Business Jet Fleet Report YE 2023 – Regional Overviews

This article is extracted from the most recent edition of The Business Jet Fleet Report.
To read or download the full report, please click here.

There were 1,154 business jets in operation in the region at the end of 2023. Mainland China had the highest market share, even after three consecutive years of net declines since 2020, and its decrease rate of 3.2% was lower than that of 14.3% in 2022. The Australia and India based fleets continued to increase for two consecutive years, ranking second and third among Asia-Pacific countries. Japan’s fleet grew by nearly 40.0% compared to 2020. Singapore’s fleet had the highest net growth, with a net addition of eight aircraft. Hong Kong SAR had the largest net deduction with five Long Range jets sold out of Asia-Pacific.

The subregion with the highest net growth was East Asia, with eight net additions and a growth rate of 8.3%. East Asia has had the largest growth rate over the past three years, although it remains the lowest subregion in terms of numbers. Japan and South Korea ranked in the top five for net additions in 2023. South Asia’s net growth continued with seven net additions and a growth rate of 4.3%. India had the third largest fleet in Asia-Pacific behind mainland China and Australia. Pakistan and Bangladesh had a total of 20 business jets in 2023. Overall, the South Asia fleet ranked fourth in Asia-Pacific.

The subregion with the highest net growth was East Asia, with eight net additions and a growth rate of 8.3%. East Asia has had the largest growth rate over the past three years, although it remains the lowest subregion in terms of numbers. Japan and South Korea ranked in the top five for net additions in 2023. South Asia’s net growth continued with seven net additions and a growth rate of 4.3%. India had the third largest fleet in Asia-Pacific behind mainland China and Australia. Pakistan and Bangladesh had a total of 20 business jets in 2023. Overall, the South Asia fleet ranked fourth in Asia-Pacific.

Southeast Asia saw the third highest growth in 2023 in terms of net additions. Singapore, Indonesia and Laos all had net additions in their fleets, but there were 12 deductions from Malaysia’s fleet. Seven jets left the Philippines’ fleet, resulting in a net deduction of six jets. Southeast Asia had a total net addition of five jets during 2023, with the number of based jets totaled 282 at the end of 2023, ranking second.

Oceania was one of the subregions with the largest net additions in 2022. There were seven new additions, 15 preowned additions and 21 deductions during 2023. The region had a total of 244 based business jets and kept its third place in the Asia-Pacific region. Greater China still ranked top in the Asia-Pacific region despite three consecutive years of declining fleet numbers. There were 19 net deductions in 2023, much lower than the 83 net deductions in the previous year. Mainland China and Hong Kong SAR had the highest deductions in the region. The Greater China region had a total of 353 aircraft and retained the No.1 subregion in Asia Pacific.

The effect of the reopening of international borders was finally evident in 2023, as the number of aircraft leaving the region began to slow. This trend was most evident in the mainland China, which eased its strict restrictions on international travel at the end of 2022. Although its total number of business jets still declined, the net deduction dropped from 47 in 2022 to nine during 2023. A significant drop in net deductions was also seen in Hong Kong SAR, which slowed from 26 in 2022 to ten in 2023.

MAJOR COUNTRY/REGION SNAPSHOTS

Mainland China
Mainland China had a total of 272 business jets at the end of 2023, accounting for 23.6% of the Asia-Pacific region. The country saw nine net deductions during the year due to four newly delivered Long
Range Jets, 11 pre-owned additions, and 24 deductions. Long Range (ten) was the category that saw the highest number of net deductions in the country, followed by Large (six) and Corporate Airliner (five). Despite the sharp decline in the Long Range Jet fleet, it remained the most popular size category in mainland China, with 123 aircraft accounting for 45.2% of the fleet. The G650ER (32) from Gulfstream was the most popular Long Range model, while the G550 and Global 6000 were also well represented, with 31 and 19 aircraft in service, respectively. Gulfstream and Bombardier were the dominant OEMs in the country, with 139 and 104 aircraft in operation (35.7% and 26.8% of market share, respectively). Six of the top ten Asia-Pacific operators had a base in mainland China. The average age of mainland China’s fleet was ten years, which was three years younger than the regional average, and the region also had the largest fleet of business jets less than ten years old.

