Business aviation soaring through turbulence

[Photo/CFP]

Chinese companies' purchases of business jets have continued to decline to 35 last year since they peaked at 55 in 2011, The Financial Times quoted aviation-data provider Jetnet figures as showing.

Charters have halved since the 18th Party congress, after which the industry lost all business from government officials and State-owned enterprises, the report quoted NetJets China Business Aviation vice-chair Eric Wong as saying.

Yet Wong believed insufficient infrastructure is the greatest challenge, the report said.

This sentiment is echoed by China Business Aviation Group CEO Liao Xuefeng, who is celebrated as the country's "godfather of the private jet".

"The anti-corruption campaign only cuts into a small amount of potential purchases," said Liao, who has worked in the industry for decades.

"Infrastructure is the biggest obstacle."

China has fewer than 300 airports while the United States has about 3,000, he pointed out.

"People who take seriously the idea that the anti-corruption campaign exerts a significant negative influence on the industry show they don't understand the business aviation and private jet sectors," he said.