A total of 1,154 business jets were in operation in Asia-Pacific at the end of 2023, up a slight 0.2% for the year—after a 3.7% decline in 2022, according to Asian Sky Group’s (ASG’s) newly released full-year Fleet Report. East Asia led the growth in the region, up 8.3%, with fleets expanding in countries such as South Korea and Japan.
Mainland China remained firmly in top position as the largest business jet market at the end of 2023 in the region despite three consecutive years of net declines. However, the rate of decrease in China, which is home to a fleet of 272 aircraft, eased in 2023 to 3.2%, compared to a drop of 14.3% in 2022.
Fleets in Australia and India both experienced growth for the second consecutive year, following behind China as the next largest fleets at 213 and 151, respectively. Meanwhile, Singapore saw the most net fleet additions of eight for a total of 74, and Japan has seen 40% growth in its fleet since 2020, the country numbering 81 aircraft in 2023. Japan moved into the fourth spot in terms of fleet size in the greater region after eclipsing Singapore in 2022.
On the downside, Hong Kong led the Asia-Pacific region in net deductions of its business jet fleet, down 10 aircraft at the end of 2023, to 54.
As far as fleet compositions, long-range jets saw a bounce in 2023 with borders reopening, with a net addition of eight aircraft, following a 5.7% drop in 2022. The Gulfstream G650/ER and G550 claim the largest fleet, accounting for 49.2% of all long-range jets. That category of jets is the largest in Asia-Pacific, numbering at 370.
Bombardier has the largest fleet overall in the region with 307, just one more than Textron Aviation at 306, up from Gulfstream’s 270. Those three names account for 76.5% of the market.
“The effect of the reopening of international borders was finally evident in 2023, as the number of aircraft leaving the region began to slow,” ASG said in its report. “This trend was most evident in Mainland China, which eased its strict restrictions on international travel at the end of 2022.”