Hong Kong
Hong Kong saw the most net deductions, with 54 business jets operating at the end of 2023, ten aircraft fewer than the previous year. Of the 15 pre-owned deductions from Hong Kong fleet, nine were Long Range Jets (one Falcon 8X, five Bombardier Globals, three Gulfstream G650/ ERs). Similar to mainland China, Long Range was the most popular size category in Hong Kong with 19 out of 46 Long Range Jets were G650ERs. Hong Kong had a fleet with average age of 7.6 years, which is five years younger than the Asia-Pacific average, given that 81.5% of the Hong Kong fleet were less than ten years old.

Australia
Australia, which had the second largest fleet in the Asia-Pacific region, operating 213 business jets at the end of 2023. Australia had a preference for Light and Very Light jets, with a market share of 40.9% and 21.1%, respectively (87 and 45 jets in operation). There were three net Very Light Jet additions and one net Light Jet addition in 2023. The Long Range, Large, Medium and Corporate Airliner categories had a combined market share of 38.0% with only one net deduction in 2023. Textron and Bombardier dominated the Australian business jet market with a combined market share of 76.1%, with the Citation Mustang, and LearJet 35A being their most popular models. The Bombardier Challenger 604 was the most preferred Large Jet with 16 jets in operation. Australia had the largest fleet older than 20 years, with the average age being 18.5 years – which was five years older than the regional average.

India
At the end of 2023, India had the largest fleet in the South Asia subregion and ranked third overall in Asia-Pacific region 151 business jets, accounting for 13.1% of the total Asia-Pacific fleet. In 2023, the country saw a net addition of seven aircraft with one new delivery, 12 pre-owned additions and six deductions. There were three net Long Range Jet additions as two Globals and two Gulfstreams joined the fleet. Medium Jets and Large Jets each accounted for one quarter of the Indian fleet. Textron was the most popular OEM in India with its Medium Jets (Citation Excel, Hawker 800XP/900XP). Bombardier, which had 25.2% market share, followed with its Long Range Global 6000. Embraer and Dassault, with their most popular Large Jets (Legacy 650, Legacy 600 and Falcon 2000) accounted for 28.5% of the national fleet. Two Indian operators were in the top 20 largest operators in Asia-Pacific: VRS Ventures and Club One Air. Overall, the Indian fleet had an average age of 13.8 years, slightly higher than the Asia-Pacific average age of 13.0 years, with the country having the largest fleet of aircraft aged between 16 and 20 years.

Japan
With three years of consecutive growth, Japan’s fleet increased from 58 in 2020 to 81 in 2023. Japan ranked fourth in Asia-Pacific after its fleet surpassed Singapore in 2022. Light Jets made up 45.7% of the national fleet, which included six Light Jets that were added to the fleet in 2023 (two HondaJets, three HondaJet ELITEs and one Citation CJ4). The total number of Long Range Jets remained unchanged and held the second-largest market share in Japan with 24.7%. After Phenix Jet sold an ACJ318 during 2023, there was only one Corporate Airliner left in the country. Textron and Honda were the most popular OEMs in Japan, as their Citation CJ4 and HondaJet/ELITE were the most popular models. Gulfstream’s G550 and Bombardier’s Global 7500 were the top models among the Long Range Jets. Forty four percent of Japanese jets were less than five years old. Overall, 66.7% of the national fleet was younger than ten years, with the average age of the fleet being 9.2 years – nearly four years younger than the regional average.

Singapore
As the country that saw the highest fleet growth in 2023, Singapore had a total of 74 business jets at the end of 2023, ranking fifth among Asia-Pacific countries. During 2023, there were three net additions of Long Range Jets and four net additions of Light Jets. Long Range Jets were the dominant size category in Singapore, making up 44.6% of the total fleet. Gulfstream and Bombardier were the top two OEMs, with a combined market share of 66.2%, with a total of nine G650/ERs, seven G550s, five Global 5000s at the end of 2023. Singapore had two operators in the top 20 biggest operators in Asia-Pacific, with the two operators sharing a combined 37.8% of the total Singapore fleet. Overall, Singapore’s fleet had an average age of 12.1 years, a touch younger than the Asia-Pacific average age of 13.0 years.

The Philippines
The Philippines had a total of 48 business jets at the end of 2023, a decrease of six aircraft when compared to the end of 2022. Only one Phenom 100EV was newly delivered, whilst seven aircraft left the fleet. Gulfstream, Textron and Bombardier were the leading OEMs in the country, accounting for 87.5% of the fleet. Among the most popular models were Gulfstream’s G650ER, G150, G450 and Textron’s CJ4, and Citation Excel. These OEMs’ Light Jets and Medium Jets accounted for 52.1% of the fleet, while Large Jets and Long Range Jets accounted for 18.8% and 14.6%, respectively. The business jet fleet in the Philippines had an average age of 15.2 years, which was two years older than the regional average.

