Paris Air Show
Le Bourget Airport, Paris, FranceCharter a Private Jet to the Paris Air Show
Ninety years after Le Bourget Airport in Paris was made famous by Charles Lindbergh as he landed there on the first non-stop flight between New York and Paris, the airport will, once again, play host to the biennial International Paris Air Show.
We Can Get You There
Whether you are a tradesperson or just an aviation aficionado, Paramount Business Jets can arrange a charter flight for you into Le Bourget or any nearby Paris airports, including:
- Le Bourget Airport, LFPB, LBG, Paris, France (1 miles)
- Charles De Gaulle Airport, LFPG, CDG, Paris, France (6 miles)
- Paris Issy Les Moulineaux, LFPI, Paris, France (12 miles)
- Orly Airport, LFPO, ORY, Paris, France (17 miles)
- Velizy Airport, LFPV, Villacoublay, France (17 miles)
- Cormeilles En Vexin Airport, LFPT, POX, Pontoise, France (20 miles)
- Creil Airport, LFPC, CSF, Creil, France (21 miles)
- Toussus Le Noble Airport, LFPN, TNF, Toussus Le Noble, France (21 miles)
- Villaroche Airport, LFPM, Melun, France (27 miles)
- Voisins Airport, LFPK, Colmar, France (28 miles)
About The Show
The Paris International Air Show is the largest and longest-running aerospace trade show in the world. The first Paris air show was held in 1909 at the Grand Palais. The show was a sellout with more than 100,000 visitors attending to see displays from 380 exhibitors. It was such a success that it was initially held annually.
The show is a place where military and civilian aircraft can be displayed for potential customers and sightseers.
It is a place where manufacturers land large commercial contracts and where aviation buffs can “ooh” and “ah” at the latest innovations in aircraft.
The first four days of the weeklong event are for professionals, including international manufacturers and representatives of military forces. The last three days are open to the general public.
It is similar to the Farnborough International Air Show in Britain and the ILA Berlin Air Show. The Paris Air Show is now held on odd years to alternate with the other shows.
The show is organized by the French aerospace industry, GIFAS, which reported the show is now attended by more than 360,000 visitors and journalists from 80 countries.
The 2023 Paris Air Show, the 54th, will be held June 18-24 and include these exhibits, according to the show’s official website:
- Aircraft: manufacturing, assembly and subassemblies
- Space, spacecraft, satellite telecommunications
- Aircraft engines, aerospace power plants and related equipment
- Ground and airborne weapon systems
- Pilot and navigation aids, airborne equipment and systems
- Aircraft interiors, seats
- Production equipment, tools, and software applications
- Electrical, electronic, mechanical and metallurgical engineering subcontracting
- Composite materials and surface treatments
- Maintenance, product support and spares, transport
- Services
- Airport equipment and services
Death-Defying Feats
Every afternoon, some aircraft give flying displays. The shows are often spectacular crowd-pleasers and a definite high points of the weeklong show.
However, there have been some disastrous crashes during the afternoon shows, the best known of which is probably the 1973 crash in which the Soviets aboard a Concorde-competitor, a Tupolev Tu-144 aircraft, stalled while attempting a rapid climb out of a dive. The aircraft slammed into 15 houses and broke apart, killing all six on board and eight on the ground. In addition, another 60 people were seriously injured.
The cause of the crash remains a mystery, but some believe it stalled trying to dodge a French chase plane that was trying to photograph it. Others believe the systems installed to beef it up to compete with the Concorde were inadequate for what the pilots were trying to do.
Things To Do and See in Paris
Visitors, of course, must see iconic Paris landmarks like the Eiffel Tower, the Louvre, Notre Dame and the Champs-Élysées. But if you want to see Paris like a local, here are some other suggestions:
- Visit the Musée de la Vie Romantique. You can learn about 19th century poets or just soak up the Paris that is portrayed in the movies, complete with tea and cake and pink roses. The former home of painter Ary Scheffer (1795-1858) located in the heart of Paris is dedicated to early 19th century arts and literature. Bring a bottle of wine and have a picnic or relax in the glass house next to the main house that used to be an art studio and is now a tearoom.
- Take a boat tour down the Seine. This seems to be the one piece of advice for visitors that appears on virtually every list of Paris must-do’s. You’ll see a side of Paris you can’t see from anywhere else.
- Visit the “Temple of Love.” In the middle of a lake in the Bois de Vincennes, the city’s largest park, is the Temple Romantique. The ruins are a great place for a declaration of love – or, even, a marriage proposal.
- See the cell in which Marie Antoinette was imprisoned and a real 19th century guillotine at La Conciergerie. This 700-year-old former palace served as a prison during the French Revolution.
