Well, great stuff! Bournemouth was heaving with people - indeed on Friday the M3 was flowing like treacle, and Bournemouth council announced ' No More Cars Please!!!!!! Well, every August the Red Arrows come to Bournemouth and it's always worth getting a vantage point. You just have to allow three timesas much travel time! This year we had the Red Arrows in all their glory,and what glory it is, plus a parachuting display by the RAF, a biplane display with women on top!!!, Vulcans and fireworks every evening, which I got to see from Poole Quay. I think every feels the Red Arrows are so spectacular and with split second timing and only eight feet between wing tips - I may be wrong but saw that on a documentary. A lot of people have seen Red Arrows from their gardens as far away as Wool, so their turning space is huge but alsothe main event is not always all nine planes. Ooooh, a Red Arrow just flew over the harbour here in Poole. The bi-planes looped the loop and all sorts of tricks, complete with women on each wing! (Oh, you all know that women multi task.) This was a feat which caused laughter of amazement and huge applause. Parachuting with jet trails - well, very colourful sky and amazing skill. Landing in the sea! I wonder if the Royal Marines took part in this, they often parachute into Studland Bay. But so do the Commandos. Hmmm..... And then the firework displays at night - I'm lucky enough to see in the distance these displays over Bournemouth Bay. And all of this is free. Amazing, considering how much one pays to see a concert. Absolutely brill! read more

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Red arrow helps tourism in Bournemouth. Hotels and restaurants do need your stunning perofrmance more often. It is good to have you here in Bournemouth at least twice in a year. It is definately an event that could draw people into the town. We are in the redhill area, we could see them piercing through the sky towards the coastal areas. What a spectacular scene! E-pan Cafe Bar & Chinese Restaurant 3 New Parade, BH10 5BG read more

An absolutely fantastic event that really did make Bournemouth proud. Being a resident in Bournemouth town it was easy to spend the whole weekend on the beach; watching the aircraft from bournemouth's wonderful sea, and enjoying every single display on offer. The event in 2008 was so spectacular that 2009 had a lot to live up to.... To that, it certainly did. The Vulcan Bomber was a personal favourite of mine and even brought a tear to my eye. It really was a magical moment when she soared across the bay to the sounds of 'The White Cliffs of Dover'. The Royal Marines brought a smile to my face... mind you, for other reasons! I hope that this event that bought so many people people into Bournemouth continues to grow strong year-after-year and that people go home and tell family and friends what a great time they had. Bournemouth has so much to offer and it is events like this that really put Bournemouth on the map. In the current financial climate it gave a huge boost to the town's economy - much to the delight of local traders. So thank you Bournemouth council, More Buses, and everyone who made it such a fantastic event - long live Bournemouth Air Festival. read more

