Private jets in Asia to increase 3 times in next decade: Embraer

Embraer is the world’s third largest commercial aircraft manufacturer behind America's Boeing and Europe’s Airbus, but is mostly known for its the short-hop, narrow-body jets that are coveted by the affluent. According to Embraer, in the coming decade, the centre of gravity in aviation will move eastward, most notable to Asia, and to some extent southward, to Latin America, because of strong pace of economic growth and surge of the urban middle class. By 2031, Asia Pacific and China will be the largest market for aviation, accounting for 34% of revenue passenger kilometres (RPK) — the volume of passengers carried by an airline.

Jose Eduardo Costas, vice-president (sales and marketing) for Asia Pacific, said the Asia Pacific region is expected to account for between $32 billion to $48 billion worth of business jets in the next decade, which corresponds to between 1,035 to 1,580 aircraft overall. “Asia currently has 900 private jets, which is just 3% of the total private jet population. We estimate the Asian share will increase to 17% in 10 years,” he said. “India has 165 private jets and Embraer accounts for 18 of these. However, all the new entry level jets in the last five years were

... contd.