GLOBAL MARKETS - ASIA-PACIFIC OVERVIEW CHINA China’s Minsheng Financial Leasing Co (MFLC) recently announced another $1.2 billion-worth of orders, this time for Dassault Falcon and Embraer Legacy aircraft. The Dassault Falcon MoU is for 20 Falcon 7X and 20 Falcon 2000S models, and insiders believe
TOP, FLYING COLOURS-COMPLETED CL850 FOR LILY JET BELOW, SERGE DASSAULT WELCOMES MINSHENG ORDER
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all are due to be delivered within five years. This MFLC order comes on top of an existing order for five Falcon 7Xs. Minsheng added an order for 13 Embraer Legacy 650s within hours on the same day at the NBAA Convention late last year. Since then, Embraer’s Legacy 650 has been type certificated by the CAAC with a revised Validation Type Certificate Data Sheet paving the way for customers to register and operate the Legacy 650 in China. (Movie star Jackie Chan, who is Embraer’s newly appointed brand ambassador, will shortly join Embraer’s Legacy 650 family of users.) MFLC is even breaking its own prediction of ordering 100 business jets within five years of its involvement in the industry. Before these latest announcements Minsheng had 87 aircraft on firm order with around 30 delivered already. Ernest Edwards, President of Embraer Executive Jets, estimates that Chinese business jet customers will order 680 new aircraft worth around $20 billion over the next ten years. MFLC chairman Mr. Kong Linshan is even more optimistic and expects deliveries over the same period to be around 1,000. To temper this, operators within China perceive a severe shortage of qualified pilots and infrastructure enhancements will have to be addressed to meet any major influx of business and corporate aircraft. Canada-based Flying Colours Corp delivered its fourth Chinese registered aircraft - a Bombardier Challenger 850 business jet - to Shenyang-based air charter company Lily Jet recently. The 17 seat VIP configured aircraft is available for third party charter. The completion included a state-of-thewww.AvBuyer.com
art cabin management system, broadband enabling WiFi, a high definition camera system, a mid-cabin custom desk and colored LED lighting in the restrooms, and Flying Colours worked directly with Lily Jet to have the aircraft fully certified with the CAAC (Civil Aviation Administration of China). A further three Challenger 850s destined for China are currently undergoing completion at Flying Colours’ Canadian and US facilities and will be delivered this year. This latest delivery followed two similarly equipped Challenger 850s delivered by Flying Colours to BAA Jet Management Ltd’s Shenzhen base last year. Flying Colours is to expand operations outside North America for the first time, and has partnered with Metrojet of Hong Kong to provide interior refurbishment for a range of mid-size to large business jets. Ratification of this MoU is expected in midyear with the structure and logistics for the new base expected to be announced in late 2012. Elsewhere, Stephen Taylor, Boeing Business Jet’s President has outlined how China has fast become a very important region. Beijing Airlines’ first BBJ is in completion, scheduled to enter service early this year. And Beijing-based Deer Jet is awaiting delivery of its second BBJ while a third is in completion. Korean Airlines and Metrojet of Hong Kong are already operating the aircraft type there, Boeing says. Boeing Business Jets has also delivered a BBJ to charter operator Nanshan Jet of China. The interior completion of the 28seat configured aircraft will be done by Lufthansa Technik's U.S. arm, BizJet International. This will be the first BBJ to join Nanshan Jet's seven-ship fleet which includes Challenger 605, Global Express XRS, Gulfstream G450 and Gulfstream G550 aircraft. Finally, GippsAero of Australia has signed with Jinggong Aviation (based in Xi’an) as its sales, distributor and support representative in China. GippsAero is working with the CAAC to gain Chinese certification for its rugged GA8 Airvan and its turbocharged derivative the GA8-TC-320.
AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND The news from ‘down-under’ this quarter follows the expansion of ExecuJet’s FBO chain in Australia and New Zealand. This fast growing company added to its growing worldwide FBO/MRO and aircraft sales operations by adding FBOs to its existing MRO operations at Melbourne Essendon and Wellington International. The company was invited by Wellington International Airport to manage the new Aircraft Index see Page 4