Matt Thurber, editor-in-chief at AIN Media Group, has been flying since 1975 and writing about aviation since 1978 and now has the best job in the world, running editorial operations for Aviation International News, Business Jet Traveler, and FutureFlight.aero. In addition to working as an A&amp;P mechanic on everything from Piper Cubs to turboprops, Matt taught flying at his father’s flight school in Plymouth, Mass., in the early 1980s, flew for an aircraft owner/pilot, and for two summer seasons hunted swordfish near the George’s Banks off the East Coast from a Piper Super Cub. An ATP certificated fixed-wing pilot and CFII and commercial helicopter pilot, Matt is type-rated in the Citation 500 and Gulfstream V/550. Based in the Pacific Northwest, Matt and his team cover the entire aviation scene including business aircraft, helicopters, avionics, safety, manufacturing, charter, fractionals, technology, air transport, advanced air mobility, defense, and other subjects of interest to AIN, BJT, and FutureFlight readers.

Editor-in-Chief

Matt Thurber

TAG Aviation Asia and China First Mandarin Group (CFMG) signed a preliminary joint-venture agreement to serve the business aviation market in Asia with aircraft charter, management and maintenance services at last month’s Meba Convention. The agreement will be finalized when the Chinese government issues its approval, which is anticipated early this year, according to Robert Wells, CEO of TAG Aviation Holding. 
The joint-venture company will be named TAG Aviation China and will be held 51 percent by CFMG and 49 percent by TAG Aviation. The deal has the potential to establish a significant new force in China’s business aviation sector, which has been slow to develop due to regulatory restrictions and bureaucracy. 
“Business aviation in China is in its infancy,” Wells said. “For TAG Aviation it allows us the opportunity to join up with a qualified partner that is already operational in mainland China.” TAG Aviation Asia, headquartered in Hong Kong, manages and operates 15 business aircraft and last year received an air operator’s certificate (AOC) from the Hong Kong Civil Aviation Authority. That fleet doubled in size during the past 12 months and will likely double again in the next year, according to Keith Morgan, CEO of TAG Aviation Asia. 
CFMG’s Shenyang-basedFirst Mandarin Business Aviation (FMBA) unit holds a Chinese AOC and a Civil Aviation Administration of China CCAT 145 repair station certificate. The company operates Bombardier Challenger 604s and 850s. “TAG Aviation’s reputation with business aviation clients worldwide, combined with its well recognized global brand, makes an ideal match for us,” said Zhu Lili, chairwoman of FMBA, “and it is the perfect time for our two companies to join forces to serve mainland China clients. We entered the exciting business-aviation sector in our country convinced of its enormous growth potential, and forming a partnership with TAG creates a key combination in terms of both our expertise and worldwide capabilities.” 
CFMG CEO Li Dong Qi said, “This agreement is built on friendship with [TAG Aviation founders] the Ojjeh brothers, both Mansour and Aziz, and brings a fresh breeze of advancement to business aviation in China and Asia.” 
TAG Aviation Asia was the second fixed-wing business aviation company to receive a Hong Kong AOC. The joint venture with CFMG, Wells said, “is the first time, as far as we know, where a company that holds an AOC in China is not part of one of the scheduled airlines. So we felt this is a unique opportunity to join forces.”
TAG Aviation began working on the joint venture with CFMG 18 months ago. The timing for the alliance with CFMG, Wells said, “was the right combination in terms of capitalizing on the rapid growth of aircraft operations in China and the need for business aviation that did not exist perhaps 10 years ago. We believe that we have an opportunity to provide both the service and the operational expertise in partnership with a well qualified company that’s already in existence.”
While the details of how the aircraft will be operated remain to be worked out, Wells said that the two companies’ capabilities and skills would complement each other. “We believe that the combination of TAG Aviation’s worldwide presence along with First Mandarin Business Aviation’s knowledge of how to do things in China is certainly going to bring [the joint venture] more visibility.”
TAG Aviation Holding CEO Robert Wells spoke to AIN about the partnership. Listen to the conversation at 
<link news><a href="http://www.ainonline.com/news/ainonline-audiocasts/">www.ainonline.com/news/ainonline-audiocasts/</a>.

TAG plans joint venture with China First Mandarin Group

TAG Aviation Asia and China First Mandarin Group (CFMG) signed a preliminary joint-venture agreement to serve the business aviation market in Asia with air

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