Regional association is relaunched after two years
The Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) was re-launched last week with a new board and several new members, ending over two years of dormancy.
Manufacturers and operators in Asia say they hope AsBAA, which had not met since February 2002, will help promote business aviation in the region and drive a push for regulatory reforms. The new AsBAA plans to feed off the momentum created by this year's launch of the Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (ABACE) show, organised by the US National Business Aviation Association.
Raytheon Aircraft's north Asian sales executive, Jason Liao, and the head of Macau-based business jet operator Jet Asia, Chuck Woods, spearheaded the relaunch of AsBAA by planning an annual general meeting in conjunction with last week's Zhuhai air show in China.
Liao has been elected as AsBAA's new chairman and Woods has been elected secretary. Hong Kong Business Aviation Centre's new general manager, Madonna WY Fung, was elected treasurer. AsBAA now has a board of 14, bigger than it was in 2002. It also accepted last week applications from 16 new members, giving it nearly 40 overall. AsBAA was formerly headed by Marc Turner of Hong Kong operator Metrojet, but he left the region about two years go.
Liao, Woods and other industry leaders began discussing reactivating AsBAA in July at the first annual ABACE show in Hong Kong. The next AsBAA general meeting is planned for the next ABACE, to be held in August 2005 in Shanghai.
In the meantime, AsBAA has formed committees to work on some of the issues needed to be tackled for the business jet industry to grow in Asia. The committees are: membership, public relations and image, education and advocacy, technical and ABACE.
BRENDAN SOBIE / ZHUHAI
Source: Flight International
