Rich Filipinos want newer, bigger private jets

INQUIRER.net stock images

Rich Filipinos with private jets are expected to buy new or bigger ones amid the sustained momentum for travel, which is usually for business engagements in Singapore and North America, according to French aerospace company Dassault Aviation.

Carlos Brana, executive vice president for civil aircraft at Dassault Aviation, said that the demand for private jets has been on the rise as the economy recovers from the COVID-19 pandemic that once wreaked havoc on the aviation sector.

“We see an opportunity to sell more new aircraft into the Philippines because there are some older aircraft in need of replacement. Also, there are some owners of small to midsize business jets that want to trade up to a larger aircraft,” he told the Inquirer.

Its Dassault Falcon 6x unit is estimated to cost $52.75 million. The aircraft can carry 12 to 16 passengers.

Of the 300 private aircraft in Southeast Asia, Brana noted that about 50 to 60 units are based in the Philippines.

Multinationals

“In terms of customer profiles, it is driven mainly by multinational Filipino companies. In other words, Filipino business people also have businesses overseas that they need to visit,” Brana said.

“The Philippine economy is growing by 5 percent per annum and the growth of the business jet fleet is usually in line with GDP (gross domestic products) growth,” he added.

Brana noted that Asia -Pacific is the third largest market in the world for private jets after North America and Europe. In the region, he explained that the growth in business aviation is mainly driven by Southeast Asia.

In relation to this, aviation company VistaJet previously told the Inquirer that more Filipinos have been renting out private jets in the past year.

The company noted that the total flight hours and number of operated flights grew by 2 percent and 3 percent, respectively, in 2023.

The top destinations for these private flights, which cost $15,000 an hour, are Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpur, Tokyo and Seoul.

For example, a flight between Manila and Singapore is about four hours. This means the chartered flight may cost $60,000, or P3.4 million, for a one-way trip. INQ