Jetcraft is witnessing a fresh wave of interest from new entrants to business aviation, as the pandemic raises significant awareness of the flexibility, degree of control and security that flying privately provides. “In the last year we’ve seen roughly double the number of first-time buyers of pre-owned aircraft than in previous years, which is a tremendously positive indicator of the future growth of our industry,” comments president of Jetcraft Asia David Dixon. “There has been good momentum in Singapore, Malaysia and Indonesia. This is firstly because of the growing acceptance of pre-owned private jets, resulting in a shift in demand; buyers traditionally inclined to purchase new aircraft are beginning to favour pre-owned.

“Secondly, we are also seeing an expansion of domestic travel needs within countries like Indonesia, fuelled by geography and the remoteness of some communities. Thirdly, the rise of UHWNIs is significantly boosting demand, and this group is set to grow by five per cent per year to 2024. And fourthly I would add another dynamic – those in your family and workplace. It's not just concern about the main person behind a company or group but also their families and immediate associates. Transactional data from our latest market forecast shows that UHNWIs represent a higher share of buyers as aircraft size increases, and there is good momentum across southeast Asia for the large, long range jet segment.”

While some corporations and governments are scaling back aircraft use because of shareholder and public scrutiny, Jetcraft’s transactional data shows UHNWI buyer types are more likely to invest in the large jet segment, and Dixon predicts this buying behaviour will continue into 2021 and beyond. Long range aircraft enable owners to fly intercontinental journeys without the need to stop, which is particularly appealing during the pandemic when reduced contact is favoured.

He continues: “The larger, long range aircraft are far and away proving particularly popular in Asia Pacific, mainly due to geography. In APAC everywhere is a long way away, and many of the missions are long-range. If you have a home in Singapore and an office in Sydney, that’s a large jet mission.” Because of these trends, by 2024 Jetcraft forecasts 436 pre-owned large, long-range aircraft will be sold per year worldwide, compared to the 238 transacted in 2019. It can be no mistake that all the major manufacturers are investing in developing their long-range programs, we’re seeing significant interest in Bombardier’s Global 7500, Gulfstream’s new G700, and Dassault’s Falcon 8X and 6X models with rumours of another model to come.

China is showing signs of recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic; the World Bank is forecasting 7.9 per cent economic growth for the country in 2021. With this confidence and momentum comes an increased appetite for tools such as business aviation that facilitate growth, offer better control and save valuable time.

Dixon concludes: “Last year our industry faced significant hurdles, but throughout this turbulent time we managed to demonstrate the benefits of business aviation to a new generation of user. In 2021 so far, we’re seeing a healthy number of sale acquisition and trade-in enquiries, and a release of that pent-up demand for travel. Airlines won’t miraculously re-emerge doing what they did in 2019 – it will take time and therein lies opportunity. First-time users are entering our industry through many ways be it charter, fractional ownership or block hour programmes and we see this as the start of their path to aircraft ownership, particularly once the functional and tangible benefits of business aviation become clear.”