Swiss business aviation services company TAG Aviation has launched an operation in Asia, with an office in Hong Kong and a managed Dassault Falcon 2000 based in Macau.
TAG Aviation opened its first office in Asia in December and is now managing one aircraft, the French-registered Falcon 2000, for a Chinese company. TAG Aviation says its customer acquired the second-hand Falcon 2000 and hired the company to operate the aircraft within China and internationally. The aircraft is being based at the Macau Business Aviation Centre (BAC) in part because there is no available space at the Hong Kong BAC.
TAG Aviation’s new Hong Kong office is now pursuing other potential managed aircraft customers throughout Asia and is also interested in later offering charters. TAG Aviation is not offering charters with the Falcon 2000, but future Asia-based aircraft may be available for charter when the owners are not flying. It is considering applying for an air operator’s certificate in Hong Kong to facilitate the launch of charters.
Geneva-based TAG Aviation manages over 150 aircraft in Europe and North America. The Hong Kong office reports to its US subsidiary, TAG Aviation USA. The firm believes it can be more competitive than Asian-based management companies as its costs are spread over a large fleet.
Meanwhile, TAG has opened a new business aviation terminal at its Farnborough Airport fixed base operation (FBO). As demand for the FBO continues to rise by around 10% a year TAG is seeking to increase movements, but has met considerable local resistance. “We originally applied to double our weekend movements from 2,500 to 5,000, but due to local pressure we have had to revise our plan and have proposed a staged increase [over two years,” says FBO director Len Rayment.
Source: Flight International
