The Asian Business Aviation Conference and Exhibition (ABACE) runs April 16-18 in Shanghai. This year’s event is especially exciting, given the substantial growth and potential for growth in the business aviation sector in Asia.
Organizers of the event, including NBAA, are celebrating record numbers:
- 6,284 registered attendees
- 180 exhibitors
- 34 aircraft on static display
This year, 80 U.S. businesses are attending ABACE, demonstrating an increase in trade between the two countries. Cessna announced at ABACE that it plans to start production of business jets and turboprops in China by the end of the year. And Gulfstream brought five aircraft for the static display, including the G650 and G280. According to Scott Neal, senior vice president of sales and marketing for Gulfstream, these two jets are especially suited for Asia-Pacific locales.
China is the fastest growing market for private aircraft, but demand for aircraft is only part of the success of the business jet market. The other part is creating and maintaining substantial infrastructure to accommodate the increase in flights and aircraft. To this end, Jing Ming, vice president of Shanghai Airport Authority, announced specific projects to support business aviation:
- New hangar and 600,000 sq. foot exhibition hall at Hongqiao Airport
- New FBO at Pudong Airport
- Working to increase capacity for air traffic control
These infrastructure improvements are good news for aircraft manufacturers. It’s exciting to see such enthusiasm for business aviation at ABACE this year. This is good news for the industry as a whole.