Over Monetizing Airforce Base Airshows

[Merlin-Sound53]

Been to an airshow at a an Airforce base or A.N.G. base lately? The fees are completely off the charts. Yes, I know the costs can be high for them. However it's getting WAY out of hand. Choice parking for $50.00? Off-The-Charts prices for Photo Pits that are often sub-optimal? What happened to the not -too-long-ago get there early and get a good spot along the flight line?? Let's figure you are travelling 50-250 miles to get there. Hotel prices, gas, food etc. Then add in outrageous parking fees and Photo-Pit fees. You might be bringing a son or daughter. Earlier this year I went to an airshow alone this time and the cost including everything listed was near $600.00 to attend for two days. I'm not a cheapskate but it is getting outrageous. Why can't the government, defense contractors or major corporations subsidize these events? Some of us work, some of us are retired on Social Security. Not all of us earn a stockbroker's salary. Bring one of you kids and it's really serious bucks. I say first come first served. Let me get there early and grab a good spot on the flight line. Don't charge me $40.00-$100.00 for that. Please stop the cash-grab. Anyone agree?

[passedgas46]

Been to an airshow at a an Airforce base or A.N.G. base lately? The fees are completely off the charts. Yes, I know the costs can be high for them. However it's getting WAY out of hand. Choice parking for $50.00? Off-The-Charts prices for Photo Pits that are often sub-optimal? What happened to the not -too-long-ago get there early and get a good spot along the flight line?? Let's figure you are travelling 50-250 miles to get there. Hotel prices, gas, food etc. Then add in outrageous parking fees and Photo-Pit fees. You might be bringing a son or daughter. Earlier this year I went to an airshow alone this time and the cost including everything listed was near $600.00 to attend for two days. I'm not a cheapskate but it is getting outrageous. Why can't the government, defense contractors or major corporations subsidize these events? Some of us work, some of us are retired on Social Security. Not all of us earn a stockbroker's salary. Bring one of you kids and it's really serious bucks. I say first come first served. Let me get there early and grab a good spot on the flight line. Don't charge me $40.00-$100.00 for that. Please stop the cash-grab. Anyone agree?

First things first, airshows at military bases are free. I've been going to airshows since the 1970s and I do agree some airshows have very recently had admission fees that are really off the charts. I look at a certain airshow in Michigan as one good example. A few others also fit this bill... you want a great seat you better pony up the cash. Air dot show events fit that to a tee. It needs to be broken down a little more and let's concentrate on what you'd pay at the show site and not factor in other costs like gas, tolls, food, hotel rooms, etc.

Military airshows. At least in the USA these are supposed to have free admission. I believe they all do. I've been to several airshows at Navy and Marine bases (Oceana, Miramar, Jacksonville, and Cherry Point are perfect examples for what I'm about to say) where admission is still free but if you want to be lazy and not bring a chair you can pay a little extra for a bleacher seat or an assigned seat. I love that. I love it even more if that revenue goes to an MWR or other charity or organization that supports our military families. I've seen Air Force bases start doing this recently and I can vouch for at least three bases that I've been to since 2021 that started doing this.

Airshows at ANG bases. My personal feeling is that if you have an airshow at an airport that also has part of the airport dedicated to the military, if part of that military unit's ramp is included in the public airshow area, this should be free admission. One of my favorite airshows was this way. If it's held on the civilian side of the airport and not part of the public area touches military property, it's okay to charge.

Airshows at civilian airports. A good majority of airshows I've been to over the many years have asked me to pay to enter. That's fair. Heck, airshows over the years have been the best bang for the buck. What I have noticed that has rubbed me the wrong way is that some airshows have really started pushing the price point up and up. In some parts of the country it's expected but in others, your median incomes are a bit lower where now you're pricing out people like yourself. It stinks. COVID pushed many airshows to a drive-in format and charging a couple hundred dollars per car. That's a bit much, especially for one person. I admit I did attend two drive-in airshows and while the experience was, well, interesting, the price point was a bit much. Many more have also prioritized VIP viewing areas for a pretty penny, not just for the sponsors but also for regular folk like you and I, and also taking up a majority of the real estate you'd normally have those families with kids sitting on a blanket or the older plane geeks like myself with my binoculars and of course those around me with the big honking lenses that take some of the best photos out there.

