Ionic Insights: The Business Jet Fleet in China

Welcome to the latest edition of Ionic Insights!

This edition focusses on the size and scope of the business jet fleet in Asia’s largest market: China. We analyse the size, composition and age of the installed fleet, whilst simultaneously investigating the most popular OEMs, aircraft types and registries.

Fleet

China boasts a sizeable installed fleet of 204* business jet aircraft, and despite undergoing a recent period of contraction remains Asia-Pacific’s largest market.

The base locations of the fleet reflects the international nature of China’s business and ultra-high-net-worth (UHNW) communities. One-third of the fleet is based in the capital city of Beijing, whilst the vast majority of all aircraft are geographically biased towards the other more populous cities and regions along the eastern and southern seaboards; thereby enabling larger, range capable aircraft access to the wider APAC region and Pacific coast of the United States.

Gulfstream is the largest manufacturer (singlehandedly representing 40% of the overall fleet) with the G650/G650ER and G550 being the most popular models.

The fleet remains relatively young with a mean age of only 14 years.

The overwhelming majority of the fleet is registered domestically (B-), whilst a handful are registered in the United States (N), Aruba (P4-) and the Cayman Islands (VP-C) amongst others.

Market Outlook

Despite recent challenges, the long-term outlook for business aviation in China is positive.

The appetite for large-cabin aircraft, combined with the relatively youthful average fleet age, and the presence of a well-developed network of independent, third-party management companies enhances levels of comfort for lenders and lessors.

The Civil Aviation Administration of China (“CAAC”) projects that by 2043 China will become the world's largest aviation services market, with its current market value trebling to >$60 billion. This growth is expected to be fuelled by fleet expansion, greater airport capacity and the resultant increased demand for aviation services.

A summary of our analysis can be found in the slide below:

Source: AMSTAT, May 2024.

Ionic Finances New Gulfstream G280

Ionic Aviation is delighted to announce that it has successfully arranged the permanent financing of a new-delivery Gulfstream G280 aircraft for a client in Asia.  

The project is testament to our track record of originating, structuring and successfully financing aircraft in diverse, developing markets and of our unrivalled global network across the international business and commercial aviation sectors. 

Ionic would like to thank our client for their trust and our partners for their unwavering support.

Ionic MD Elected to Aviation Club Board

Ionic Aviation is proud to announce that our Managing Director, Graeme Shanks, has been elected to join the Committee of The Aviation Club UK. Having first joined the Club in 2007, Graeme is thrilled to have won the support and confidence of his industry peers, and is looking forward to playing an active part in the continued success of the Club and its membership.

The Aviation Club was founded in 1990 as a networking forum and vehicle for promoting the development and growth of all aspects of civil aviation. The Club boasts over 350 members from a broad cross-section of the civil aviation community, its membership drawn from airlines, banks, lessors, financiers, OEMs, regulatory bodies, the media and a wide range of other service providers.

Membership of the Club is open to all individuals with a professional interest in the civil aviation industry. Those interested in joining can do so by visiting The Aviation Club website.

Ionic Insights: The Installed Business Jet Fleet in France

Welcome to the latest edition of Ionic Insights!

With the Paris Airshow only two months away, we thought we’d investigate the size and composition of the installed business jet fleet in France.

The Fleet

France has a sizeable installed fleet of 164* business jet aircraft. Whilst a little under half of these aircraft are based in the Paris area, the remainder are located widely throughout the country.

The Light and Very-Light jet category dominates and constitutes well over half of all aircraft. Given the popularity of such aircraft, it is therefore no surprise that Cessna-Textron is the largest OEM by fleet size. National champion Dassault comes in second with 29% of the fleet. What is somewhat surprising is that there do not appear to any narrow-body corporate airliners (‘bizliners’), from the likes of Airbus and Boeing in the fleet at present.

The overwhelming majority of the fleet is registered domestically (F-), whilst a handful are registered in the Isle of Man (M-), Portugal (CS-) and the United States (N), amongst others.

Challenges and Opportunities

With respect to aircraft finance and leasing, the relatively small number of large and ultra-long range aircraft (only 15% of the fleet combined) coupled with the relatively high fleet average age (21 years) means that financing opportunities are somewhat limited.

