SINGAPORE: The private jet market in Singapore has taken off, outstripping levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, with industry insiders citing the country’s business hub status as a key driver of such growth.
Demand for private jet travel in Singapore, as measured by business jet departures from Changi and Seletar airports in total, is up about 30 per cent from pre-COVID levels, according to non-public data that New York-based Alton Aviation Consultancy shared with CNA.
The data compares figures from calendar year 2024 to that of 2019.
The number of private jets based in Singapore also rose from 66 at the end of 2022 to 74 at the end of 2023, according to most recently available data from consultancy firm Asian Sky Group.
In comparison, there were 45 jets based in Malaysia, 56 in Indonesia and 41 in Thailand at the end of 2023.
The consultancy considers an aircraft as based somewhere if its most active flying location is from that airport, said Asian Sky’s media and publications director Alud Davies.
While official figures for the number of takeoffs and landings for private jets in Singapore are not available, Mr Davies said his team constantly monitors aircraft entering and exiting the region.
“Our team of researchers have a good grasp of what aircraft are based where,” he said.
Private jets can either be owned by individuals or chartered out to clients by charter firms for business, medical or leisure purposes.
Five jet charter companies CNA spoke to also reported rising demand in Singapore. This has led to some of them expanding their fleets, though most of the firms acknowledged that flight movements tailed off slightly in 2024.
Air Charter Service’s Singapore office said the private market was “significantly bigger than pre-COVID”, with hefty growth over the past three years.
Its director for private jets Brendan Toomey said the firm did 35 per cent more flights in and out of Singapore in 2024 compared to 2021. There was also a “huge surge” in aircraft charters in 2022 and 2023 due to the post-COVID travel boom.
Mr Toomey added that the firm has made over 40 per cent more charter aircraft available compared to 2021, giving clients “a bit more choice now”.
For private jet management and charter firm TAG Aviation Asia, takeoffs and landings in Singapore soared more than 50 per cent from 2022 to 2023.
Similarly, private jet charter firm VistaJet saw flight traffic to and from Singapore grow by 31 per cent from 2022 to 2023, with flight hours increasing by 45 per cent.
Even more strikingly, the Amber Aviation firm recorded a 77 per cent surge in the number of flights arriving and departing from Singapore in 2023, compared to 2022.
In 2023, aircraft management firm Air 7 Asia bought a hangar at Seletar Airport to maintain its fleet of seven aircraft, up from just one four years ago.
The growing private jet activity in Singapore comes as the country is set to host its first ever Business Aviation Asia Forum and Expo in March at Changi Exhibition Centre, featuring a static display of private jets.
Business aviation refers to civil, non-commercial flights such as private jets used to transport individuals or groups for business purposes.
Mr Leck Chet Lam, managing director of event organiser Experia Events, said Singapore was the “perfect location” for the expo, with the growth of the business aviation sector in Asia-Pacific.
The region is the third-largest market for business aviation worldwide, trailing North America and Europe.
“We are right smack in the middle,” said Mr Leck. “You can use us as a platform to capture opportunities in a growing Asia-Pacific market.”
