The Solar Impulse airplane stops over at Ahmedabad Airport

by Dharm Patel Marketing | April 6, 2015 | News

Solar Impulse (SI) is a non-profit organization and Swiss long-range experimental solar-powered aircraft project. SI is the only airplane of perpetual endurance, able to fly day and night on solar power, without a drop of fuel, making it a unique endeavor.

SI in its intent to achieve the first ‘Round-The-World Solar Flight’, after 12 years of research, tests and development made its stopover in India with the idea to promote and educate people about sustainable energy. Fountainhead Entertainment (FH) created and facilitated a platform for SI to showcase this pioneering effort with an event held at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel International Airport in Ahmedabad. The event saw a total footfall of 15,000 people over the span of four days.

Through this expedition SI along with its international and Indian partners consisting of Solvay, ABB, Schindler, Aditya Birla Group, Moet Hennessy and Government of Gujarat, wanted a platform to spread awareness about their innovation and the use of clean technology.

Commenting on the association, Rohan Salvi, Vice President - Business Development and Client Servicing (Events), Fountainhead Entertainment, said: “The main India host partner, Aditya Birla Group has been associated with us for more than 10 years giving us the opportunity to pitch in for the event. Basis several logistical and operational deliberations we acquired the mandate to be the exclusive on-ground partner. An extensive amount of coordination was needed with various centre and state government bodies like DGCA, BCAS, AAI, Civil Aviation Ministry, etc. We had to handle all flight operations as well as on-ground requirements.”

The key highlight of the event was when the partners and media got to watch the landing of the plane on the runway. The partners also hosted conferences with their customers where the pilots Bertrand Piccard & André Borschberg interacted with the audience. Guests and media could walk around and view the plane and interact with a team of 80 technicians. Additionally, each partner had planned events for their key customers and internal employees.

Delighted with FH’s work, Alexandra Grand d’Hauteville, Events Manager, Solar Impulse, said: “On behalf of the Solar Impulse team, I would like to thank Fountainhead for the fantastic job they did here in Ahmedabad, first Indian destination of the mission. You have been proactive, helpful, smiling and ready to achieve all situations. You are an excellent agency, you have a great team and we will not forget you!”

Speaking about the execution, Salvi said: “The event was exclusively for partner invitees. However on seeing the curiosity of the general public towards the event due to media coverage, SI decided to give the Ahmedabad people an opportunity to witness this historic event and opened the venue for public viewing. Enthusiastic crowds gathered in thousands to catch a glimpse of the plane from 7am in the morning. Simultaneously, an exclusive partner event had to be conducted for their key clients. FH ensured logistics, planning and security for this public event was arranged overnight and also successfully ensured that there was smooth crowd management without any intervention in the show run for the partner event.”