Despite “doomsday” reports that China’s business jet population is in a freefall, mainland China saw its fleet dip by only six aircraft in 2021 and remained the largest regional market for the sector, according to Asian Sky Media’s latest Fleet Report for the Asia-Pacific region. However, Hong Kong did see its fleet shrink by 19 aircraft and Taiwan by one.

Overall, Greater China saw its fleet slide by 5.1 percent, marking the biggest contributor to the 1.1 percent decline overall in Asia-Pacific. Asian Sky Media expressed the belief that the dip in China is temporary, as many industry experts anticipate growth returning in the region once the pandemic—and its associated lockdowns and restrictions—eases.

By the end of December, the Asia-Pacific region was home to 1,215 business aircraft. Thirty-three new and 68 preowned business jets were delivered into the region in 2021. At the same time, though, 114 business jets left the region, marking a net decline of 13 from the fleet last year. New deliveries were down 13.2 percent for the year.

While the Bombardier fleet shrunk in Asia-Pacific by 4.7 percent last year, it continued to have the largest presence in the region with a 27 percent market share. Textron Aviation saw its fleet grow in the region by 5.7 percent to have the region’s second-largest number of business jets at 315. Gulfstream’s fleet slid by 5.1 percent to 299, while the number of Embraer business jets contracted by 8.2 percent, to 67. The Dassault fleet number remained unchanged at 97 aircraft.

Long-range business jets still account for the largest portion of the fleet at 386, even though the number decreased by 3 percent last year. This was followed by light jets at 269 (up 3.5 percent), large-cabin at 252 (down 7.7 percent), and midsize jets at 141 (flat year-over-year). The very light sector grew by 16.9 percent in 2021, to 83 aircraft.