Indonesia
Indonesia’s national fleet had a net addition of four aircraft as a result of two new deliveries, seven pre-owned additions and five deductions. It overtook the sixth position in Asia-Pacific counties from the Philippines. Textron, Embraer, Bombardier and Gulfstream had similar market shares in the country, ranging from 19.7% to 26.8%. The top models in Indonesia were the Embraer Legacy 600 (Large) and the Bombardier Global 5000 (Long Range), with the Large Jet and Long Range Jet categories accounting for 30.4% and 23.2% of the total fleet, respectively. During 2023, one 2023-build Citation M2 Gen2 was added to the Indonesian fleet, making it the only Very Light business jet in the country. The average age of business jet fleet in Indonesia was 13.0 years, which was identical to the regional average age.

Malaysia
A total of 45 business jets were operating in Malaysia at the end of 2023, representing 3.9% of the Asia-Pacific fleet. This was four fewer than the previous year, which equates to an 8.2% decrease. The Malaysian fleet saw four Corporate Airliners leaving the country, as well as two Large Jets, three Light Jets and three Long Range whilst two new deliveries and six pre-owned additions joined the fleet. Long Range Jets were the most popular size category in the country, accounting for 40.0% of the fleet, with Bombardier’s Global 5000 and Gulfstream’s G650ER among the most popular models in the category with five each. After three ACJs and one Boeing BBJ left the fleet, Malaysia had four Corporate Airliners in its fleet, two from Airbus and two from Boeing. Malaysia-based business jets had an average age of 14.9 years. Given that nearly one quarter of the fleet was over 20 years old, this was almost two years older than the regional average.

Thailand
Thailand ended 2023 with 41 business jets, which continued its run of three consecutive years of net growth. There were three preowned additions: one HondaJet Elite, one G550 and one G650ER, whilst one HondaJet left the fleet, resulting in two net additions during the year. Gulfstream was the leading OEM in Thailand with a market share of 31.7%, Textron was second with nine aircraft (22.0%) in operation. Long Range Jets were the most popular size category in Thailand, accounting for 36.6% of the fleet, which was followed by Corporate Airliners, Light and Medium jets, each with seven aircraft in operation, accounting for 17.1% of the market share, respectively. The average age of business jets in Thailand was 12.8 years, sightly younger than the Asia-Pacific average.

New Zealand
New Zealand had 27 business jets in its fleet at the end of 2023, as a result of three pre-owned additions and three deductions from its fleet. The Citation Mustang remained the most popular model in New Zealand with four in operation. Textron was the top OEM with 37.0% of the fleet, Bombardier was the second largest OEM with three Challengers, three Globals and one Learjet. Similar to Australia, the Light Jet was the most popular size category in New Zealand, with four out of seven Light Jets manufactured by Textron models. There were also five Textron Very Light Jets based in New Zealand. About one third of the New Zealand fleet were aged between 11 and 15 years old, whilst the overall fleet had an average age of 15.4 years, more than two years older than the region’s average.

South Korea
South Korea saw one BBJ MAX 8, one Gulfstream G650ER and one Praetor 600 newly delivered during 2023, for a net addition of three aircraft. Textron was the top OEM in South Korea with its most popular model being the Citation CJ1/M2 (Very Light). Boeing and Gulfstream were the second largest OEMs, with the BBJ1 and G650ER being the most popular models among Corporate Airliners and Long Range Jets. The top three OEMs occupied 73.9% of the South Korean business jet market. South Korea had a fleet with an average age of 11.0 years, two years younger than the regional average.

Vietnam
Vietnam’s fleet, consisting of one Large Jet and seven Long Range Jets, saw two net deductions during 2023. Dassault was the leading OEM in the country with four Falcon 8Xs in operation, Gulfstream with three G650ER coming in second. Embraer’s market share in the country declined to just 12.5%, and it now only has one Legacy 600 in operation in the country. The average age of the fleet in Vietnam was 3.5 years, the youngest among all Asia-Pacific countries, as seven out of eight aircraft were less than five years old.

This article is extracted from the most recent edition of The Business Jet Fleet Report.
To read or download the full report, please click here.