Boom time for China private jet market

The country’s booming economy is creating a class of wealthy entrepreneurs who have plenty of money to spend on one of the ultimate symbols of success, the executive jet.

A decade ago, there were essentially no private jets in China and only a handful in Hong Kong, said Justin Lee Firestone, managing director of Firestone Management Group, a private jet consultancy.

At the end of April this year, there were 90 registered in China and 10 of those – worth about 500 million dollars in total – had been delivered since the start of January, he said.

Plane-makers are rushing to fill the demand and have been showing off models, some with touches aimed at Asian tastes, at air shows and luxury expos around China this spring to crowds of potential buyers.

The Chinese government, meanwhile, is gradually loosening restrictions on airspace and easing bureaucratic formalities that still pose hurdles for luxury fliers.

Businessman Jason Liao, who set up his own company helping people buy business jets, forecasts that 70 private will be delivered in China this year. That would be an impressive jump in sales because it would double the number in the country last year.

Mr Liao’s company, China Business Aviation Group, has already signed eight deals since it opened in September.

Airbus has sold 20 corporate jets in China so far and predicts demand for five large corporate jets a year.

“We used to say that was maybe the total market but now we think that’s the Airbus part of the market,” said Francois Chazelle, vice president of the European plane maker’s corporate jet division.

At a Hong Kong air show in March, Airbus unveiled its Asian cabin concept, dubbed Phoenix, which features karaoke equipment and a red colour theme, an auspicious colour in Chinese culture. A round table for family-style dining preferred in many Asian cultures can be converted to a square to allow a post-meal game of mahjong.