WE are somewhere over the South China Sea, in a pressurised cabin at 36,000 feet, cruising serenely at 750 km/h and watching the sun set over a distant horizon. There's champagne on ice, smoked salmon canapes on the way and Shania Twain playing over the stereo system. I sink deeper into my plush leather seat, fiddle with the recline button, and contemplate the finer things in life. It may be a cliche, but this is the only way to travel.
The source of such feel-good comfort is the Legacy 600 executive jet, manufactured by Brazilian company Embraer, a major player in the small to mid-size commercial aircraft business. Since 2005, however, it has parlayed its expertise and experience into making business jets, and has since built up a backlog of orders in that category worth US$4.5 billion.
Flying commercial has its benefits - low cost and high frequency being the most obvious - but there is major growth potential for private aviation in this part of the world, and companies like Embraer, as well as newly-developed private aviation businesses, are poised to take advantage of this niche category.
With a price tag of US$26.4 million, the Legacy 600, which can be configured for up to 16 passengers, is not exactly a cut-price travel option. But compared with, say, a Gulfstream G550 (a long-range jet that is about double the price but also offers double the 6,000 km range of the Legacy), it could be construed as good value for certain types of corporate travellers.
Time machine
'The culture for this type of aircraft is catching up in this part of the world,' says Manfred Baudzus, regional sales director for Embraer's executive jets. 'For example, back in the early 1990s there was a rush towards private aircraft in Malaysia, but they all disappeared after the Asian financial crisis in 1998.'
'The difference in Asia is that we tend to have family conglomerates and the spending isn't done in the same way as in the West. But now, the children who take over the running of the companies are seeing the benefits. Previously, business jets were thought of as luxuries. But in the West, it is acknowledged as a business tool that can get you to places quickly to close deals,' he notes.
'This is a time machine - it gives you time, flexibility and anonymity. Most people don't want you to know they have one. In one way, it's opulence but in another it's efficiency - more people are realising that it's the only way to get around. The security measures of commercial airlines are driving people towards this.'
Indeed, when I arrived at Hong Kong International Airport last week on a commercial flight from Singapore, I was stuck for half-an-hour behind a line of at least 50 people at immigration. Later that day, boarding the Legacy at the Hong Kong Business Aviation Centre was a breeze, and although there was a minor snag on arrival three-and-a-half hours later at Seletar Airport when our aircraft handlers failed to show up promptly, there's no doubt that flying by business jet takes away much of the stress and inconvenience associated with commercial travel.
'While there has always been a lot of money in the market, this other stuff - long waits at immigration, the multiple security checks - has driven people towards taking corporate jets,' points out Capt Baudzus. 'There's certainly plenty of people in Singapore who can afford them, but there's still a bit of reluctance there.'
Many ultra high net worth individuals in this region may still perceive travel by such jets as an unnecessary extravagance, but private aviation has long been a way of life in other parts of the world. Brazilian race-car driver Rubens Barrichello has one in his garage, so to speak. 'When Formula One comes to town later this year, there'll be lots of corporate jets here,' predicts Capt Baudzus.
Private jets are still the province of large corporations and wealthy individuals, but even if you don't own one, it's a relatively simple matter to charter a business jet for a specific trip. The Legacy, for example, is an aircraft in the super mid-size category and is available at a rate of about US$7,500 an hour (of flying time). The cost of running one, according to Capt Baudzus, is somewhere in the region of US$1 million to US$2 million a year.
With about 1,100 aircraft, 2007 was a record year for business jet deliveries, according to Capt Baudzus. Based on current order patterns in Asia, he expects roughly 1,600 aircraft worth US$26 billion to be delivered over the next 10 years. 'The latent demand is huge,' he says, adding that the high net worth population will continue to grow in places like Singapore, India, Indonesia and China. 'The Asian aviation market is developing, and business jet deliveries are booming.'
Leading aircraft companies like Hawker Beechcraft and Cessna and Bell Helicopter are also seeing more orders from customers in this part of the world. At the ongoing Singapore Airshow, for example, newly-formed operator BJETS, in partnership with India's Tata Group, announced the launch of Asia's first fractional private jet company, with plans to tap the Asian region's growing potential for private jet travel.
BJETS, which will be based in Mumbai and Singapore, has placed a US$600 million order for a fleet of 50 jets over the next five years, comprising Cessna Citation CJ2+ and Hawker 850XP and 900XP jets. The company is scheduled to begin operations in May this year.
'Asia really is following the pack from an aircraft and fleet perspective,' says Mark Baier, chief executive of BJETS. 'This will take the hassle out of business travel for time-starved businesses. Flying private means more days in your calendar, more opportunities for business expansion and more family time.'
He adds: 'We're serving the two most dynamic regions in the world - we're giving you time back.'
Locally, the launch of The Flying Club - a lifestyle scheme that would give access to a new fleet of propeller-powered planes and allow members to fly them as well to popular destinations in Malaysia - is another indication of the growing private aviation market. For a $25,000 entry fee and a monthly subscription, members will be able to fly directly from Senai in Johor - and eventually Seletar Airport - to places like Pulau Redang, Ipoh and Malacca.
According to the club's director of sales, Harvey Campbell, members will have access to a team of pilots and two clubhouses. Depending on the type of aircraft used, rates will be about $300 per hour in the air.
According to C M Hwang, business development manager at Bell Helicopter, there has been a definite increase in individuals and corporations turning to private aviation. 'It is increasing in the region, and when the IRs (integrated resorts) are up, people will fly in their private jets to Seletar, the passengers will get off, hop into a helicopter and go straight to the IR.'
Within the next few years it will be possible to save even more time by dispensing with the need to switch aircraft. The impending arrival of the BA 609 Tiltrotor - which combines the features of a fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter - will allow passengers to fly from city centre to city centre at a much faster speed than a regular helicopter. The aircraft takes off and lands like a helicopter but once airborne, the plane's two rotors tilt forward from a vertical position so that they act like those in a conventional fixed-wing aircraft.
Environmentally friendly
The Tiltrotor is being marketed as a unique means of point-to-point travel at the Singapore Airshow. 'It has the capability of a fixed-wing aircraft and a helicopter,' says Don Barbour, executive marketing director of US manufacturer Bell/Agusta Aerospace Company. 'It can take you from your country house to the airport or office, and in no time, you're there. It adds privacy, convenience and security. For many wealthy people in the world, it would be a great benefit.' He adds: 'You can go to the islands; it is extremely quiet and environmentally friendly as well.'
The Tiltrotor has yet to make it to the market, however, and while it may take you from the airport to your backyard in a hurry, it won't help if you need to make it from, say, Singapore to Tokyo for a last-minute meeting. That's where products like the Legacy 600 come in.
'The typical buyer is a corporation, but while most buyers tend to look at them as business transport, individuals do customise them as it tells a lot about who you are,' says Embraer's Capt Baudzus. 'One client had a gold thrust lever in the cockpit, big gold clamshells decorating the cabin and seatbelt buckles made of gold.'
An individual owner of a private jet is hardly typical, of course. At a previous airshow, a potential client came up to the Embraer stand, sat through a presentation by Capt Baudzus on the company's high-performance Phenom 300 light jet, then wrote out a cheque on the spot - for two of the jets (at the time, they cost a cool US$6.5 million each). In private aviation, price is not usually an obstacle. 'Freedom is the big word,' says Capt Baudzus. 'You go wherever you want to.'
