China’s wealthy help jet market take flight

HONG KONG – China’s private jet market is cleared for takeoff.

The country’s soaring 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.

Airplane makers are rushing to fill that demand. They’ve 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.

Authorities, meanwhile, are gradually loosening restrictions on airspace and easing bureaucratic formalities that still pose hurdles for luxury fliers.

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 in total – were delivered since the start of January, he said.

Jason Liao, who left his job as Beijing-based managing director at Bombardier last year to set up his own company helping people buy business jets, forecasts that 70 private jets will be delivered in China this year.

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.

Rivals are just as upbeat. Bombardier expects China to be its third biggest market in the next decade, after North America and Europe. The Canadian company forecasts that aircraft makers will deliver 960 business jets to China by 2020, and another 1,400 by 2030.

Boeing is delivering two business jets to Chinese customers this year.

While there is much optimism among plane makers, there are still some restrictions that have hindered industry growth.

Private jets registered in China must be operated by one of five licensed companies. That’s different from the U.S., where big companies that own private jets will usually have their own corporate flight departments.

One big challenge is military control of airspace, with only 30 percent open to civil aviation. In the U.S. the figure is about 70 percent.

A shortage of trained Chinese pilots is also a problem.