New head of the Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA), Wu Zhendong, said the Asian business jet sector could see a 25 per cent growth if the region’s airports stopped prioritising commercial flights.
He said it was “depressing” seeing people just take first class on a commercial flight and called for more runway slots and cheaper fees to give business aviation a boost.
“Access is the biggest problem with limited slots. So are high landing and ground handling fees. If those two issues were resolved, there would be growth of at least 25 per cent,” said Wu to the South China Morning Post.
Business jet growth in the Asia-Pacific region has slowed to 1.4 per cent last year with 1,201 planes based in the region, although the industry is predicted to rebound to 2 per cent this year, according to research by business aviation services company Asian Sky Group.
“Infrastructure is always an issue, but the economic environment is going to be a more important driver of demand in the short term than landing fees or airport access,” said Max Buirski, Asian Sky Group chairman.
“But those issues will become more significant factors over the long-term and must be addressed before the business aviation market in the Asia-Pacific can reach its full potential.”