Posted on February 2nd, 2011
China’s business aviation sector took a leap forward last year when the number of private jets registered in the country went into three figures for the first time, reaching a total of 116, according to a report published today by the Firestone Management Group. The report from Firestone Management, which advises companies how to break into the emerging Asia-Pacific market, includes jets registered as of January 15 in the People’s Republic of China, Hong Kong and Macau. According to managing director Justin Lee Firestone, the past few years have seen increasing sales of midsize aircraft in a Greater China market that has previously been dominated by large-cabin jets. He told AIN that this trend bodes well for accelerated growth in a market that appears to have been slow to fulfill its potential. Gulfstream Aerospace continues to dominate the Chinese market, with 43 aircraft sold there to date, accounting for a 37-percent market share. Cessna has 24 Citations in China (21-percent market share); Bombardier, 21 jets (18 percent); Hawker Beechcraft, 18 jets (15 percent); and Dassault, Airbus and Boeing with, respectively, six, three and one aircraft in the country. The March edition of Aviation International News will contain a full analysis of Firestone’s report on the state of China’s business aviation market.
