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Jet Asia of Macau is expanding its charter fleet this year with the addition of seven new aircraft to reflect the buoyant trend the private jet
sector is experiencing in Asia. Two new Hawker Beechcraft Hawker 900XPs and four Hawker 750s are
expected to be delivered before September this year. A Bombardier Challenger 605 comes on line in August 2009 replacing one of two earlier 601s and a
Global Express 5000 will follow a year later, replacing the company’s original 601.
In addition,
Jet Asia will be one of the first operators in Asia to fly the Project Phoenix VIP-configured Bombardier
CRJ-200 on behalf of Ritz Pacific Ltd.
Jet Asia played a key role in helping Ritz Pacific determine a suitable business jet for its client’s needs and the Phoenix CRJ, with similar
interior dimensions to the Global Express, scored highly on big cabin comfort, passenger appeal and economics. The aircraft will enter
service with a brand new interior, new avionics and long range fuel tanks to give a maximum range of 3,000 nm.
Longer term, Jet Asia has plans to introduce its first executive airliner - either a Boeing 737 or MD-80 series, which would be specifically
converted into 24-seat VIP layout. Long range fuel tanks would enable it to offer long haul charters from Asia to the Middle East and Europe.
Tourism (primarily casino activity) attracts millions of visitors from China and Hong Kong to Macau each year. By 2006 revenues from the
casino boom had exceeded those of Las Vegas, the US gambling Mecca.
“Undoubtedly, this has become a key driver for Jet Asia’s
growth,” said the company’s CEO Chuck Woods. “Business aviation in Asia over the past six years has been quite slow – now it is offscale high and most noteworthy is the fact that 80% of
the new orders being placed for business jets are for private use, so this is beneficial to companies like ours. Private individuals depend on
experienced and professional organizations who can manage their fleets.”
In January, Jet Asia became the 101st business aircraft operator and
one of the first in Asia to be certified by IS-BAO – the International Standard
for Business Aircraft Operations. IS-BAO, established by the US NBAA, is a code of best practices designed to help flight departments
worldwide achieve a high level of safety and professionalism. It was formally introduced and made available to the business aviation
community at the European Business Aviation Conference and Exhibit (EBACE) in Geneva, May 2002. IS-BAO status is verified on a biennial
basis.
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