Story ID: 346
Business Aviation Asia Launches Alliance with Luxaviation
By: Charles Alcock
Caption: Hong Kong-based BAA and Europe's Luxaviation group will manage aircraft for owners across Greater China.
Word Count: 312
Hong Kong-based operator Business Aviation Asia Ltd. (BAA) this week launched a strategic partnership with Europe-based Luxaviation Group. The two companies will combine their resources to manage aircraft for business jet owners across Greater China and in other parts of the Asia Pacific region.

The deal announced this week at the ABACE show comes almost exactly 12 months after BAA took a 25 percent stake in NetJets China—a joint venture with U.S.-based fractional ownership and charter group NetJets. It is not clear whether BAA’s involvement with NetJets will change following the new alliance with Luxaviation, which operates a fleet of more than 260 aircraft around the world.

BAA, which has been operating aircraft in Asia for more than a decade, and Luxaviation signed an initial strategic cooperation deal in 2015. Luxaviation subsidiary ExecuJet operates 25 FBOs and 15 maintenance centers worldwide.

According to the partners, the joint venture will allow customers in Asia to take advantage of Luxaviation’s global network of business aviation support facilities and its charter fleet. “We are proud to have the opportunity to deliver our expertise to the fast-growing Asian and specifically the Chinese business jet market and support BAA to further improve its client services in the region.”

BAA is owned by CMIG Aviation, which is part of the China Minsheng Investment Group, a leading provider of finance to the business aviation sector in Asia. “This new strategic partnership in aviation services will undoubtedly help play a highly important role in the further growth and development of China’s business aviation market,” said CMIG Aviation president and BAA chairman Zhu Yimin. “The agreement will bring the combined private and business aviation expertise of East and West in one unified service offering, with the kindred companies able to support and complement each other’s operations across Europe and Asia.”