The Asian Business Aviation Association (AsBAA) held its inaugural CEO Roundtable Luncheon at the Hong Kong Club in central Hong Kong last week. The association said it was the first of a series of similar lunches that would be held around the region to discuss issues affecting the future of business aviation.

Keynote speakers at the event were David Tong, director of Sir Elly Kadoorie & Sons Limited, and Chris Chalk, vice-chairman of the British Aviation Group and Mott McDonald’s aviation practice leader.

“The introduction of the CEO luncheon series to AsBAA’s growing programme of community-focussed events is a strategic move under one of our three mission pillars: community, representation and advocacy,” said AsBAA chairman Charlie Mularski. “This, along with other community events, is about creating value for our members to engage, share best practices, network and create opportunities for new business ideas for the food of our industry in Asia.”

Marwan Khalek, CEO and co-founder of Gama Group, spoke at the event of the importance of cooperation between industry bodies. As the chairman of the British Business and General Aviation Association (BBGA), and an EBAA board member, he highlighted the value of sharing best practice, particularly in relation to government liaison and lobbying work, welcoming closer collaboration between AsBAA, EBAA and NBAA to jointly promote and protect the industry.

Khalek also said that the public perception of the business aviation in Europe and the Middle East has shifted with there now being a greater understanding and awareness of the positive economic impact that private jet users bring to cities–creating jobs, with further growth, investment and development of the wider economy.