A Threshold Policy Development for Business Aviation, And Growth, In Asia

Aug. 30, 2013

Asia Pacific nations are among the fastest-growing in the world, with ever-accelerating rates of inbound and outbound investment. The upswing in business activity in the region has increased the demand for prompt, reliable access to business destinations throughout China and across the Asian region.

That’s where business aviation comes in: the use of a business airplane allows employees to be more efficient, productive and flexible in their travel. It enables company personnel to reach several markets in a single day. It helps businesspeople access hard-to-reach locations, so they can meet with clients, consultants, business partners and prospective customers. In short, it helps companies of all sizes be more efficient, productive and successful.

Government leaders increasingly recognize the connection between business aviation and economic growth, job creation and connectivity to the international marketplace. For example, China’s 12th Five-Year Plan for 2011-2015 calls for many new airports, and improvements to the allocation and use of airspace resources – all to help foster activity estimated by Chinese authorities to generate 1 trillion yuan (about USD $152.3 billion) in the coming years.

APEC Support for Business Aviation

Government support for the industry will once again been demonstrated by a series of principles, to be unveiled by Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) policymakers on Sept. 6, 2013, which will catalyze the growth of business aviation, and the benefits it brings. The new APEC guidelines come as welcome news to anyone who relies on an airplane for business, because they provide a regional framework to support business aviation development. For example, under the APEC’s new framework:

1. Government leaders in APEC member nations will be equipped to provide oversight of aircraft-registration processes, and standardized handling of business aircraft operations. As a result, government officials will benefit from increased standardization and efficiency, coupled with the reduced costs that come from having a common set of expectations for aircraft registration and operations.
2. Entrepreneurs and companies using aircraft for business will benefit from their ability to conduct flights amidst a more consistent, harmonized set of regulatory requirements. Faced with fewer and more consistent regulatory mandates, operators can expect less confusion, shorter approval processes and reduced costs for the registration of aircraft and the conduct of flights.
3. The new framework will foster the growth of an overall regulatory regime that promotes aviation mobility, flexibility and efficiency – thereby helping promote business investment, job creation, tax-revenue production and other benefits created by a robust business aviation sector.

The National Business Aviation Association (NBAA) and other stakeholder organizations worked with the APEC Transportation Working Group to develop the new principles for business aviation. NBAA and the other organizations applaud the introduction of the new principles, and will work with APEC officials to ensure the guidelines produce the regulatory regime for business aviation to operate in a safe, secure and standardized manner – which in turn will benefit citizens, companies and communities across the Asian region.