Australian sales, services and product support company Hawker Pacific is to expand its domestic fixed base operation in the next two months by opening a facility in Perth, Western Australia.
The Sydney-based company has put on hold a move into the Indian market, however, in light of the current economic climate.
Hawker Pacific has FBOs in Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns in Australia. The Perth operation will be modest, but will be an important part of the national network, says chief executive Alan Smith. "As we seek to build an Asia-Pacific network, Western Australia is an important place to be," he says.
Outside Australia, Hawker Pacific has an FBO in Singapore, operates the Skypark Subang FBO in Malaysia in conjunction with ExecuJet Aviation and is developing an FBO and maintenance facilities at China's Shanghai Hongquiao airport with the Shanghai Airport Authority.
Development of the Shanghai FBO has taken longer than originally expected, but Smith says it should be operational at the end of the year.
Hawker Pacific is interested in expanding its international FBO network to India, but is maintaining a "watching brief on India until the economic situation settles", says Smith. "We believe in that market, but we'd rather not be a pioneer," he adds.
Source: Flight International
