ASIA BRIEFING:IS THERE a more powerful symbol of wealth than the private jet? China's new breed of super-rich are taking to the skies in a big way in their Falcons and Gulfstreams, and the market is set to grow factorially in the next few years, once the legislation and regulation catches up with the rising demands.

The government first allowed people to own and fly private aircraft in 2003; now there are between 130 and 150 mainland-registered private business jets in China, and the market is set to increase tenfold in coming years.

As in other countries, it has become the ultimate status symbol, a badge of honour, with entrepreneurs such as Zhang Yue, chairman of the Broad Air Conditioning group, and celebrities such as Jackie Chan, buying their own planes. In China, Chan is the face of Brazilian aircraft maker Embraer.

The Chinese Luxury Consumer White Paper 2012, released by the Hurun Report group last month, revealed that China is home to 63,500 people whose assets exceed 100 million yuan (€12 million).

Thirteen per cent of these tycoons said they wanted to buy business jets, and the report also estimated China will be the world’s largest business jet importer by 2018.

Swords-based Mach Aviation is hoping to take advantage of some of the opportunities the Chinese market offers. The company has sold all over the world, but started looking more closely at Asia, in particular China, after the market in Ireland began to slow following the financial crisis.

“There is a great market here in Asia, although lots of customers want new or nearly new aircraft,” said Joe McCarthy, a commercial pilot and aircraft engineer who founded Mach Aviation in 2003.

The company sells Gulfstreams, Dassault Falcons and helicopters, and also provides consultancy, management services and charters. It has been a sales representative for Hawker Beechcraft Corp since 2007, and recently added the Channel Islands and the Isle of Man.

Mach Aviation initially started looking at China when it was selling off stock that the banks had after the downturn, much of it repossessed aircraft.

“We’ve been talking to people here about a whole range of aircraft, from big Boeings and Airbus to twin-propeller aircraft,” he said.

Last month, Hawker Beechcraft said it was continuing to see strong long-term prospects for business aviation in China and has identified it as a key growth market.

Fifteen years ago, there was just one Hawker 700 in China; last year 70 new business aircraft with a total value of €1.84 billion were delivered, Jeff Lowe, general manager of a newly-launched business aviation consulting group Asian Sky Group, said last month.

In 10 years’ time, China’s business jet market will be worth about €8.9 billion annually, eclipsing that of the US, where there are more than 200,000 business jets, he said.

The market faces a lot of restrictions, and all low-altitude airspace is under the control of the airforce. It’s very rare you will see a helicopter or any aircraft flying over the city, for example.

Any flight by non-commercial aircraft must go through a lengthy procedure before taking off, which rules out hopping into your Bombardier Learjet 60 to fly off to that all-important business meeting on a whim.

This has kept the market in check, and there have been calls to free up restrictions on airspace. Last year, the airforce started a reform that aims to open airspace under 1,000m in five to 10 years, which has boosted confidence in the sector, according to local media.

McCarthy has enjoyed the experience of doing business in China, although he did have to adjust to the Chinese way of doing things. This involves a lot of face-to-face contact and personal levels of attention – the CEO will often show up to meet you at the airport personally, but meetings can run until 2am.

McCarthy said he had identified some clients with whom he hoped to move to the next level soon.

“In the medium and long-term future, it could be very exciting. There is no need to hurry – this is a big market and you need to build relations. There are going to be a lot of trips here for me over the next six to eight months to build relationships out here,” he said.

You can already see the next stage developing for China. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway entered the Chinese business aviation market through a joint venture with NetJets to manage and charter aircraft.

Last month, Cessna Aircraft and a Chinese state-owned company, Aviation Industry, signed a deal in the Great Hall of the People to make small planes and business jets in China.

Both companies plan to partner the city of Chengdu in Sichuan province to set up a factory there, initially making existing models, but the next phase will be to work on developing a new business jet for the Chinese market.