Now, let's not go into charging for nearly the entire beachfront for beach airshows. One of my favorite shows tried this but pulled it at the eleventh hour because of a lack of interest. I mean, why pay for what was free the last decade plus?

Let's not go down the food/drink route. I don't expect to pay for what I'd pay at an MLB or NFL stadium, but we are getting there.

There has to be a breaking point somewhere. Granted, we spent one year couped up in our homes not being able to go anywhere and airshows happen to be cheap entertainment (well, best value). In a way, they still are. I'll happily pay big bucks to go to an airshow with big names like the Blue Angels or Thunderbirds with some awesome aerobatics, warbirds, and fighters. Those shows need to be able to prove that you're getting a bigtime bang for your big bucks. Many do. Some disappoint. Airshows need to continue proving they are the best value for the money, especially when competing against NASCAR, MLB, NFL, NHL, MLS, NBA, and other big sports leagues. I think we are in a time where many airshows are really pushing the envelope on "will the public spend $50 or more to go see a couple hours' flying?" and seeing if the answer to that really is yes or are they really foxtrotting it up. Inflation isn't helping the cause, either.

[BruceK]

First things first, airshows at military bases are free.

Airshows at ANG bases. My personal feeling is that if you have an airshow at an airport that also has part of the airport dedicated to the military, if part of that military unit's ramp is included in the public airshow area, this should be free admission.

My local airshow is on an ANG base using their ramp. I believe they are not allowed to charge a fee just like active duty bases. They got around this by charging $75 to park your car off base. It was $40 for the 2016 show, so the price almost doubled. So technically the show was "free" but...

[kalamazookid]

This over monetizing of airshows is just a reflection of our society and culture. There are so many aspects of our lives that are now managed in a way that wrings that absolute most money out of our pockets. It's depressing, but not altogether surprising that airshows have followed suit. The almighty dollar rules all.

There are also a number of people who like to keep themselves separate from the masses and seek experiences that insulate themselves from having to deal with others who are unlike them. We can see this reflected in virtually any hobby and many every day activities, from elite statuses to VIP sections, priority lines, box seats, etc. God forbid that we share the front row with someone who doesn't know intimate details about every airshow pilot or airplane, or doesn't have as fancy a camera lens as we do. I don't begrudge anyone the right to spend their money the way they want to, but some of these things feel a bit ridiculous and entitled.

Probably the most exasperating part of this is that many of these experiences have already existed for the price of a general admission ticket. Photo pits have always existed - simply get there early and claim your spot. There's your personal photo pit. It is 100 percent that easy and does not require a premium price. There has never been anything broken or wrong with general admission for an airshow. I am not going to pay extra to sit in a spot that has always been available to me just because it's now marketed as "exclusive" to people who have fancy cameras and like airplanes. There are no amount of private bathrooms, free sandwiches or other perks that will convince me otherwise. That feels like a scam, and I have little patience for shows that prioritize these things over a good general admission experience.

That said, if an airshow wants to charge a premium price for a truly unique experience - such as a performance that will not be repeated elsewhere - I am open to paying for it. Give me something I absolutely cannot see elsewhere and I will consider it. However, I am not paying a premium for jet teams that fly at 40 airshows a year, or aerobatic performers that make 20+ appearances a season. The Blue Angels, an ACC demo and a handful of aerobatic performances are not worth a premium price - I've been seeing versions of that lineup for decades. Most of the big, corporate airshows that are charging premium prices are doing the same things I've already seen dozens of times. If you're going to charge a premium, you better offer something of better quality than that.

Airshows have absolutely nothing in common with sports games and franchises. The economics and mechanism of how they function are totally different. That horse has been beaten to death, so I won't do it again here.

I will continue to prioritize my time and money at shows that offer quality and accessible experience for everyone, keep things simple and deliver the biggest bang for their buck. That should be the goal - not wringing the most amount of money out of people or catering experiences for a select few.

