Business aviation in Asia Pacific flying high amid rising demand

The Asia-Pacific region is now the world’s third-largest business aviation market and is expected to grow further on rising demand for business travel, according to exhibitors at the Business Aviation Asia Forum & Expo (BAFFEx) 2025.

Experia Events managing director Leck Chet Lam noted that Asia-Pacific has witnessed positive sentiment in its business aviation growth, as demand for business aircraft in the next 12 months has risen to 58% in 2024 compared to 51.9% in 2019 before the Covid-19 pandemic. 

The region’s fleet size is expected to reach 1,600 business jets this year, and would expand further to more than 1,900 in 2034. 

The compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) for business jets in Asia-Pacific is expected to rise by 2.1% annually compared to global growth of 1.4%. “The Asia-Pacific fleet is growing and growing at a faster pace than the global average,” he said.

The region’s flight utilisation has surpassed pre-Covid-19 levels, as aircraft utilisation for fractional ownership in 2024 rose by 60%, followed by charter operations (39%) and corporate operators (32%). Flying hours, meanwhile, rose by 40.9% compared to pre-pandemic level.

CAGR for maintenance, repair, and overhaul service in the Asia-Pacific is expected to grow by 4.1% annually compared to the global average of 3.2%.

“We expect to see healthy growth in the Asia-Pacific business aviation industry over the next 10 years,” he added.

Leithen Francis, managing director of Francis & Low, said the growth of Asia-Pacific business aviation was driven by rising demand among business leaders who need efficient, flexible and private travel. 

“And the only way they can do that often is using a business jet, because a business jet is the most efficient way to travel,” he said, adding they also enabled business leaders to access confidential meetings and flights on demand which are not available for commercial aircraft. 



He added that business aviation also plays an important role in enabling people to access remote areas that commercial aircraft cannot access, such as Flores in Indonesia that faces challenges due to short runway, mountains and strong coastal winds, and the long distance from Jakarta of 1,852km.



BAFFEx 2025 was held at Changi Exhibition Centre in Singapore from March 4-6 where  50 leading companies participated, including jet manufacturers, fleet operators and fleet management companies.

The event aimed at an expansive profile that covers a wide spectrum of the business aviation industry.

(2025/03/08-00:00)