ExecuJet Haite has built a business aviation maintenance organization with deep roots in China, starting with a facility in Tianjin 16 years ago. More recently it opened a 5,000-sq-m (54,000-sq-ft) hangar at the new Daxing Airport in Beijing.

Sixty percent of the company’s work is for aircraft registered in China, according to Paul Desgrosseilliers, its general manager for China. The remainder comes from business jets registered under FAA, EASA, Cayman Islands, and Bermuda, among other jurisdictions. As a joint venture between Dassault Aviation's wholly owned ExecuJet MRO Services and China's Haite group, ExecuJet Haite holds authorizations to work on Gulfstream, Embraer, and Dassault Falcon business jets.

After 10 years in Tianjin, the facility was filling up, prompting the company to consider other locations before settling on Daxing International Airport in the Beijing area. While construction was delayed by the Covid pandemic, ExecuJet Haite’s new facility opened in the third quarter last year and recently obtained approval from the Civil Aviation Administration of China. “Just now we have our first customer in the hangar, and the second is coming next week,” Desgrosseilliers told AIN. 

Even before opening the Daxing facility, ExecuJet Haite’s business was on the upswing, with 20% percent year-over-year growth in 2024 versus 2023. “We’re expecting higher numbers in 2025 now that Daxing is fully online,” he said. While acknowledging that the China business aviation fleet has shrunk in recent years, he said those remaining are getting older and need more maintenance, including heavy inspections that are costly events due to the high amount of labor required. “Our facilities are on par with those anywhere in the world,” he stated, and some operators are bringing their airplanes in for maintenance from outside of China.

Stable Maintenance Costs in China

The company has found that its cost structure in China is stable. “Our labor costs are up just a bit but not at the higher levels of inflation [that other countries are experiencing.]," Desgrosseilliers,said. Of course, ExecuJet Haite, like other maintenance, repair and overhaul companies, isn’t immune to other expenses of the business that have grown such as hangar liability insurance, airport fees, and parts. 

“Our workforce is highly skilled and well educated, and all of our engineers have bachelor’s degrees," Desgrosseilliers, explained. "The typical maintenance career path in China is getting a degree, and it does turn out a good talent pool.”

ExecuJet Haite also has low to no turnover of personnel, which ensures retention of critical knowledge. “If we can retain staff and build that knowledge base, we’re head and shoulders above a lot of facilities,” Desgrosseilliers said. “Across the industry, everybody is facing human resource issues, but I don’t have those. I’d put my entire workforce up against anybody in the world.”

The BAAFEx show in Singapore this week is a key venue for ExecuJet Haite to hold meetings with regional partners. “It’s an opportunity to meet face to face,” Desgrosseilliers said, “and a good time to do that. We are also here to meet existing customers, the majority of large Chinese operators are here. But we also want to introduce ExecuJet Haite to new customers. There are some new operators in the region, and we’re looking to expand the business.”