[kalamazookid]

One other point I'd like make in addition to the above. I've seen a lot of comments that say something to the effect of "photographers drive interest in airshows so they should get the best spots." That may be true in our own, niche corner of this interest, but I find it unbelievable that this is true for the majority of people at an airshow. I have a high level of appreciation for the talent of photographers and videographers as well as what photography does for this community we are a part of, but we are not the majority of the attendees at the average airshow. I'm sorry, but I just don't believe that Joe Schmo from the suburbs is taking his kids to the airshow because he saw your Instagram page. That is flatly not believable to me.

[passedgas46]

I still stand by what I said earlier in this thread.

Obviously VIP experiences really vary from location to location but I have heard good and bad things about them. I'll happily pay the money for a VIP experience so long as it means I'm guaranteed my own seat - it doesn't have to be front row - and food and drinks are included in the price (though I'll still happily get a dog or burger from a vendor). For me it's less that I have to carry with me. This holds more truth if I hopped on a plane to go see an airshow.

One other point I'd like make in addition to the above. I've seen a lot of comments that say something to the effect of "photographers drive interest in airshows so they should get the best spots." That may be true in our own, niche corner of this interest, but I find it unbelievable that this is true for the majority of people at an airshow. I have a high level of appreciation for the talent of photographers and videographers as well as what photography does for this community we are a part of, but we are not the majority of the attendees at the average airshow. I'm sorry, but I just don't believe that Joe Schmo from the suburbs is taking his kids to the airshow because he saw your Instagram page. That is flatly not believable to me.

From my many, many, many years of going to airshows, photographers alone don't drive interest in airshows. Yeah, there's some great people out there that do some outstanding work with a still or video camera but there's only so many of them out there. I have never once seen someone's photos from an airshow and decided "Hey, let's go here next year!" just from seeing some great shots; photos really don't do it for me. Video? Definitely. But then again, those numbers are small. Old school advertising on television and radio works wonders. Since I live in the Philadelphia market, I couldn't tell you how many times I've watched Phillies games or NBC10 news and seen a commercial for the Atlantic City Airshow or hear Phillies play-by-play broadcaster Tom McCarthy spend ten seconds promoting the airshow between at-bats. Banners in/around airports still do wonders, as do digital billboards. Social media, too. I'm willing to bet the everyday Joe Schmo took his kids to an airshow because he saw advertising somewhere.

[kalamazookid]

Yeah, I'm not saying there is NO value to having a VIP tent or photo pit - my wording was probably too strong there - but rather that these can't be the majority of the show line. It's the shows that have 50 percent or more of the flight line blocked by tents, and the attitudes I've experienced from people in connection with the VIP/photo pit/chalet crowd that bother me a lot. Obviously, there are exceptions to the people part.

[CultOfTheWyvern]

I know pretty much nothing about air show economics, but it seems like air shows getting more expensive, or charging premiums for exclusive experiences, is going to become a necessity going forward. We're in a period of inflation, and aviation fuel isn't getting any cheaper anytime soon. So, while I do share some of the sentiments expressed here about VIP enclosures (mostly populated by people who don't seem overly interested in the actual flying display and are just there on a company junket) and overpriced photo pits that, frankly, don't yield many photos I can't get sitting 100ft back from the crowdline (unless I'm in Europe and the fence is right up against the runway safety area, I don't bother with takeoff or landing shots; too much heat haze and clutter anyway) in comfort, I've made my peace with their inevitability.

[runningmovies]

I have found most of the VIP stuff to be a waste, none of it is anything special and most are overpriced. Take Oceana last week their VIP was $150 which a buddy of mine paid for, his review of it was the food sucked, and the area was overcrowded. I had paid for a seat at Oceana just as a place to sit, which was $20 but even that came at getting yelled at by event personal telling me to "sit down I was blocking people view" even though the only thing behind me was Porta-Johns. I love taking pictures at show, so I have been getting a "cheap" seat just so I don't have to bring in a chair and so I can move around for better shots but with this experience I question if I really want to go thought the ordeal of it all for something that is supposed to be fun. To me my picture being front row or being in the back a bit makes no difference and have gladly given up my front row spot for a family or kid to get a better view. The food and drink are another matter, but I have gotten to a point with that where I just don't eat anything at airshow anymore, I will get water and that it.