France has also not yet ratified the Cape Town Convention, which can impact the enforceability of aircraft leases and security interests, and thereby influence a financier’s preparedness to lend. Challenges can include enforcing foreign law judgments and navigating sometimes complex tax lease structures.

As of 1st March 2025, France implemented a new Air Passenger Transport Tax, known as the ‘Solidarity Tax’ or TSBA (Taxe de Solidarité sur les Billets d'Avion), that applies to all passengers departing from French airports on commercial flights. Depending on aircraft type and flight distance, this tax ranges from €210 to €2,100 per passenger, and represents up to a threefold increase over previous aviation taxes. Irrespective of departure airport, the tax is calculated based on distances from Paris Charles de Gaulle. Additionally, domestic flights within France will incur an extra 10% VAT on top.

A summary of our analysis can be found in the slide below:

Europe’s third-largest business jet market, France, has an installed fleet of 164 aircraft. Source: AMSTAT, April 2025.

Ionic Insights: The Correlation Between Wealth and Business Jet Ownership in Africa

Following publication of the recent annual Africa Wealth Report by Henley & Partners and New World Wealth, which ranks the continent’s cities by the number of resident millionaires (high-net-worth individuals/HNWIs), we investigated whether there was a correlation between that wealth and the number of business jets based in the five wealthiest cities in Africa.

In descending order, the top five cities are ranked as follows:

Figure 1: Johannesburg is Africa’s wealthiest city by number of HNWIs. It is also home to the largest number of business jets (70).

Figure 2: Whilst it ranks second, Cape Town has a relatively small installed base of 12 business jets.

Figure 3: Cairo is home to more dollar billionaires than any other African city.

Figure 4: 75% of Nairobi’s 13-strong business jet fleet is manufactured by Cessna-Textron.

Figure 5: Lagos is the most populous city in Africa and boasts the highest concentration of business jet aircraft - one jet for every 68 HNWIs.

Ionic Insights: The Business Jet Fleet in the Baltic States

Welcome to this year’s final edition of Ionic Insights, in which we focus on the business jet fleet within the Baltic States.

We analyse the size, composition and age of the installed fleet, whilst simultaneously investigating the most numerous OEMs, aircraft types and registries.

Background

The group of countries commonly known as the Baltic States includes Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. All three countries are members of Nato and the European Union.

With a combined population of approximately 6 million persons, land area totalling over 67,000 square miles and a combined GDP of €150 billion, these comparatively small nations boast a similarly small number of business jet aircraft; the vast majority being based in the capital cities of Tallinn, Riga and Vilnius.

Other than Estonia, which remains an important producer of oil shale, the Baltic States are not overly rich in natural resources. Agriculture remains important to all three economies; as does industry, particularly the production of foodstuffs, textiles, electronics, machinery and fabricated metals.

Fleet Analysis

The three Baltic States possess a combined business jet fleet totalling thirty-seven aircraft.

Latvia, with eighteen aircraft, is alone home to almost 50% of that fleet. Within Latvia, Embraer is the largest single manufacturer, with the large cabin Legacy 600/650 models being the most popular.

Estonia has the smallest fleet, with only nine aircraft. 

The largest operator in the Baltics is Riga, Latvia-based Union Aviation which operates eight large Embraer aircraft, a pair of Bombardier Globals and a Gulfstream G450.

See the following slide for a detailed breakdown of our analysis:

Source: AMSTAT, October 2024.

Ionic Insights: The Business Jet Fleet in North Africa

Welcome to the latest edition of Ionic Insights in which we focus on the business jet fleet in North Africa; specifically Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria, Libya and Egypt.

We analyse the size, composition and age of the installed fleet, whilst simultaneously investigating the most numerous OEMs, aircraft types and registries.

Analysis

With a population of 37 million and GDP totalling $145 billion, Morocco dominates the business jet fleet in North Africa; nearly fifty percent of all aircraft are based there.

Egypt, with a population in excess of 100 million, North Africa’s largest economy (2024 estimate: $395 billion) and the continent’s twelfth largest land mass, is second, with a total of sixteen aircraft. This fleet is comparatively young, though, with an average age of only fifteen years. 

The smallest fleets are in Tunisia and Algeria (Africa’s largest country by land mass) with only three and five aircraft respectively. Tunisia’s modest fleet has the highest average age of 30 years.

