Singapore’s Changi Exhibition Centre is set to stage the Asia-Pacific region’s first dedicated business aviation trade show since April 2019, when the most recent edition of NBAA’s Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition was held in Shanghai. The new Business Aviation Asia Forum & Expo (BAAFEx) will run from March 4 to 6 against a backdrop of strong market growth that has been sustained in many countries since the end of the Covid pandemic.

According to management consultancy Alton Aviation, there has been a strong uptick in business jet departures across the region. “[Traffic] is almost double what it was in 2019, and the region has seen the second highest growth rate after Latin America, far exceeding [that of] North America and Europe over the past five years,” managing director Adam Cowburn told AIN.

The Alton team, which advises multiple companies on business aviation opportunities worldwide, has seen especially dynamic market expansion in India, where strong economic growth has boosted personal and corporate wealth and demand for private aircraft, including through charter services. Between 2019 and 2024, the number of business jet movements at Indian airports reportedly grew by around 27%.

That said, Asian business aviation has a long way to grow to match activity levels in the West. Alton pointed out that while Mumbai is the busiest airport for the sector in the Asia-Pacific region, it would not make the list of the top 100 business aviation airports in the U.S.

Asian Bizav Shows Sustained Growth

In more mature Asia-Pacific markets such as Singapore and Hong Kong, Cowburn reported “some pullback from the post-Covid highs,” but with well-established business aviation support infrastructure. From a lower base, there has been impressive growth in Southeast Asian countries such as Thailand and Vietnam.

Alton, which helps investors respond to the dynamics of local markets, advises clients that the region is not without its challenges. These include regulatory processes that can be constrained by the bandwidth of local agencies and establishing local operations.

According to BAAFEx organizer Experia Events, which also stages the biennial Singapore Airshow at the purpose-built Changi site, there were around 1,200 business jets based in Asia-Pacific countries at the end of 2022, ranking it as the industry’s third largest region behind Europe and North America. The company said that the fleet in Southeast Asian countries has been growing annually at around 5% in recent years.

Global aircraft charter operators such as Vista, Gama Aviation, and TAG Aviation Asia are included on the show’s exhibitor list. According to Vista, in the first three quarters of 2024, the number of flights it operated in the Asia-Pacific region increased by 20% year over year.

“We have been waiting for half a decade to finally have a dedicated business aviation show back in Asia,” said Vista’s chief commercial officer, Ian Moore. “Asia-Pacific is one of the fastest growing regions at Vista, and Southeast Asia is playing a key role in Vista’s expansion in the region.”

The Europe-based operator will exhibit one of its Bombardier Global 7500 jets at BAAFEx, with the static display at Changi also featuring models such as a Gulfstream G450 operated by Amber Aviation.

BAAFEx Exhibitors Include Local Companies

Other BAAFEx exhibitors confirmed as of press time include Boeing Business Jets, Lufthansa Technik, Glenair, MedAire, Viasat, Gogo Business Aviation, Honeywell, and the Bermuda Aircraft Registry. Several charter operators based in the region are also included in the lineup, including China’s Sino Jet, Air 7 Asia, Phenix Jet, Ivy Aviation, Jet Set, and Premier, as well as FBOs and MROs such as Hong Kong Business Aviation Centre, Universal Aviation Japan, and ExecuJet Haite Aviation Services China.

“The response from the major aircraft manufacturers, aircraft management companies, and operators to BAAFEx 2025 has been very positive,” said Leck Chet Lam, managing director of Experia Events. “We have [also] worked to sign up companies representing the entire business aviation ecosystem.”

According to Cowburn at Alton, the proliferation of Asian high-net-worth individuals has been the main driver of business aviation market growth in that part of the world. “There is a clear correlation between [national] GDP, and the numbers and aggregate wealth of individuals, and once you get past a point of critical mass, the appeal [of this mode of transportation] grows,” he commented.

However, the sector’s growth trajectory is by no means uniform. Cowburn pointed to countries such as Japan where factors such as a more egalitarian culture and high-speed trains have somewhat suppressed demand for private aviation. In China, he pointed to “a double-whammy of underwhelming economic performance and strong [government] oversight [of private wealth]” as speed bumps to the industry’s growth there.

Another factor is that the Asia-Pacific region generally lacks the highly-developed network of smaller, local airports offering more convenient access for business aviation trips. At the major airports, where most private flights originate, there remains a lack of dedicated infrastructure and specialist support for operators and their customers—all of which feed into the growth opportunities the new BAAFEx show is looking to exploit.

The new event features a three-day conference program covering multiple aspects of business aviation, including the charter market, the passenger experience, women in aviation, MROs, airports and FBOs, sustainability, and safety. Planned presentations also include a new Asia Business Aviation Market Outlook and panel sessions on China and Southeast Asia.