Hawker Pacific Shanghai (Booth No. N2501) has become the first dedicated business aviation center to receive Part 145 maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). Located at Shanghai’s Hongqiao International Airport, the 4,000-sq-m facility can accommodate aircraft up to Boeing 737 or Airbus A320 size. The announcement came at the NBAA show this week, when general manager Carey Matthews said, “With this final piece of the jigsaw, we now have the fundamentals in place to provide new levels of confidence in aircraft ownership to both aircraft owners and manufacturers alike.”

His point is pertinent, because facilities and skills shortages are key barriers to growth to the potentially large corporate aviation market in China. Several OEMs have provided extra technical support to operators in order to support the arrival of their products into the country.

Hawker Pacific’s flagship FBO, which opened in 2010, is next door to the new MRO facility and will play a key role in next year’s Asian Business Aviation Convention & Exhibition (ABACE), scheduled for March 27-29, 2012. This marks the fourth edition and resumption of the show, which is jointly sponsored by the NBAA and the Asian Business Aviation Association. ABACE was cancelled in 2009 because of the economic downturn, but organizers are confident that next year will be a success, with most of the major business jet manufacturers already signed up to exhibit.