Midsize/Super-midsize jets dominate and make up approximately four out of every ten aircraft across the region. Textron/Cessna is the largest OEM by fleet size (alone making up over forty-five percent of the installed fleet); with the Citation XLS/XLS+, Sovereign and Mustang being the most popular models.

Opportunities for Financing

North Africa remains a challenging region in which to finance business aircraft.

Aged fleets, security considerations, political nepotism, poor corruption perception rankings, and the limited availability of wholly independent, third-party aircraft management companies means that the willingness of international asset-based financiers to lend into the region remains limited but not unheard of.

Saying that, though, UHNW buyers, with substantive international footprints, are able to access finance via existing or new private wealth relationships with a number of predominantly European banks. 

See the following slide for a detailed breakdown of our analysis:

Source: AMSTAT, September 2024.

Ionic Insights: The Business Jet Fleet in Japan

Welcome to the latest edition of Ionic Insights in which we focus on the business jet fleet in Japan.

We analyse the size, composition and age of the installed fleet, whilst simultaneously investigating the most numerous OEMs, registries and base locations.

Background

Japan is the fourth largest economy in the world. It has expertise in advanced manufacturing (most notably vehicles, machinery, chemicals and manufactured goods) and services.

Japan’s services sector, including financial services, now accounts for approximately 75 per cent of GDP. Key export markets include the United States, China and the Republic of Korea.

Analysis

In spite of the size of its population and economy and the international nature of much of its business, Japan has a comparatively modest installed business jet fleet of 60* aircraft (*Source: AMSTAT, April ‘24) - a fleet not too dissimilar in size to that of Spain, the subject of our last edition of Ionic Insights (see that analysis here).

Much like Spain, Light/Very-light jets dominate and in fact represent almost three quarters of all aircraft. Textron (Cessna) is the largest OEM by fleet size, alone making up forty-five percent of the fleet.

Over half of all aircraft are based in the capital city of Tokyo. Whilst the most popular aircraft model is the HondaJet Elite.

Overall, the average age of the fleet is a relatively young 10 years; with 77% percent of the fleet being registered domestically, JA-.

See the following slide for a detailed breakdown of this analysis:

Source: AMSTAT, April 2024.

Ionic Insights: The Business Jet Fleet in Spain

Welcome to the latest edition of Ionic Insights in which we focus on the business jet fleet in Spain.

We analyse the size, composition and age of the installed fleet, whilst simultaneously investigating the most numerous OEMs, registries, operators and base locations.

Background

With a population approaching 50 million, Spain is the eurozone’s fourth largest economy and is a leader in the fields of construction (six of the ten largest global transportation construction firms are Spanish), energy, automotive manufacturing and textiles. Tourism also remains important, with Spain being the second most visited country in the world.

Analysis

Compared to neighbours France and Italy, Spain has a relatively small installed business jet fleet of 64* aircraft (*Source: AMSTAT, March ‘24), over half of which are based in the vicinity of the capital, Madrid.

Light/Very-light aircraft are by far the most numerous. It is therefore of no surprise that Textron (Cessna) is the largest OEM by fleet size; its aircraft alone making up over sixty percent of the entire fleet.

As Spanish companies have expanded internationally (most notably to Latin America, where Spain is the second largest foreign investor, after the United States) so has the country’s appetite for ultra-long-range aircraft, which now represent over one in five of all aircraft. The Bombardier Global family is particularly popular.

Overall, the average age of the fleet is a comparatively old 20 years; with 86% percent of the fleet being registered domestically, EC-.

The largest domestic operator is Madrid-headquartered Gestair.

Opportunities for Financing

Given that fifty percent of all aircraft are in the Light/Very-light category, the opportunities for international lenders are relatively slim; however, the slow but steady increase in the ownership of large cabin, ultra-long-range aircraft will attract the interest of private banks and cross-border asset financiers.

See the following slide for a detailed analysis of the fleet:

Ionic Aviation features in latest edition of Aviation Turkey magazine

Ionic Aviation is proud to announce that a past edition of Ionic Insights was featured in the most recent issue of Aviation Turkey magazine (Volume 5, Issue 21, Year 2023).

The article focussed on the installed business jet fleet in Turkey and was originally published on this website in July 2023.

The content can be viewed via the link below: