Business jet makers from Boeing to Bombardier are winging their way to Asia, hoping to cash in on increasing wealth and economic growth in a region that still views private planes as needless excess.
Executives at a business aviation show this week said they intended to hawk their high-priced wares — anywhere from $9 million for a Learjet to almost $50 million for a larger Boeing version — to government, corporations and Asia’s growing ranks of billionaires — especially in China.
They hope Asia Inc. would catch on to some of the touted benefits of having a private jet — still viewed as the province of the ultra-rich — at their beck and call. Judging from the dark-suited executives, regulators and government types gawking at the flashy displays, they might be making progress.
Bombardier — which derives nearly half its aerospace revenue from business jets, a $4-5 billion business for them — argues they help the corporate bottom line by letting executives work in the air and circumvent time-consuming airport check-in procedures and luggage restrictions.
“The region’s population, economic activity, and need for transportation to cover distances between business locations — in some cases, where no practical transportation alternative exists — (are) immense,” Ed Bolen, CEO of the National Business Aviation Association, said at the Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition in Hong Kong.
Executives say there is a lack of existing infrastructure — airports — in Asia and a complex web of airspace restrictions.
And these things cost.
As a reference: UK air charter broker Air Partner Plc. charges nearly $2,900 per hour for use of its business jets.
Still, there’s room to grow in Asia. Excluding Australia, the region houses 591 turbine business jets out of a world total of 24,221 — according to the Asian Business Aviation Association.
Some are making headway — particularly in China.
At the end of 2006, Bombardier had 28 planes in greater China, according to David Dixon, Asia-Pacific vice-president for business aircraft. Airbus, not normally associated with this niche industry, has more than 10 in greater China alone.
Raytheon Inc. has sold six in China.
“Airline travel is growing at about 8 percent a year in China, so you can ... say business travel will be in the same league,” said David Velupillai, Airbus’ marketing director for executive and private aviation.
But of 359 business jets officially registered in Asia, just 29 are registered in China, the Aviation Week Show News Briefing cited an industry database as showing.
Asia-wide, Embraer has nine jets in the region. Gulfstream Inc. reports 59 jets across Asia, up from just 22 in 2000.
“There are more private jets registered in greater Los Angeles than there are in this area,” Dixon said. “But that’s not to say we’re not interested in it, because the potential is huge.”
