Changes in business aviation operations in China, a booming Asian economy and commitments from OEMs make National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) President and CEO Ed Bolen optimistic about the success of the re-launched Asian Business Aviation Conference & Exhibition (ABACE).
ABACE will be held Feb. 28-March 1 in Shanghai. NBAA canceled ABACE 2009 in Hong Kong, citing the bad economy.
Clearly Asia is more than an emerging market, Bolen told Aviation Week this morning from Shanghai. “If you look at the global economy from the macroeconomic stage, it’s been a difficult time for the past two years in the U.S.,” he observes. “But Asian economies have been growing. We hear references to the BRIC countries – Brazil, Russia, India and China -- and China was an area where business aviation did not exist at all when we did ABACE in 2005.”
Back then, the future for business aviation seemed dim, said Bolen. “A lot of people were saying business aviation had no future because of air space restrictions and the economy was not as good,” he recalls. “But then the economy ignited and some accommodations were made for business aviation, including air space opening up and a new ability to fly below 4000 meters.”
The Chinese government has a better understanding of the benefits of business aviation that is already known in the U.S., says Bolen. “Business aviation brings good jobs, economic development and improved productivity,” he says.
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