The list of planes and teams read a little like a who's who of air festivals. Headliners for Friday, Saturday and Sunday were of course the ever great Red Arrow display team but they had some serious competition on Saturday. On the bill was The blades display team made up of ex red arrow pilots who managed to control madness to perform a display with only 4 planes that had the crowd gasping at the closeness of the aircraft, with mid air stalling of the engines and flipping one of the planes nose over tail backward it really was a sight to be seen. Lining up alongside the Blades to compete with the Red Arrows was the Yakovlevs. The Yakovlevs are 4 Russian aircraft which are just as close and daring as both the red arrows and the blades smoke flowing from the aircraft. The Blue eagles, the army air corps helicopter display team showed just what you can do with a lynx helicopter as it back flipped and barrel rolled in the air just above the sea. It was joined by 3 other varieties of helicopter, a gazelle, scout and an allouette. Even with four completely different craft the display was breathe taking as always. Another highlight of the weekend was the presence of Team Guinot. They are a wing walking display team. The two bi-planes are the stage for some incredible handstands and upside down riding by the girls on top of the wings. On hand to help thrill the crowds were a host of rare and rebuilt aircraft including a sea hawk, king air, DC-6, tutor, Catalina (a flying boat), Tucano T1, 2 Falcon 20's and the RAF Falcon parachute display team. Added to this list were 3 very special displays. The battle of Britain memorial flight consisting of a Lancaster bomber which cast a huge shadow over the flotilla of boats moored just off of the coast, a hurricane and the ever so symbolic spitfire (the one flying was one that actually took part in WWII). Secondly was the newly restored sea vixen a plane that has to be seen flying for anyone to really appreciate the shape, size and sound of the only flying example of this plane. Talking of sound the last mention goes to the Typhoon Eurofighter F2, the state of the art and almost brand new jet fighter which was the newest flyer in the programme made the crowd cover its ears at it displayed its flying abilities with afterburners on and made windows shake all over Bournemouth. Away from the air there was also plenty to do stalls, stands and amusements filled the promenade between Bournemouth and Boscombe pier. Rides and simulators gave the visitors something to do and the chance to sit in the cockpit of a fighter plane was also on offer. A very popular attraction was the presence of RAF Mounts Bay, a supply ship moored just off of the pier which was allowing anyone who had put their name down to be transported out via a landing craft and take a look about the ship (this of course was booked up very quick). The evenings saw a balloon glow aerial acrobats and a firework show on the Saturday night crowning off an incredible event. There were plenty of food and drinks vendors on the over cliff and promenade as well as the many places within the town. Toilets were also in place and seemed to cater well. The viewing of the event was phenomenal with Bournemouth's cliffs above the beach the perfect platform to see everything. Even the beaches which were packed had a great view as the planes performed just off of the coast. The other side of the display are was hundreds of boats varying in size which had sailed from nearby ports and had just as great view of the action. The place to be thought for viewing alone was the over cliff and this was where we were both days where you could even see the pilots. I attended on the Friday (2nd day) by car we used the park and ride system that had been put in place. This did cost £10 but with 5 people in the car we figured £ each was reasonable. After parking we were transported right to the over cliff by air conditioned coach with no wait and were picked up just as efficiently and returned to the car park. This seemed to work really well and I heard no complaints from anyone we spoke to. I returned on the Saturday this time we decided to get the bus from Poole (where we live about miles away) the bus dropped us in Bournemouth square with a 5 minute walk to the sea front. The bus to Bournemouth was fine we left with plenty of time and it was a reasonably empty bus. This wasn't the story on the way home but give wilts and Dorset and more buses their due they had every bus and driver on hand waiting to get people out of Bournemouth and at one point we counted 20 buses in a line picking people up. Obviously the buses were packed solid but the queues were moving quite fast. I loved the first Bournemouth Air Festival and I am glad to say I was there. Saturday was by far the best day for weather and the beach was so busy none of the yellow sand could be seen. We got there early so had a fantastic spot up on the over cliff with the most read more

Fantastic event and totally free. Did get abit overcrowded but who can blame people for attending. All those amazing displays and attractions to see, coming again to bournemouth this year so dont miss it. read more

Had an amazing time. Pitched up on the clifftop buy Bournemouth Pier and the view was great. Came with a picnic and chairs, but was so excited that stayed on my feet all day. Felt like a kid again. Parking was easy and the fact that the whole event was free was fantastic. The Red Arrows and fighter planes old and new were the best in my opinion, but the commercial planes were good too. Would definitely go again. read more

This was a brilliant event and is due to be repeated in 2009 - book your holiday dates now. There was three days of air activity over the sea as a wonderful backdrop and included displays by the red arrows. There were displays all along the seafron between the piers and in the gardens and although corowded everyone had a good time because the sun was shining. It is worth using the park and ride service to avaoind the car parking crisis. ea uu read more

Absolutely amazing. It made me proud to live in Bournemouth for once.

A must-see event of the summer in Bournemouth - absolutely fab! Expect millions of people and the town centre roads to be gridlocked, so best to get there in plenty of time & by public transport if possible. Bring a picnic and perch on the beach - a fab day out for all the family! read more