The potential for business aviation in China is already greater than most people in the industry realize, and the growth rate is set to be as much as 100%/year from an existing base of about 150 aircraft, according to Jason Liao, chairman and CEO of the China Business Aviation Group.
He compares the business aviation sector with the growth rate in automotive demand in China since 2000, when streets were still full of bicycles. Now, he says, the demand for cars in China exceeds the highest level that American demand ever reached.
At present there are big problems expanding the supply of expert personnel to operate and support business aircraft, and a shortage of airport and hangar space. People come to Liao asking him to get them a $60 million aircraft together with pilots, cabin crew, engineering and operations support against the promise of an instant cash transfer, and he says he has to put them on hold.
This is changing fast, says Liao. "There is a big wave of fixed base operator development right now," he explains, but he prodicts that for some time to come a great deal of the sector's development is going to depend on expatriate expertise. Liao says China is now much more welcoming of expatriate staff.
Meanwhile, there is also a gradual freeing up of airspace, both lower and higher, and an acceptance of the concept of privately developed and owned business and general aviation airports. The degree of ignorance of the needs of business aviation by the authorities a few years ago was such that they believed that business jets, being relatively small, would not need to fly at airline cruising levels, so they were held down. It needed a week to get clearance for a flight plan, whereas now it takes 7h or less, he says, and that will continue to decline.
Source: Flight Daily News
