Infrastructure in Asia-Pacific is showing signs of expansion as growth in business jet and civil helicopter fleets in the region places increasing demand for airports, FBOs, and MROs, Asian Sky Group (ASG) reports.

In its 2019 Infrastructure Report, ASG notes that the business jet fleet in Asia Pacific had grown from 1,157 at the end of 2016 to 1,206 at the end of 2018. The number of civil helicopters over that period grew from 3,929 to 4,265.

“This requires immediate support,” said ASG managing director Jeffrey Lowe, “and the industry is beginning to see signs of this.”

The number of airports in the region grew from 1,071 in 2017—the first year ASG released a report on regional infrastructure—to 1,184.  Also, Lowe said, “Across the region, as business and general aviation matures, the overall number of FBOs and maintenance facilities has grown since ASG first published this report. “

FBOs now number 69 in the region. Meanwhile, MROs have increased to 229, 116 of which support fixed-wing aircraft and 136 support helicopters.

With 253 airports Australia has the most developed infrastructure, including the most FBOs at 21. It further has 17 fixed-wing MROs and 35 helicopter maintenance facilites. But Hong Kong “continues to face severe over-capacity issues” with 128 business jets housed there.

China now has 250 airports, 12 FBOs, 35 fixed-wing MROs, and 31 helicopter support facilities. Most lack heavy check and overhaul capabilities, but ASG expects this to increase over time.

According to ASG, Textron Aviation has the widest coverage for business jets and Airbus Helicopters for rotorcraft.

The market in the region reshaped with two major acquisitions: Jet Aviation’s purchase of Hawker Pacific, and Dassault’s of Executive MRO. The Jet Aviation acquisition increases its support in Asia-Pacific, while Dassault also expanded its regional footprint, particularly in Southeast Asia.