking to Europe to get my kicks this year.. Shame........

Cheers

George

[Ghostbase]

Wish I had the choice, been doing the IAT on and off since 1985, I get one weekend in four off work and this year it don't match RIAT. Also not the Departures Day which I think is worth every penny of the entrance fee.

My rostered summer leave is in May and I was thinking of taking in a couple of US airshows including MCAS New River and Seymour-Johnson AFB however they have both been cancelled due to the budget cutbacks.

Oh well, on the positive side I get to do Duxford and Yeovilton.

Michael

[Filler]

Wish I had the choice, been doing the IAT on and off since 1985, I get one weekend in four off work and this year it don't match RIAT. Also not the Departures Day which I think is worth every penny of the entrance fee.

My rostered summer leave is in May and I was thinking of taking in a couple of US airshows including MCAS New River and Seymour-Johnson AFB however they have both been cancelled due to the budget cutbacks.

Oh well, on the positive side I get to do Duxford and Yeovilton.

Michael

Why is departures day worth the special mention? I guess that everything leaves so that it is busy but, surely it's just take off after take off with no practicing and no flypasts?

[Paul Bradley]

Ouch, it got REALLY expensive. I remember being a member of FRIAT for many years in the late eighties/early nineties, and that it was fairly expensive then, but good value. Those were the days....

Perhaps they'll team up with Hasegawa for a show special kit...?

[Albeback52]

Why is departures day worth the special mention? I guess that everything leaves so that it is busy but, surely it's just take off after take off with no practicing and no flypasts?

and no spectators obstructing you as you try to take your pictures! . It's difficult to get a lot of shots of the static aircraft - partly because of the way they are parked and, partly because of obstructions. On departures day you can get a clear shot of everything as it taxies past

Allan

[jonas_415]

Departures day is fantastic, you get to see everything (that isn't broken) fly and plenty of stuff taxi'ing past, whichever end you go. You do also get some flypasts - the Reds formed up with the Vulcan to go onto Farnborough last year for example. Also the only day I've ever seen 2 F117s fly by together (a few years ago mind)!

As for this thread, well I will be going one show day and departures and will no doubt enjoy the only airshow I can get anywhere near this year. They usually pull some pretty interesting stuff out of the bag, and I'm looking forward to seeing the Connie again. I hope those of you that are making the choice to go to different shows have a great time, wherever you decide. To suggest only RIAT will be effected by the current financial and political climates its a little niave though...all shows will see a huge reduction of modern military assets this year, wherever they are held.

[Iain Ogilvie]

No suggestion from me it's just RIAT that's affected these days

I think the future of airshows is with Warbirds shows such as Duxford - the days of row's and row's of front line military jets - in a real mix of types - at RIAT, Mildenhall, et al. are long gone sadly.

But now you've got me all going all peculiar - Connie you say?

(May have to reconsider just for that)

Iain

[jonas_415]

But now you've got me all going all peculiar - Connie you say?

http://www.airtattoo.com/airshow/aircraft/aircraft-in-the-spotlight/breitling-super-constellation - it's true!

You're right about the 'glory days' being over - Russian Bears and Czech hind display teams are long gone, along with dozens of Tornados, KC-135s and Hercs in the static park...!

It's a shame the Kemble shows of a couple years ago are gone - the Hunter meet was fantastic, and similar to the Flying legends-type shows you mention.

I do wonder though how long will there be people who can afford to run complex warbirds? What will be left then?

I will be milking every last bit of value out of my dosh though...as I said, it's the only show I will be able to make, and for the price of a couple of decent kits, still worth it for me. You'll have to excuse me if I seem a little defensive of RIAT!