AirshowStuff Forums

12th June 2022
RAF Cosford, Shifnal, Shropshire, UK
www.cosfordairshow.co.uk

More to follow...

I do wish Cosford (and certain other shows) would put a statement out re 2022. It's all good and well quietly announcing a date, but there have been several months of silence since then and I imagine many people are drawing their own conclusions. Any reasonable person would understand if they're still waiting to make a go/no-go decision, but as a courtesy to those who have rolled tickets over from previous years, a short update every month or so would probably be a good move - it only has to be a sentence or two.

It would be nice to hear from Flying Legends, RNIAD and TSIA, too.

Patience Adam, Patience......Lots of events are working their ways through lots of issues. Getting back going again after 24-48 months off isn't easy and not all have made it.

Cosford were waiting for approval from the Air Force Board which was granted yesterday.

And here's your statement....

https://www.air-shows.org.uk/2022/01/ai ... m-jubilee/

Good timing!

Although I still say it would have been a good idea to post "our intention is to hold a show but we're still working things through and aim to confirm this ASAP" a couple of times between now and last November, if that was the case. I'm very glad the show's still on, I'll be there of course and I'm sure their comms will all be uphill from here, but two months of total radio silence while holding onto people's money in these uncertain times falls short of the standard in my personal opinion (not a patch on 22 months of silence from Teesside while holding onto ticket cash, mind you!).

Compare to Flying Legends 2021, when despite massive uncertainty with the venue and pandemic restrictions, they posted detailed monthly updates between July 2020 and June 2021 (with further positive re-enforcement every week or two, once the new venue was secured) so at least we always knew what the organisers were aiming for. The gold standard in pandemic airshow comms.

Military events like Cosford rely on key decisions taken higher up the command chain and therefore are not the same position as civilian organisations in charge of their own affairs to make 'announcements'.

But your claim about hanging on to money is unfounded. Theres always been a contact/link on the website from which people could ask for a refund form repeated in each news article since the first cancellation announcement in 2020.

Flightline Uk wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 11:29 am Military events like Cosford rely on key decisions taken higher up the command chain and therefore are not the same position as civilian organisations in charge of their own affairs to make 'announcements'.

With apologies as I don't want to get involved in any tit-for-tat silliness, especially over something so pointless, but it does feel like my post got misrepresented so that it could be objected to. I didn't ask for an announcement, but for a statement. It's perfectly possible to demonstrate the show's not dead without announcing anything - especially given the theme, date and intention to host a 2022 show have been in the public domain on Cosford's website for months, so it's not even new information, just confirmation that the old information still applies.That's important because of this:

Flightline Uk wrote: ↑Tue Jan 18, 2022 11:29 am But your claim about hanging on to money is unfounded. Theres always been a contact/link on the website from which people could ask for a refund form repeated in each news article since the first cancellation announcement in 2020.

Of course there's a refund option but it's not an easy choice when one two options is open to so much uncertainty. Unless or until everyone asks for a refund, then the onus is on the show to justify why they should be entitled to keep people's money, and when they are likely to get any benefit from not seeking a refund. How can anybody make an informed decision about whether to seek a refund when the show's been silent for over two months, especially given the track record of other airshows that have tentatively announced dates only to drop off the radar in the past.


All that being said, it's a pointless discussion, because nowhere did I request any new info or suggest they should jump the gun with an announcement - it's just nice to know whether a much-loved show is dead or not and we now have the answer. Seems like a pretty uncontroversial request to object to. It's lovely to have the show back and I'm looking forward to it.

Strong Start!

PHENOMENAL first update!!

Catalina on static display and in the flying.