Taking place in the last four days of September, Istanbul Airshow or former Airex, was perhaps the only exhibition to close the year without any enthusiasm.

Organised for the 12th time in 22 years particularly in the area of commercial aviation, the event received an initial blow with Eurasia Airshow organised in May. The event was doomed to lose much of its lustre from the start as Boeing, which has recently realised one of the largest commercial sales to Turkey, had preferred Eurasia over Istanbul Airshow. As for Airbus, the arch-rival of Boeing, the company participated in both events, thus making a difference. Another notable absentee was Honeywell as the power supplier to engine companies like GE and Rolls-Royce concentrating on large aircraft, and to business jets as the lifeline of exhibitions.