2018 GREATER BAY AREA AVIATION REPORT Beijing Shanghai Shenzhen Hong Kong Singapore ABOUT ASIAN SKY GROUP ASIAN SKY GROUP (ASG) is headquartered in Hong Kong, with offices throughout the Asia-Pacific region. Through longstanding and strategic partnerships, ASG’s work extends worldwide. It has assembled the most experienced business aviation team in the region to provide a wide-range of independent services for both fixed-wing and rotary-wing aircraft. The company also provides access to a significant client base around the world. ASG is backed by SEACOR Holdings Inc., a publicly listed US company (NYSE: “CKH”) and by Avion Pacific Limited, a Mainland China- based provider of general aviation services with 20 years of general aviation experience and six offices and bases throughout the country. 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CONTACT Suite 1401, Fortis Tower, 77-79 Gloucester Road, Wan Chai, Hong Kong Telephone +852 2235 9222 | Facsimile +852 2528 2766 www.asianskygroup.com | www.asianskymedia.com CONTENTS 02 PUBLISHER’S NOTE 03 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 04 GREATER BAY AREA OVERVIEW 10 INTERVIEW: GUANGZHOU SUILIAN HELICOPTER GENERAL AVIATION 14 GENERAL AVIATION MARKET OVERVIEW 21 INTERVIEW: KINGS AVIATION 24 INTERVIEW: TAG AVIATION (ASIA) 28 FUTURE DEVELOPMENT PUBLISHER’S NOTE In 2017, Asian Sky Group Area. With this in mind, the Greater Bay Area Aviation Report (ASG) released our first is the follow-up to the original China GA Report published China GA Report focusing last year. This year’s report illustrates the current makeup of on the evolving general the GA fleet in the Greater Bay Area, including a breakdown aviation (GA) landscape of the business jet, helicopter, turboprop and piston fleets. in Mainland China. The We also look at what there is existing already in regards report was timely in that it to infrastructure — commercial and GA airports, heliports, coincided with significant helipads, FBOs and MROs – and then at some of the planned changes happening in GA developments for the region. China’s GA industry at that time. One of the big issues ultimately hanging over the development of GA in the region and impacting its efficient and effective A year later, the pace of use by private, entrepreneurial business, is the lack of change and the possibility for further development in China of standardized regulations across the three different provinces GA remains undiminished. The Chinese Government continues and administrative regions that make up the Greater Bay Area to place a high emphasis on GA and in particular its possible — Guangdong Province, Macau and Hong Kong. Operating application in one of China’s highest producing economic an aircraft cross-boundary isn’t easy, but hopefully with regions; the Greater Bay Area, which is made up of nine cities in integration envisioned and promoted across this region this China’s Guangdong Province, along with Hong Kong and Macau. will lead to the simplification of operational regulations and The Government, through its Greater Bay Area Initiative, is open the air space. working toward turning this area into a Silicon Valley-type region — comparable to that of the US — which will eventually give the So the hopes for the aviation industry now is that GA can help region and the country a more competitive edge against the likes create more efficient air travel and, in turn, help make this of the San Francisco Bay Area, Greater Tokyo and the New York region more attractive on a global scale. ASG’s Greater Bay Metropolitan Area. Area Aviation Report aims to showcase the current capacity for GA and the potential for what’s to come. Of course, the key to the development of an area of such magnitude is its logistics infrastructure. And in the case of the Greater Bay Area, a few major infrastructure projects have just been completed: the Hong Kong-Zhuhai-Macau Bridge and the Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Hong Kong Express Rail Link. But, there are still plenty of opportunities to enhance connectivity Sincerely, more and the key ultimately is via air; namely by way of the GA Jeffrey C. Lowe aircraft and infrastructure already available in the Greater Bay Managing Director, Asian Sky Group 2 | CHINA GA REPORT 2018 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY • The Greater Bay Area (GBA) of China comprises nine cities • There are currently 160 helicopters in operation in the Greater and two Special Administrative Regions (SARs): Guangzhou, Bay Area. This number is expected to grow as the Greater Bay Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Project increases connectivity and economic output from the Jiangmen and Zhaoqing, all of which are in the Guangdong region. Airbus and Sikorsky are the leading OEMs in the region Province, along with Hong Kong and Macau. The GBA region is with 49 helicopters (31%) and 38 helicopters (24%), respectively. located on the Southeastern border, surrounding the Pearl River. Medium size helicopters are the most popular size category, comprising 43% of the Greater Bay helicopter fleet. • With a population of approximately 67 million, the GBA region represents only a small portion of the total 1.4 billion population • There are 42 fixed-wing aircraft in the region that are either in Mainland China. Guangzhou has approximately 14.5 million, pistons or turboprops. Cessna dominates the fixed-wing while Shenzhen is home to approximately 12.5 million. By area, turboprop/piston market in the region with 22 aircraft (52%), the GBA makes up 56.5M km2 — 0.5% of China’s total 9.6M km2. followed by Cirrus and Diamond with 8 (19%) and 7 (17%), respectively. Single-engine turboprops make up the most • China is on track to overtake the US, as the world’s largest popular size category with 52%. economy by 2030. The past five years have consistently seen around 7% GDP growth, with the GBA contributing around 12% • There are currently 15 operational airports and 19 helipads in of its overall GDP. The GBA also produces 48% of the country’s the Greater Bay Area. Of the 15 airports in operation — 7 are total exports and accounts for 12% of the region’s inbound dedicated for air carriers, 6 for helicopters and 2 for general tourists. It is the fastest-growing province in China, many times aviation. 8 helipads in the region are ground based while 11 are exceeding 16% growth. overhead. There are only 4 FBOs in the region 2 in Mainland China and 1 each in Hong Kong and Macau. • With the Greater Bay Area Initiative well under way, the business and general aviation markets in the region have been • Over the past few years, the Civil Aviation Administration of expanding in response to the Greater Bay Area development. China has required aircraft owners and operators to abide by There are currently 244 fixed-wing aircraft, 160 helicopters and strict regulatory policies. In 2017, several regulations were 7 other aircraft in this region. Hong Kong and Shenzhen have relaxed, simplifying the permit process, as well as making it the largest aircraft fleet among all the cities in the Greater Bay. easier for general aviation (GA) companies to set up in China. Of the 52 operators in the region, more than half (almost 54%) Still, GA operators are faced with restrictions regarding parking are dedicated to operating only business jets. 25% operate only and slots, which are prioritized for commercial aviation. helicopters and around 10% operate only turboprops/pistons. Additionally, the lower-altitude airspace policies that have slowly opened up the country’s skies haven’t offered much in • Of the 244 fixed-wing aircraft, 202 (almost 83%) are business the way of relief for operators, who continue to advocate for jets.