VistaJet aims to bolster Asian demand for its services with a strong presence at September's Asian Aerospace show in Hong Kong, where it will demonstrate Bombardier Challenger 605 and 850 business jets in partnership with the Canadian manufacturer.
The fast-growing on-demand/block charter operator, which has its head office in Salzburg, Austria and regional offices in cities including Hong Kong and Kuala Lumpur, saw demand in the Asian region pick up substantially from April following a tough start to the year, says VistaJet founder, owner and chairman Thomas Flohr.
The company's principal rival NetJets does not have a presence in Asia, and VistaJet is on track to achieve 15% growth in the region for the full year.
"With the general economic climate picking up, especially in Hong Kong, Macau and mainland China, we are very happy to have the opportunity to show our aircraft [at Asian Aerospace]," says Flohr.
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"The air show, from a timing point of view, fits us extremely well," he adds. "We always say that when we can get a customer to our aircraft to look at it, half the battle is won because people just love the luxury and the look and feel, and then we can continue with the commercial conversations."
Asian Aerospace, organised by Flightglobal's sister company Reed Exhibitions, takes place at Hong Kong's AsiaWorld Expo from 8-10 September.
One cloud on the horizon is the persistent problem of illegal "grey market" operators in the region, although Flohr says governments are beginning take action.
"This is some owner who gives his plane to some business friend and charges some kind of money for it which is obviously below market rate, but this is on a private aircraft operation basis so not under the rules of commercial aviation," says Flohr.
"We're working with the governments to shut this down, because commercial and public transport is something that has to be taken extremely seriously and there are very clear rules in place for safety standards, back office and product quality."
Most countries are opening up to business aviation and removing red tape that has stifled its growth, although Flohr singles out India as a continuing problem. In India it can take several days to obtain take-off, landing and even overflight permits.
Source: Flight International
